Calancatal: Killed foxes next to a bus stop

Foxes killed senselessly and put on display

Although it has been proven for decades that foxes require no regulation, hobby hunters pay little attention to scientific facts.

Hobby hunters in Graubünden deliberately disturb the winter rest of all wildlife in a biotope with their pointless hunting activities.

Killed foxes were hung up less than 5 metres from the cantonal road Stradon 176 in 6548 Rossa. In the village of Arvigo, opposite the bus stop Al Canton, the same scene recurs time and again.

Children cry and cannot comprehend how anyone could do something so reprehensible. Adults too are outraged by the thoughtlessness of the hobby hunters, and even hobby hunters in the valley find it distasteful.

Animal dignity violated

The IG Wild beim Wild condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms. The hobby hunters have violated the dignity of the animals.

The Animal Welfare Act defines the dignity of the animal as the intrinsic value of the animal, which must be respected in all dealings with it. The dignity of the animal is disregarded when a burden imposed on the animal cannot be justified by overriding interests. A burden on the animal is defined as the infliction of pain, suffering or harm. It must not be caused fear or humiliated. Furthermore, disregard for animal dignity includes profoundly interfering with the appearance or capabilities of the animal, or subjecting it to excessive instrumentalisation Art. 3 lit. a TSchG.

Hobby hunters resistant to learning

Hobby hunters are fond of making unsubstantiated claims and forming opinions. The recreational hunting community makes use of certain designations that are purely ideological in character.

Problem animal, predator, pest, disease carrier, plague, invasion, etc. are not biological criteria but serve as value judgments, as instruments of degradation. A frequently used and proven method for creating and maintaining enemy images. No doubt is allowed to arise that animals one wishes to kill also deserve their death.

Hobby hunters and racists do not differ substantially. Both place value on a culture of violence in pursuit of their diffuse agendas. Both hold a distorted worldview, which they seek to realize with cult-like militancy. Looking at the social media profiles of hobby hunters, they are replete with conservatism, far-right ideology, Pegida, sexism, racism, status symbols, and so on. It is rare to encounter people who aspire to higher ideals among hobby hunters. Hobby hunters also do not engage their adversaries in a fair fight in the open field — they are too cowardly and too treacherous for that.

Every act of violence manifests something that exists in a pathological form within the hobby hunter but cannot be expressed in everyday life because society no longer tolerates it. Wars, torture, persecution, rape, violence, killing, and execution as instruments of power to dominate fellow human beings are no longer accepted in our cultural sphere. But killing has a dimension, and hobby hunting remains a stage on which this power is exercised. Animals are the suffering victims in this unfair game, made available for this purpose.

Time and again, claims emerge from hobby hunter circles that, upon closer analysis, originate from hunting literature and similarly unscientific sources. This is due primarily to the frequently inadequate training in courses preparing for the hunting examination, which are conducted predominantly by fanatics with cult-like ideology who require no regular proof of qualification.

After their training, hobby hunters move exclusively within the echo chamber of the hunting press, which continually repeats their skewed and often false representations.

In hunting clubs, members mutually reinforce each other's views. In this way, an insular and militant group has emerged that is hardly receptive to new information. What makes this particularly damaging is that the local press and politicians still believe that expertise resides beneath the hunter's hat, which is why they gladly consult the local hobby hunter on all nature-related topics. In this way, hobby hunters end up contaminating the public discourse as well.