Surprisingly few hobby hunters apply for silencers

Every day we learn from Ukraine what misery people inflict with weapons.

Yet it is conveniently ignored that hobby hunters in our immediate vicinity also take pleasure in causing suffering to wild animals under the guise of amusement, absurd claims and deliberate misdirection. Recreational hunting is always a form of war against living beings, in which the darker traits of human nature come to the fore.

This year, hobby hunters in several cantons are newly permitted to shoot with silencers. This is allowed under the new federal hunting ordinance. 

By the end of June, only 610 hobby hunters in Graubünden had submitted an application to the cantonal police for the use of silencers. This is significantly fewer than expected.

Tarzisius Caviezel, president of the militant Graubünden hunting association, is surprised that the number is so low.

He had expected that around half of the 5’500 perpetrators of violence would submit an application for the use of silencers, i.e. around 2’500. However, the hunting season does not begin for another two months. Applications may yet increase, says Caviezel.

The metallic cylinder at the end of the rifle reduces the bang by around 30 decibels. It may be used during the open hunting season, chamois and ibex hunting, and special hunts. This is a first, as the use of silencers was previously prohibited during hunting.

The prohibition at federal level stemmed from concerns about poaching. In addition, silencers can be dangerous to other people in the forest, as the direction of shots can no longer be properly determined.

In some less densely populated countries, silencers are legal. This is mainly because the police, among other things, are tired of receiving false alarms when someone goes hunting, or because of neighborhood nuisance.

It is not that silencers make the weapon more accurate per se, but they are supposedly supposed to — according to the hobby-hunters — make it easier to shoot the weapon more accurately. However, silencers also throw off the balance of the rifle, for example, which does not lead to greater accuracy. A silencer does not increase the chances of a first shot — it improves the prospects for a second shot — should the first shot not land correctly and the wildlife is not startled, or when the hobby hunter wishes to shoot additional wildlife on the spot in series without disturbance. Silencers serve primarily the killer and not animal welfare.

Every shot fired by a hobby hunter disturbs the entire biotope over many kilometers. Everyone is confronted with negative energy. According to numerous studies, the product of game meat is unhealthy. Processed game meat is carcinogenic — like cigarettes, asbestos, or arsenic — warns, among others, the World Health Organization WHO.

Fellow citizens are also subjected to nervous disturbance through the noise and hobby hunting. The hobby hunters of Grisons in particular are a prime example of a lack of moral and ethical standards. Every year there are around one thousand reports and fines because the Grisons hobby hunters violate hunting laws, weapons laws, environmental laws, animal protection laws, shooting accuracy requirements, and so forth. The poorly conducted hunting practices and lack of character among these perpetrators of violence are extensively documented.

Fair chase with technical aids?

With silencers, the killers will be even more difficult to control. How are wildlife wardens, hunting inspectors, and other supervisory bodies supposed to correctly identify a barely audible discharge? This means that the many missed shots by hobby hunters can be reported even less. Cruelty to animals is given free rein. Ordinary people are put at additional risk, because hobby hunters — not only in Grisons — are permitted to hunt some kind of wildlife practically throughout the entire year. Wildlife also has fewer chances, because they are not alarmed by the insidious and cowardly shots.

Those who are not successful hobby hunters without technical aids will not become successful with silencers either.

Animal welfare advocates are decidedly convinced that technical aids such as silencers should only be in the hands of well-trained wildlife wardens, as is the case in the canton of Geneva!

Hobby hunters who cannot tolerate recoil or are sensitive to noise should find a quieter hobby.

In the view of IG Wild beim Wild, hobby hunters require annual medical-psychological fitness assessments modelled on the Dutch system, as well as a binding upper age limit. The largest age group among hobby hunters today is 65+. In this group, age-related limitations such as declining visual acuity, slowed reaction times, reduced concentration and cognitive deficits increase statistically and significantly. At the same time, accident analyses show that the number of serious hunting accidents involving injuries and fatalities rises significantly from middle age onwards.

The regular reports of hunting accidents, fatal errors and the misuse of hunting weapons highlight a structural problem. The private ownership and use of lethal firearms for recreational purposes largely escapes ongoing oversight. From the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild, this is no longer justifiable. A practice based on voluntary killing that simultaneously generates considerable risks for humans and animals forfeits its social legitimacy.

Recreational hunting is furthermore rooted in speciesism. Speciesism describes the systematic devaluation of non-human animals solely on the basis of their species membership. It is comparable to racism or sexism and cannot be justified either culturally or ethically. Tradition does not replace moral scrutiny.

Critical examination is particularly indispensable in the field of hobby hunting. Hardly any other field is so thoroughly shaped by euphemistic narratives, half-truths and deliberate disinformation. Where violence is normalised, narratives frequently serve as justification. Transparency, verifiable facts and an open public debate are therefore essential.