Another Hobby Hunter Convicted in the Canton of Fribourg
The Fribourg public prosecutor's office has just convicted a hobby hunter who used illegal techniques to make his suffering-inflicting hobby easier.
In the 21st century, hobby hunting has benefited from advanced technology.
Modern hobby hunters use highly sophisticated equipment such as sound amplification devices, night vision devices, drones, binoculars, thermal imaging cameras, odour eliminators, GPS trackers, etc., to compensate for their inadequacies. These technologies enable hobby hunters to observe wildlife more effectively and hunt more efficiently, because hardly any hobby hunter would be capable of making a kill like a true hunter from an indigenous people. The hobby hunting of the 21st century has become more unfair, with wildlife bearing the consequences.
Today's hobby hunter typically causes suffering from behind cover — as a tyrant, lazy, cowardly, and heavily armed with technology. With as little effort as possible.
The Vully is the sun-drenched riviera of Lake Murten, vis-à-vis the small town of Murten. There, the hobby hunter built an observation post in a patch of woodland not far from his home. Then, in May 2021, the 30-year-old set up two camera traps approximately 300 metres away, without possessing the necessary permits. «These devices were discovered by the game warden on 22 January 2025 and confiscated,» according to the Fribourg public prosecutor's office.
On site, the prosecutor found that the hobby hunter had placed tar and salt lick shortly before their visit to lure wild boars into the area so he could shoot them. The thick, strongly scented Norwegian tar is derived from pine or spruce wood. It is used in veterinary medicine for its antiseptic properties or for wood preservation, and is also popular among hobby hunters. Its smell attracts wild boars, which enjoy rubbing against it to rid themselves of parasites. Applied to trees, it serves as bait and helps keep the animals within their territory, thereby facilitating their killing. However, this practice is prohibited in Fribourg under hunting regulations.
He was found guilty of violating hunting regulations and animal protection regulations. The killer was fined 500 francs.
Evidently, these hobby hunters are neither well trained nor do they possess sound moral integrity.
Particularly when it comes to hunting and hobby hunters, it is essential that the public pays very close attention. Nowhere else is manipulation through falsehoods and fake news so prevalent.Violence and lies are two sides of the same coin.For decades, hobby hunting has been nothing other than a permanently costly construction site, a patchwork, and a point of contention for politicians, forestry and agriculture, public administrations, the judiciary, health insurers, insurance companies, animal protection, environmental and nature conservation organisations, the police, federal authorities, the media, and so on.
Any other association with so much criminal energy would have long since come under the scrutiny of the federal prosecutor's office!
Current criminal offences committed by hobby hunters in Switzerland are listed here: Link
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