St. Gallen: Hobby Hunters Issue Voting Recommendations

Particularly when it comes to hobby hunters, it is absolutely essential to look very closely. Nowhere else is there so much manipulation through falsehoods, hunters' tall tales, and fake news. Violence and lies are two sides of the same coin!

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 11 February 2024

Voting Recommendations from the Hobby Hunters' Umbrella Association

The St. Gallen hobby hunters' umbrella association, headed by president Peter Weigelt, announces its recommendations for the cantonal council elections on 3 March 2024.

These candidates are intended to represent the interests of recreational hunters in the political arena, writes ostschweiz.ch.

In the St. Gallen cantonal council, a wide variety of interests are represented, thereby ensuring workable solutions and a long-term balance of interests.

Over 1’000 Foxes Killed Pointlessly

Until a few years ago, hunting interests were not represented in the council, even in legislative proposals concerning hunting. Currently, Mirco Rossi from Sevelen already sits as an active hobby hunter in the cantonal council.

Thus, in the 2021/22 hunting year, without any legally mandated culling quota, over 1’000 healthy foxes were pointlessly killed in the canton of St. Gallen, in addition to other wildlife. St. Gallen needs specialists in nature conservation and not pathological hobby hunters.

Schluss mit der Fuchsjagd

A Culture of Violence Instead of Biodiversity

The St. Gallen hobby hunters' umbrella association does not differ substantially from JagdSchweiz. These associations primarily cultivate disrespect and a culture of violence — the exact opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to.

Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary, and heartless is promoted by these associations.

In Switzerland, apart from the association JagdSchweiz, to which the hobby hunters are affiliated, there is no other organisation whose members demonstrably commit violations of the law each year running into the thousands, such as breaches of hunting law, poaching, arms smuggling, environmental crimes, animal welfare violations, traffic offenses, corruption and many other criminal activities. Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless is promoted by the association JagdSchweiz. A court in Bellinzona has also confirmed this.

In order to prevent the nonsensical and sectarian hunting interests from being further advanced against biodiversity, it is important in the upcoming elections to deliberately withhold votes from active hobby hunters.

Natural disaster: hobby hunters

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of stewardship and management by the hobby hunters, the proportion of threatened species is higher than in any other country in the world — in Switzerland. For decades, these hired killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, diseases, agricultural damage, and much more). More than a third of plant, wildlife and fungal species are considered endangered. Switzerland also ranks last in Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. It is precisely these circles of hobby hunters, through their lobbying work in politics, media and legislation, who have been responsible for this for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly resist more national parks in Switzerland, because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species protection or animal welfare — but rather the pursuit of their perverted, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are being liquidated?
that hobby hunters lie about the assessment of game meat quality and that, according to the WHO, processed game meat is carcinogenic — like cigarettes, asbestos or arsenic?
that according to a study, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, due to ammunition used by hobby hunters?
that the fair chase ethics of hobby hunters are diametrically at odds with animal welfare legislation and amount to nothing but a mirage?
that hunting is war, where animal competitors are simply eliminated?
that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting blinds in our countryside, some so rotten that they pose a danger to children and could cost people their lives?
that year after year countless people are killed or injured by hunters' weapons, some so severely that they are confined to wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
that in Switzerland approximately 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed each year, mostly needlessly?
that because of hobby hunters it is now barely possible to live in harmony with wildlife or to observe wild animals?
that shotgun blasts make hares scream like small children and tear out the entrails of "shot" roe deer and red deer so that they leave a trail of blood for tracking during the search?
that the claims made by hobby hunters that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations have been scientifically refuted?
that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the "pleasure of killing" and "the joy of making a kill" — a pathological obsession?
that hobby hunters have no sixth sense and yet regularly claim to shoot only sick and weak animals, which is of course not true in practice?
that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far removed from all species protection and hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel operators offering such depraved hunting pursuits?
that the vast majority are not legitimised professional hunters but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure activity, which is morally unacceptable and in fact contradicts the Animal Protection Act?
that 99.07% of civilised people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning only 0.3% of hobby hunters take pleasure in these bloody activities?
that these wildlife killers do not hunt on the basis of scientific justifications?
that protected species should not fall under hunting law at all, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by the demands of species protection and repeatedly shoot animals on the Red List — such as the lynx, wolf, brown hare, grey partridge, quail, and others — for amusement?
that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain species in order to eliminate competition for their unnatural behaviour — such as foxes, lynx, wolves, birds of prey, and others?
that wildlife dies before the hobby hunter can fire a single shot, that this must be prevented, and that this is arguably the central concern of wildlife stewardship, conservation management and hunting planning?
that with wild boars (and foxes), normally only the lead sow gives birth to young, but due to their being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and that this is also why we have a wild boar surplus?
that grazing animals – deer, roe deer, etc. – originally lived mainly as diurnal creatures in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in forests?
that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because it hunts sick or weak animals with incredible precision, for example, and is therefore vastly superior to hobby hunters?
that foxes, after being senselessly hunted, usually end up in the rubbish?
that foxes today are hunted mainly so that there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters’ frying pans? That the fox, however, feeds on hares in fewer than 10% of cases and would never catch a healthy hare?
that in animal welfare, one cannot take on hobby hunters with gentleness alone, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. (you need to fight fire with fire)?
that hobby hunters, with their hunters’ tall tales, engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
that it is frowned upon to shoot game animals at feeding stations or during mating season, yet hobby hunters have no qualms about doing exactly this to their prey competitor, the fox?
that in some cantons, hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother deer in front of their young, or target only young animals during the rearing period (supplementary special hunt)?
that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans and animals with their ammunition?
that bestiality, barbarity, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless suffering cannot be considered cultural heritage in a civilised society?
that hobby hunters shoot approximately 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
that in harsh winters, hobby hunters lure starving animals with food only to shoot them in a treacherous and cowardly manner?
that hobby hunters send attack-trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (earth hunting)?
that hobby hunters lure peaceful living beings into cage traps, where they may suffer for days awaiting their killer, or subject the animals to an agonising death struggle lasting hours (trap hunting)?
that hobby hunters cowardly ambush and shoot or wound peaceful wild animals while they are sleeping or sunbathing, using state-of-the-art precision weapons?
that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy culture, trophy shows, fur trade, etc.?
that hobby hunters hand firearms to underage school children and practice killing with them?
that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in solitude, which encourages animal cruelty?
that hobby hunters seriously injure many wild animals and the victims often suffer for hours under enormous pain and fear, until a tracking dog finds them and they are shot?
that hobby hunters (apart from vivisection) inflict the most suffering and abuse on animals, including through the manner of killing?
that the hunters’ love of animals and nature does not take pleasure in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved creature body and soul, culminating in making it prey through the act of killing?
that hobby hunters actively encourage browsing damage through hunting pressure, particularly on predators such as fox, lynx and wolf?
that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behaviour?
that hobby hunters deny the public normal, natural wildlife observations and interactions?
that there is no greater torture product more contaminated with ammunition than game meat?
that across Switzerland there is no uniform regulation regarding eyesight tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
that there is no psychological character assessment for hobby hunters?
that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they are shooting at animals with their weapons?
that hobby hunters infiltrate educational institutions in order to impose their hunters’ tales and their culture of violence on children?
that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting associations promote practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
that the association «Jagd Schweiz» primarily cultivates disrespect and a culture of violence – the exact opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to.
that in the canton of Graubünden alone, over 1‘000 complaints and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?

Interest Group Wild beim Wild

The IG Wild beim Wild is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to the sustainable and non-violent improvement of the human-animal relationship, with a specialization in the legal aspects of wildlife protection. One of our primary concerns is the introduction of a contemporary and serious wildlife management system in the cultural landscape, modeled on the Canton of Geneva — without hobby hunters, but with upright game wardens who genuinely deserve the title and act according to a code of ethics. The monopoly on the use of force belongs in the hands of the state. The IG supports scientific methods of immunocontraception for wildlife.

More on the topic of recreational hunting:In our dossier on hunting we compile fact-checks, analyses, and background reports.