Template texts against recreational hunting: motions and popular initiatives

The IG Wild beim Wild provides over 80 ready-made template texts for motions, postulates, interpellations and popular initiatives against recreational hunting, free of charge and freely usable for all 26 cantons.

What are the template texts for hunting-critical motions?

The collection comprises over 80 templates that can be used free of charge by members of parliament, parties and activists in all 26 cantons. The texts cover eight thematic areas, from fundamental criticism to the federal popular initiative, and can be adapted directly to cantonal legal norms and submitted.

What are template texts used for?

Hunting-critical motions in cantonal parliaments often fail not due to a lack of political will, but due to formulation: How should a postulate be correctly structured? Which legal articles must be referenced? How does a motion in the canton of Zurich differ from one in the canton of Bern? These technical hurdles deter many committed individuals from taking the first step.

The template texts take exactly this work off your hands. They are legally pre-formulated, thematically substantiated and adapted to Swiss parliamentary practice. Anyone wishing to submit a text only needs to check it for cantonal particularities, such as whether the canton has a licence hunting or territorial hunting system, and adjust the relevant terminology accordingly. The substantive and argumentative work has already been done. All texts are available free of charge at wildbeimwild.com/mustertexte.

What types of motions are there?

The texts cover various parliamentary instruments. A motion obliges the government to draft a bill; it is the most binding parliamentary instrument. A postulate calls on the government to produce a report or examine a question; it is less binding but often effective for public relations purposes. An interpellation puts questions to the government and demands a written reply, making it well suited to placing inconvenient facts on the record.

In addition, there are cantonal popular initiatives (citizens' petitions), which are submitted directly by the public after a signature-collection process, as well as a higher-level instrument, the federal popular initiative, which seeks to amend the Federal Constitution. All of these instruments are covered by template texts. The Swiss Hunting Law explains the legal foundations within which these initiatives operate.

Which thematic areas are covered?

The template texts are organised into eight thematic areas:

Fundamentals and recreational hunting in Switzerland (15 proposals): From abolishing small-game hunting to wildlife corridors to banning driven hunts on pregnant animals. This block lays the ecological and animal-welfare foundation.

Politics and lobbying (6 proposals): Transparency regarding conflicts of interest, a lobby register, and a ban on hunting propaganda involving animal carcasses in schools and at public events.

Types of hunting and safety (15 proposals): A ban on alcohol and drugs during recreational hunting, criminological vetting for hunting licences, lead-free ammunition, a ban on trap hunting and baiting, and safety distances.

Animal dignity and the psychological dimension (8 proposals): Regulation of trophy photos on social media, a ban on hunting events involving animal cruelty, protection of children from exposure to hunting-related violence, and legal equality for wild animals under animal welfare law.

Wolf and predators (5 proposals): A moratorium on wolf kills, prioritisation of herd protection measures, and evaluation of completed kills against international standards.

Law, oversight and alternatives (6 proposals): Independent hunting oversight, transparent statistics on mistaken kills, and the abolition of environmental privileges enjoyed by recreational hunting under animal welfare law.

Cantonal popular initiatives (25 proposals): Complete bans on recreational hunting for each of the 25 cantons with their own right of initiative, including background, number of signatures required and particularities.

Federal popular initiative (1 proposal): «For professional wildlife protection», a proposal for a new constitutional provision that introduces the Geneva model at federal level and provides stronger protection for predators.

How are the template texts used?

The process is simple: select a text, download it, check it for cantonal particularities (licence hunting vs. territorial hunting, article designations, deadlines, formal requirements), have it legally reviewed if needed, and submit it. The texts can also be used in several cantons simultaneously, as coordinated initiatives that gain momentum in different cantonal parliaments at the same time.

For members of parliament without faction support, the following applies: a postulate requesting a government report costs nothing and generates little political resistance, but it forces a public response. That alone can change the debate.

What is the aim of the template texts?

The aim is not to enforce a ban on recreational hunting in every canton immediately. The aim is to anchor questions in the public debate that have barely been asked so far: Why aren't wild animals subject to the full protection of the animal welfare act? Why is there no independent oversight of recreational hunting? Why are 0.3 percent of the population given privileged influence over the shaping of wildlife policy?

When parliamentary questions are asked, governments must respond. When reports are written, facts emerge that can be relied upon. When popular initiatives are launched, societal debates begin. The template texts are a toolkit for people who want to advance Hunting Ban Switzerland, step by step, canton by canton.

What does the proposal for the federal popular initiative include?

The template text for the federal popular initiative «For professional wildlife protection» proposes a new constitutional provision. It is intended to replace recreational hunting nationwide with professional, state-run wildlife management, following the proven Geneva model. In addition, the protection of predators such as the wolf, lynx, bear and beaver is to be enshrined in the constitution.

The template text contains a complete initiative wording, explanations of the proposed constitutional articles 79a and 79b, a cost estimate based on the Geneva model, as well as a political strategy for collecting signatures. This means it also covers the scenario that is hardest to achieve but would have the greatest long-term impact. The Alternatives to recreational hunting and the argumentation guide for professional game wardens provide the substantive basis for this.

What cantonal particularities need to be taken into account when using it?

Two systems shape Swiss recreational hunting: in around 16 of 26 cantons, the licence hunting system applies, under which recreational hunters purchase a licence and may hunt across the entire huntable area of the canton, without any obligation or responsibility for a specific hunting ground. In nine cantons, territorial hunting applies, under which hunting associations lease areas and bear responsibility for them. The canton of Geneva is the only canton with state-run hunting without recreational hunters.

This distinction is not merely academic: it influences which arguments are effective, which wordings are legally correct, and which political alliances are possible. A template text for a territorial hunting canton emphasises the responsibility for the hunting ground and its failure; a text for licence hunting cantons emphasises the lack of area-based responsibility and the resulting uncontrollability. If there is any uncertainty, contact can be made via the website for canton-specific adjustments.

Who developed the template texts, and how up to date are they?

The template texts were developed by the IG Wild beim Wild, most recently updated in March 2026. They are based on the dossiers on Swiss Hunting Law, Hunting Ban Switzerland, the game warden model and the Geneva model. They reflect the current status of the JSG, the Animal Welfare Act (TSchG), and the cantonal hunting acts, insofar as this was possible at the time of preparation.

Before submission, the IG Wild beim Wild recommends a legal review for cantonal compatibility. The texts are intended as a starting point, not as a finished template to be adopted uncritically. Changes to federal law or cantonal implementing provisions may require adjustments.

Conclusion

The template texts are a hitherto unique offering in the German-speaking hunting-critical space: over 80 legally pre-formulated templates, organised by topic, for all 26 cantons and the federal level, free of charge and freely usable. They significantly lower the entry barrier for political engagement and demonstrate that hunting-critical positions can be achieved through parliamentary means.

Anyone wishing to take concrete action is best advised to start by identifying their own canton, choosing a suitable text, and seeking dialogue with elected representatives or local parties. All texts are available at wildbeimwild.com/mustertexte.

Sources

• Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (JSG), SR 922.0
• Swiss Animal Welfare Act (TSchG), SR 455
• Cantonal hunting acts and ordinances of the 26 cantons
• Cantonal constitutions and laws on political rights
• Art. 139 of the Federal Constitution (federal popular initiative)
• IG Wild beim Wild: Template texts for hunting-critical motions in cantonal parliaments, updated March 2026

Further Content

• Template texts for hunting-critical motions
• Hunting Ban Switzerland
• Swiss Hunting Law
• Alternatives to recreational hunting
• Geneva and the hunting ban
• The game warden model