Basel and the Hobby Hunter Problem

On 27 July 2013, Brigitta Gerber, a member of the Green Alliance, submitted a landmark motion to the Grand Council in Basel.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 27 March 2013

This motion has already been signed by 14 council members. The motion calls for the hunting system to be adapted along the lines of the Geneva model, The canton of Geneva has had a ban on hunting by hobby hunters since 1974. The people of Geneva are perfectly happy with it. In 2004, the Institut Erasm conducted a survey among the population. Nearly 90% were opposed to allowing hobby hunters to pursue their pastime again.

In the canton of Basel-Stadt, hunting is permitted in 2 areas; 4 leases and 14 guest licences have been issued. In Basel-Stadt, for example, in 2011 a total of 14 red foxes, 8 wild boar, 15 roe deer, 6 stone martens, 4 carrion crows, and 5 badgers were shot by 18 hunters with 2 hunting supervisors. Hunting in Basel-Stadt falls under the jurisdiction of the animal police. Wild boar damage is listed at barely 7’000 francs. Notably, there are no trainee hunters in education in Basel-Stadt, and no data on training duration. Basel-Stadt currently has a population of 55 roe deer and recorded 3 head of fallen game in 2011. Population of Basel-Stadt: 194’090 (March 2013) across 37 km².

The retired president of the Basel-Stadt section of the Basel Hunting Club is one Christoph Fuchs – equally a relic from a bygone era.

«Whether in the high seat of one’s local hunting ground, in a cosy hut in Tyrol, on driven hunts in Alsace, or bird hunts abroad: I want to focus on leisure. I want to escape the feeling of being perpetually rushed! Then hunting becomes holistic and all-encompassing again», was his message to his members on 27 March 2011.

Christoph Fuchs takes pleasure in chasing and tormenting animals in need of protection. What is partly prohibited in Switzerland, he wishes to carry out by force abroad in order to satisfy his leisure pursuits. Care and stewardship, carefree enjoyment – far removed from the relentless pace of the information age.

He now also wants to engage with the true causes of declining biodiversity. To go out hunting more often with friends.

Is it so difficult to understand that more and more politicians and population groups feel that wildlife management should be handed over to professionals?

JagdSchweiz responded to the motion by Brigitta Gerber immediately, once again with confused statements. A first statement claimed that in the canton of Geneva hunting continues just as it did in the old days before the hunting ban of 1974, and that the kills do not appear in the federal hunting statistics. Both claims are, of course, complete nonsense.

In 2011, not a single red deer, roe deer, red fox, badger, marten, brown hare, etc. was shot in Geneva. That is why they do not appear in the federal hunting statistics. What does appear, however, are wild boar and birds.

If one truly wants to engage with biodiversity at home, Geneva is an exemplary success story. Population of the Canton of Geneva: 472’530 (March 2013) across 282.5 km².

Due to the high hunting pressure in the surrounding areas of France and in the Canton of Vaud, wild boar and other wildlife seek refuge in Geneva. Some of these hunted animals even swim across the Rhône into the canton. Wildlife is currently managed by 12 professional environmental wardens (Gardes de l’environnement), which costs taxpayers less than the price of a coffee per year, according to Geneva’s wildlife inspector Gottlieb Dändliker. Before the hunting ban in 1974, around 420 hunting licences were sold per year and 7 environmental wardens were active. Today, these wardens carry out a wide range of other tasks, including monitoring fisheries, supervising nature reserves, preventing wildlife damage, as well as specific tasks relating to forestry and agriculture. For all of this, they share just under 3 full-time positions. Approximately 1 full-time position — or an average of 1’621 hours — is devoted to culling wild boar. Juveniles are shot most frequently (around 80%). Wild boar crop damage for 2011 is estimated at 106’000.

As a walker, you regularly see wildlife such as brown hares hopping about, or you can observe beavers. Biodiversity has never been greater than it has been since the recreational hunters were driven out. Geneva currently has a stable ungulate population of around 60 red deer and 300 roe deer. Geneva is a model for other regions.

The Geneva region today holds international significance for bird protection. Accordingly, this stretch of water, which was previously of little importance for bird conservation, has become a significant biotope for wintering pochards and tufted ducks, great crested grebes and little grebes, wigeons, gadwalls, teals, and mallards. The waters in the canton of Geneva are also an important breeding and wintering area for the common merganser. The number of wintering waterbirds in the canton has multiplied over the years. The diversity among duck populations is impressive. And when it comes to small game, the hare population density in the canton of Geneva ranks among the highest in Switzerland. Furthermore, Geneva is one of the last strongholds for wild rabbits and grey partridges on Swiss soil.