Take action against hobby hunting

Geneva has proven it: things work better without hunting. Since 1974, the canton of Geneva has been free of hobby hunting. The result: increasing species diversity and biodiversity, stable wildlife populations, the number of overwintering waterfowl has more than increased tenfold, and hares or beavers are once again visible in everyday life, regularly spotted by walkers. What Geneva can do, all of Switzerland can do.

You can help change that today. Here are the most effective ways.

1. Follow campaigns and become politically active

The most effective form of engagement is political pressure. Wild beim Wild documents ongoing campaigns, initiatives and political motions against hobby hunting in Switzerland:

→ View all current campaigns

53 template texts for hunt-critical motions – free of charge and ready to use immediately

Are you politically active yourself, or do you know parliamentarians who want to make a difference? Wild beim Wild provides 53 ready-drafted template texts for motions, postulates, popular initiatives and parliamentary proposals, free of charge. Each text can be adopted directly, adapted to the cantonal context and submitted. The collection covers seven thematic categories:

Fundamentals & Hunting in Switzerland – Hunting bans, fox hunting, small game hunting, hunting tourism, wildlife corridors, biodiversity review, wildlife ranger corps, hunter training
Politics, Lobbying & Media – Hunting propaganda, schools, environmental privileges, hunting events, transparency in hunting administration, lobby register
Hunting Methods, Safety & Technology – Alcohol, crime, lead ammunition, traps, safety, gun violence, high-tech ban, hunting dogs, high-altitude hunting, swine fever, stand hunting, earth hunting, pass hunting, special hunting
Animal Dignity, Images of Violence & the Psychological Dimension – Trophy photos, children, game meat, mandatory reporting of hunting victims, trophy import ban, animal protection law, recreational violence
Wolf, Predators & Politics – Moratorium, protective forests, herd protection, evaluation of wolf culls, Bern Convention
Law, Oversight & Alternatives – Fencing and pasture nets, hunting statistics, hunt-free zones, hunting supervision, cultural landscape
Cantonal Popular Initiatives – Template text for the cantonal abolition of hobby hunting at the ballot box (Canton of Basel-Stadt)

The texts can be adopted directly as a motion, postulate, popular initiative or parliamentary proposal and adapted to the respective cantonal legal framework.

→ View all 53 template texts for hunt-critical motions

Elected representatives who need assistance adapting a template text to their canton can contact IG Wild beim Wild: → Get in touch

Those who are informed can act effectively. The IG Wild beim Wild newsletter appears sporadically and delivers current cases, new campaigns, political developments, and calls to action.

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3. Report suspicious cases: The Hobby-Hunter Radar

Have you made an observation? Discovered a hunting stand? Do you suspect an animal welfare offence, poaching, or illegal hunting practices? Then report the case to us. Every report can help document and publicise grievances.

→ Report a suspicious case now

4. Raise awareness and share content

Spreading information is one of the most effective measures of all. You can:

Share dossiers and articles from wildbeimwild.com on social networks
Draw the attention of friends and family to the reality of recreational hunting
Write letters to the editor of local media outlets
Freely copy and share IG Wild beim Wild content (Copyleft)

Good starting points for raising awareness:
→ Alternatives to hunting | → Hunter lobby Switzerland | → All dossiers

5. Use dossiers: Knowledge as a weapon

Anyone who wants to argue convincingly in discussions, media enquiries, or political work needs reliable foundations. The IG Wild beim Wild dossiers bring together well-founded analyzes, studies, legal texts, and lines of argument on the most important topics relating to hunting policy and wildlife protection in Switzerland.

The dossiers are organized by subject area:

Fundamentals & hunting in Switzerland: How does the Swiss hunting system work? What lies behind terms such as “stewardship” or “population management”?
Politics, lobby & media: Who influences hunting policy, and how? How does the hunter lobby operate?
Disease, wildlife protection & technology: What role does hunting play in the spread of wildlife diseases?
Animal dignity, images of violence & the psychological dimension: What does hunting do to society’s image of wild animals?
Wolf, predators & politics: How is the wolf instrumentalised, and what facts contradict the hunting lobby?
Law, oversight & alternatives: What does the law say, and what alternatives to hunting exist?

The dossiers provide clearly formulated, factually substantiated points that you can use directly in conversations, letters to the editor, or political motions. All sources are openly accessible and linkable.

→ View all dossiers

6. Have your property declared a hunting-free zone

Anyone who owns forest, meadow, or farmland does not have to simply accept hobby hunting on their own property. This is not merely an opinion, but a human rights position supported by the highest European court.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has clearly ruled in several judgments: landowners who object to hunting on ethical grounds cannot be compelled to tolerate hunting on their land. This violates Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (protection of property) and freedom of conscience. Switzerland is a signatory to the ECHR and is obliged to ensure its legislation complies with human rights standards.

In practice, the options available at cantonal level are still limited. Nevertheless, you have concrete courses of action:

Write to your cantonal authority and formally request the exclusion of your property from hunting on ethical grounds
Post no-hunting signs on your land and document your objection in writing
Use the template texts provided by IG Wild beim Wild to support a cantonal motion for the right to hunting-free private land

→ Dossier: Hunting and Human Rights
→ Template text: Declaring private property a hunting-free zone

7. Apply political pressure

Write today to your municipal councillor, cantonal representative, or a member of the National Council. Demand:

The cantonal expansion of hunting-free zones following the example of Geneva
The participation of non-hunters in hunting policy decisions
The consistent enforcement of animal protection legislation in the practice of hunting

Contact details for parliamentarians can be found at parlament.ch.

8. Exercise caution with nature conservation organisations

Not every organisation with “nature” in its name effectively protects wildlife. Many Swiss environmental organisations are closely networked with the hunting lobby and regularly undermine initiatives against hobby hunting. Before becoming a member or making a donation, check what position an organisation takes on hobby hunting.

→ More on the hunters’ lobby in Switzerland

9. No game meat, no fur

Every purchasing decision is a vote. Those who buy game meat, wear fur, or book hunting tourism are directly or indirectly financing an industry based on the killing of wild animals as a leisure activity.

Game Meat

Game meat is often considered “natural” or “sustainable,” yet the opposite is frequently the case. In Switzerland, a large proportion of the game meat sold in stores comes from abroad, from intensive game farming, or from large-scale hunting culls. But the main problem is something else: game meat can make you ill.

Lead from Hunting Ammunition

Lead bullets fragment on impact and leave invisible particles in the meat. The Swiss Federal Food Safety Office (BLV) therefore explicitly recommends: children up to 7 years of age, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and women wishing to conceive should avoid eating game meat as much as possible. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) reaches the same recommendation. Lead cannot be “cooked away.”

Parasites and Pathogens

Wild boar is a high-risk category due to trichinellosis and other zoonoses. The safety chain for game is fundamentally more variable than with standardized slaughter: field dressing, retrieval, cooling, and transport vary considerably depending on experience, weather, and terrain.

“Organic” Is a Marketing Myth

“Organic” means defined standards and controls. Game meat is not a certified organic product simply because the animal lived in the wild. “Natural” does not replace independent oversight.

→ Everything on the topic in the dossier: Game Meat in Switzerland

Furs and Pelts

Furs and pelts from native wild animals such as foxes, badgers, or martens are still traded in Switzerland, often downplayed as a “by-product” of hunting. Those who buy these products create an incentive that goes beyond the personal needs of hobby hunters and contributes to the economic justification of recreational hunting.

Hunting Tourism and Trophy Hunting

Each year, an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Swiss hobby hunters travel abroad to kill wild animals. Swiss-based operators such as VEPAR Jagdreisen or Bavetia.ch arrange driven hunts in Eastern Europe, while international platforms offer trophy hunts for elephants, lions, or buffalo in Africa, sometimes with a money-back guarantee if no kill is made. Learn more on our dossier page about the background of trophy hunting.

What you can do:

Do not buy game meat — choose plant-based alternatives instead
Consistently reject furs and pelts from wild animals, whether as clothing, decoration, or souvenirs
Boycott hunting fairs, hunting exhibitions, and events that market hunting as a lifestyle
Approach restaurants and catering establishments about game dishes on the menu and explain your position

→ More on alternatives to hunting

Legal notice regarding actions in public spaces

Documenting hunting activities in the field (Section 3) may raise legal questions, particularly when private land is entered. Installing no-hunting signs (Section 6) is a first documentary step, but does not replace a formal procedure with the cantonal authority. Regarding letters to the editor and public statements (Section 4): concrete factual claims about individuals or events must be verifiable.

In any case, inform yourself in advance about the applicable legal situation in your canton. IG Wild beim Wild accepts no liability for the actions of third parties.

Donations

IG Wild beim Wild does not accept donations directly. Those who wish to support animal welfare work financially can do so through our partner organization:

→ Donate now for stinah.ch

Contact

Questions, tips, or feedback?

→ Write to us

Recreational hunting is not nature conservation, but a relic of feudal times. It causes animal suffering, weakens nature protection, and contradicts modern ethical standards. The examples from Geneva, Luxembourg, and dozens of other regions worldwide show: nature and biodiversity benefit when recreational hunting ends.

«Recreational hunting is not culture, but a lack of culture. It is not a necessity, but avoidable cruelty to animals.»

Animal portraits