Take action against hobby hunting
Geneva has proven it: things are better without hunting. The canton of Geneva has been free of hobby hunting since 1974. The result: rising species diversity and biodiversity, stable wildlife populations, more than a tenfold increase in the number of overwintering waterfowl, and hares and beavers are once again a regular sight for walkers in everyday life. What Geneva can do, the whole of Switzerland can do.
You can help change this today. Here are the most effective ways.
1. Follow campaigns and become politically active
The most effective form of engagement is political pressure. IG Wild beim Wild documents ongoing campaigns, initiatives and political motions against hobby hunting in Switzerland:
Template texts for hunting-critical motions – free and ready to use immediately
Are you politically active yourself, or do you know members of parliament who want to make a difference? IG Wild beim Wild provides 53 ready-formulated template texts for motions, postulates, popular initiatives and parliamentary bills free of charge. Each text can be adopted directly, adapted to the canton and submitted. The collection comprises seven thematic categories:
- Fundamentals & Hunting in Switzerland – hunting bans, fox hunting, small game hunting, hunting tourism, wildlife corridors, biodiversity assessment, game warden corps, hunter training
- Politics, Lobby & Media – hunting propaganda, schools, environmental privileges, hunting events, transparency of hunting administration, lobby register
- Hunting Methods, Safety & Technology – alcohol, crime, lead ammunition, traps, safety, gun violence, high-tech ban, hunting dogs, high hunt, swine fever, stand hunting, earth hunting, wait hunting, special hunt
- Animal Dignity, Images of Violence & the Psychological Dimension – trophy photos, children, game meat, mandatory reporting of hunting victims, trophy import ban, animal welfare law, leisure violence
- Wolf, Predators & Politics – moratorium, protection forest, herd protection, evaluation of wolf kills, Bern Convention
- Law, Oversight & Alternatives – fences and pasture nets, hunting statistics, hunting-free zones, hunting oversight, 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 bill and adapted to the cantonal legal situation.
→ View all template texts for hunting-critical motions
Mandate holders who need support in adapting a template text to their canton can contact IG Wild beim Wild: → Get in touch
2. Subscribe to the newsletter and stay informed
Those who are informed can act effectively. The IG Wild beim Wild newsletter is published sporadically and provides current cases, new campaigns, political developments and guidance for action.
→ Subscribe to the newsletter now
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3. Report suspected cases: The Hobby Hunter Radar
Have you witnessed something? Spotted a high seat? Do you suspect an animal welfare offence, poaching or illegal hunting practice? Then report the case to us. Every report can help to document and publicise abuses.
4. Inform others 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
- point out the reality of hobby hunting to friends and family
- write letters to the editor of local media
- freely copy and pass on content from IG Wild beim Wild (copyleft)
Good starting points for raising awareness:
→ Alternatives to hunting | → The hunting lobby in Switzerland | → All dossiers
5. Use the dossiers: knowledge as a weapon
Anyone who wants to argue convincingly in discussions, media enquiries or political work needs reliable foundations. The dossiers of IG Wild beim Wild bring together well-founded analyses, studies, legal texts and lines of argument on the most important topics surrounding hunting policy and wildlife protection in Switzerland.
The dossiers are organised by subject area:
- Foundations & hunting in Switzerland: How does the Swiss hunting system work? What lies behind terms such as «game management» or «population regulation»?
- Politics, lobby & media: Who influences hunting policy, and how? How does the hunting lobby work?
- Diseases, 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 the image of wild animals in society?
- Wolf, predators & politics: How is the wolf being instrumentalised, and which facts contradict the hunting lobby?
- Law, control & alternatives: What does the law say, and what alternatives to hunting are there?
The dossiers provide clearly formulated, factually substantiated points that you can use directly in conversations, letters to the editor or political initiatives. All sources are openly accessible and can be linked to.
6. Have your property declared a hunting-free zone
Anyone who owns forest, meadow or farmland does not simply have to accept hobby hunting on their own property. This is not merely an opinion, but a human-rights position upheld by Europe's highest court.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled clearly in several judgments: landowners who reject hunting on ethical grounds may not be forced 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 the freedom of conscience. Switzerland is a contracting state to the ECHR and is obliged to ensure its legislation complies with human rights.
In practice, the cantonal options are still limited today. Nevertheless, you have concrete courses of action:
- Contact your cantonal authority in writing and request the exclusion of your property from hunting on ethical grounds
- Put up hunting-ban signs on your land and document your objection in writing
- Use the template texts of the IG Wild beim Wild to support a cantonal initiative for the right to hunting-free private land
→ Dossier: Hunting and human rights
→ Template text: Exempting private properties
7. Apply political pressure
Write to your local councillor, your cantonal councillor or a member of the National Council today. Demand:
- The cantonal extension of hunting-free zones following the example of Geneva
- The participation of non-hunters in hunting-policy decisions
- The consistent enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act in the conduct of hunting
You can find contacts for parliamentarians at parlament.ch.
8. Caution with conservation associations
Not every association with «nature» in its name protects wild animals effectively. Many Swiss environmental associations are closely connected with the hunting lobby and regularly torpedo initiatives against hobby hunting. Before joining or donating, check what stance an association takes on hobby hunting.
→ More on the hunting lobby in Switzerland
9. No game meat, no furs
Every purchasing decision is a vote. Anyone who buys game meat, wears furs or books hunting tourism finances, directly or indirectly, an industry that is based on the killing of wild animals as a leisure activity.
Game meat
Game meat is often regarded as «natural» or «sustainable», but the opposite is frequently the case. In Switzerland, a large part of the game meat sold in shops comes from abroad, from intensive enclosure-based game farming or from large-scale hunting kills. But the main problem is another one: game meat can make you ill.
Lead from hunting ammunition
Lead bullets fragment on impact and leave behind invisible particles in the meat. The Swiss Federal Food Safety Office (BLV) therefore explicitly recommends: children up to 7 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and women wishing to have children should avoid eating game meat as far 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 because of trichinellosis and other zoonoses. The safety chain for game is fundamentally more variable than with standardised slaughter: field dressing, recovery, refrigeration and transport vary greatly 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 freely. «Natural» is no substitute for independent inspection.
→ Everything on the topic in the dossier: Game meat in Switzerland
Furs and pelts
Furs and pelts of native wild animals such as fox, badger or marten are still traded in Switzerland, often trivialised as a «by-product» of hunting. Anyone who buys these products creates an incentive that goes beyond the personal needs of hobby hunters and contributes to the economic justification of hobby 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 providers such as VEPAR Jagdreisen or Bavetia.ch arrange drive 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. Find out 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 of wild animals, whether as clothing, decoration or souvenir
- Boycott hunting fairs, hunting exhibitions and events that market hunting as a lifestyle
- Speak to restaurants and catering establishments about game dishes on the menu and explain your stance
→ More on alternatives to hunting
Legal notice on actions in public spaces
Documenting hunting activities in the field (section 3) may raise legal questions, particularly when private land is entered. Putting up hunting ban signs (section 6) is a first documentary step, but does not replace formal proceedings with the cantonal authority. For letters to the editor and public statements (section 4) the following applies: specific factual claims about persons or events must be verifiable.
In any case, inform yourself in advance about the applicable legal situation in your canton. The IG Wild beim Wild accepts no liability for the actions of third parties.
Donations
Anyone wishing to support animal welfare work on the ground financially can do so via our partner organisation:
Contact
Questions, tips or feedback?
Hobby 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 hobby hunting ends.
«Hobby hunting is not culture, but the opposite of culture. It is not a necessity, but avoidable cruelty to animals.»
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