Cruel hunting methods – tolerated and promoted

It is unbelievable what animal cruelty is still associated with hunting in German-speaking countries.

Hunting associations, the largest lobbying organization for recreational hunters, tolerate or even promote many of the animal welfare-related abuses. The responsible decision-makers are not only complicit; their authorities are the ones who usually enshrine the lobbyists' demands verbatim in laws and regulations. Scientifically sound findings play virtually no role in this process; the sole aim is to keep the clientele of landowners, foresters, and nature users quiet.

Even in conflict situations (nature conservation, forest conversion, wildlife diseases, economic damage), recreational hunting is not a solution. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the populations of wild boar and deer, which have been increasing for decades despite—or perhaps even because of—intensive hunting. Nature is a dynamic, self-regulating system, fundamentally capable of self-preservation, but also susceptible to disruption.

The following is a list of animal cruelties tolerated in the "normal operation" of hunting:

In England, the accuracy of amateur hunters shooting at moving paper silhouettes of a fox was investigated. Based on the location of the bullet holes and the calculated penetration depth of the projectiles, it was deduced that under normal terrain conditions, every second fox would only have been wounded by a gunshot .
Further facts about the inadequate shooting skills of many hobby hunters come from the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare (TVT): The veterinarians report studies showing that after driven hunts, two-thirds of wild boars do not have immediately fatal shots: in the back, in the belly or on the legs.
According to TVT, approximately 60% of female deer abdominal gunshot wounds .
When hunting ducks, geese, and corvids, shotguns are frequently to fire into flocks of birds . Numerous animals are merely wounded and often die unnoticed from their injuries. According to studies from Denmark, Sweden, and England, up to 7 out of every 10 waterfowl killed during hunts are wounded by shotgun pellets. The IZW (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin) reports that, depending on the species, between 20 and 45 percent of adult birds are wounded! This figure likely applies to all bird species that live in flocks.
The training of hunting dogs with foxes caught specifically for this purpose in artificial fox dens, on the hare's trail or with a live, flightless duck.
Coercion and violence in the training of hunting dogs .
Cruel form of keeping hunting dogs year-round in a kennel at the hobby hunter's home.
Keeping foxes or wild boars in unsuitable enclosures for training hunting dogs .
The practice of hunting in fox dens involves fierce hunting dogs engaging in bloody battles with foxes and badgers on both sides; it is practiced – legally – when the heavily pregnant vixen is expecting her young in the fox den, or – illegally, but tolerated – when the vixen is confined to the den with her pups, which are only a few days or weeks old.
The killing of male foxes required for raising offspring during the mating season.
Fox hunting during the breeding season. Male and female foxes needed for raising cubs are often shot at this time.
Chasing wild animals by uncontrolled dogs and hunting dogs that attack/tear apart wild animals during a driven hunt or battue.
The disturbance of wild animals by large-scale group hunts during the winter months.
Hunting at night using spotlights and night vision technology.
Trapping with kill traps , in which many animals are seriously injured because they are larger or smaller than intended for the trap.
Trapping with live traps, which also regularly takes place during the rearing season of young animals.
The release of bred pheasants, partridges, and ducks for hunting purposes.
Driven hunts , in which numerous animals are initially only shot or injured.
Hare hunting: here, it is accepted throughout the entire hunting season that mother hares, essential for raising their young, are shot. The young hares starve .
Hunting raccoons during the breeding season is prohibited . Raccoon cubs are dependent on their parents for a very long time. Raccoon hunters and hunting associations disregard this.
Failure to follow up or not immediately tracking down wounded animals.
, driven hunts for roe deer cannot reliably hit them due to their species-typical arcing leaps.
Shooting of mother animals with young is a recurring problem during driven hunts; this particularly affects wild boars or deer hinds, whose young then starve, freeze to death, or simply perish.
Group hunts in winter , especially during prolonged cold temperatures below -10 degrees, when food is inaccessible due to a blanket of snow, or when the snow is crusted.
Suspension of closed seasons , e.g. for hunting wild boar, without any comprehensible, reasonable reason for doing so.
Hunting of parent animals required for breeding , as is legally permitted for certain animal species in Bavaria or Lower Saxony, for example.

Even a progressive hunting law does not protect wildlife from the arbitrary actions of hunters. Although it is precisely defined on paper which animal species should have hunting seasons according to a justifiable reason within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act and which should not, decision-makers arbitrarily disregard these regulations.

Natural disaster, hobby hunter

In the chaos that nature finds itself in after decades of being managed and cared for by hobby hunters , the proportion of threatened species is higher in Switzerland than in any other country in the world. For decades, these contract killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, diseases, agricultural damage, and much more). Over a third of plant, wildlife , and fungal species are considered threatened. Switzerland also ranks last in Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. It is precisely these circles of hobby hunters, with their lobbying efforts, who have been responsible for this situation for decades through politics, media, and legislation. They are the ones who notoriously block modern, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species conservation. Hobby hunters regularly oppose the creation of more national parks in Switzerland because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species conservation, or animal welfare , but rather the pursuit of their perverse, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

innocent young wolves in Switzerland ?
that hobby hunters lie when assessing the quality of game meat , and that processed game meat is carcinogenic according to the WHO, like cigarettes, asbestos, or arsenic?
That, according to the study, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, due to the ammunition used by hobby hunters?
Is the idea that the ethical hunting practices of hobby hunters are diametrically opposed to animal welfare laws and are a mirage?
Is hunting considered war , where one simply eliminates animal competitors?
Did you know that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting blinds in our natural environment, some of which are so dilapidated that they pose a danger to children and can even lead to fatalities?
that countless people are killed or injured by hunting weapons every year, sometimes so severely that they end up in wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
Did you know that in Switzerland around 120,000 perfectly healthy deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed every year, mostly senselessly?
Is it really so difficult today to live in harmony with wild animals and to see wild animals because of hobby hunters?
that shotgun loads make hares scream like small children and shatter the entrails of “shot” deer and stags so that they leave traces for tracking as they flee?
that the claim of hobby hunters, that the gruesome massacres of wild animals are necessary to regulate animal populations, has been scientifically refuted?
that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “lust for killing” and “the joy of making prey” – a pathological passion?
That hobby hunters don't have a sixth sense and yet regularly claim that they only shoot sick and weak animals, which of course isn't true in practice?
That hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far from all species and hunting protection regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel agencies for such idiotic hunting pleasures?
that the vast majority are not legitimate professional hunters, but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure activity, which is immoral and actually contradicts the animal protection law?
That 99.07% of civilized people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning that only 0.3% of hobby hunters enjoy these bloody activities?
That these wildlife killers do not hunt based on scientific justifications?
that protected species should not actually be subject to hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species protection and repeatedly shoot animals on the Red List, such as lynx, wolf, hare, partridge, quail, etc., for fun?
that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species to eliminate competition for their unnatural behavior (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
that the game dies before the hobby hunter can even fire a single shot, that this must be prevented, and that this is probably the central idea of conservation and management as well as hunting planning?
that with wild boars (and foxes) normally only the lead sow has young, but because she is shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and that is also why we have a wild boar glut?
that grazing animals – deer, roe deer, etc. – originally lived mainly during the day in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in the forest?
that the wolf is vital for the long-term health of wild ungulates because, for example, it hunts sick or weak animals with incredible precision and is therefore far superior to hobby hunters?
that foxes usually end up in the trash after the pointless hunt?
Did you know that foxes are mainly hunted today so that there are more hares, etc., for hobby hunters to put in the frying pan? But that foxes don't actually feed on hares over 90% of the time, and never catch a healthy hare?
that one cannot simply deal with hobby hunters in animal welfare with gentleness, street festivals, prayer beads, etc. (a rough block requires a rough wedge)?
that hobby hunters, with their tall tales, engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
Is it true that it is frowned upon to shoot big game at feeding time or during the mating season, but the hobby hunter has no qualms about doing so with the fox, a competitor for prey?
that in some cantons, hobby hunters only go hunting for the tender meat of a young animal?
that hobby hunters shoot pregnant cows in front of their calves or only calves during the rearing period ( post-special hunt )?
that hobby hunters are poisoning the environment, nature, people and animals with their ammunition?
that bestiality, barbarity, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless suffering cannot be a cultural asset in a civilized society?
Did you know that hobby hunters shoot around 10,000 fawns every year?
That hobby hunters starving animals with food , only to be able to shoot them treacherously and cowardly?
that hobby hunters send trained dogs into caves to eliminate foxes and badgers (burrow hunting)?
that hobby hunters lure peaceful creatures into box traps, in which they may suffer for days waiting for their killer, or often subject the animals to a death struggle lasting for hours (trapping)?
That hobby hunters cowardly ambush or injure peaceful wild animals while they are sleeping or sunbathing, using state-of-the-art precision weapons?
that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy worship, trophy shows, fur trade, etc.?
That hobby hunters firearms in the hands of underage schoolchildren and practice killing with them?
that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in solitude, which promotes animal cruelty?
that hobby hunters often severely injure many wild animals, and the victims often suffer for hours in enormous agony and fear until a bloodhound finds them and they are shot?
that hobby hunters (apart from vivisection) inflict the most suffering and abuse on animals, also through the way they kill them?
that the hunter's love of animals and nature does not take pleasure in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved being body and soul, and culminates in making it prey through the act of killing?
that hobby hunters actually promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, especially on predators such as foxes, lynxes and wolves?
that hobby hunters the floodgates to antisocial, unethical, and unchristian behavior ?
that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observations and interactions?
That there is no greater product of cruelty and contaminated with ammunition than game meat?
that there is no uniform regulation across Switzerland regarding eye tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
that there is no psychological temperament test for amateur hunters?
that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they shoot animals with their weapons?
that hobby hunters infiltrate school facilities to impose their hunting tales and violence on the children?
that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting associations promote practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
that the association “Jagd Schweiz” primarily cultivates disrespect and a culture of violence – exactly the opposite of what a cultured person in our society should strive for.
Did you know that in the canton of Graubünden alone, over 1,000 charges and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?

Interest Group Wild at Wild

The IG Wild beim Wild (Wild with Wild) is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to the sustainable and non-violent improvement of the human-animal relationship. The group also specializes in the legal aspects of wildlife protection. One of our main goals is to implement modern and responsible wildlife management in the cultural landscape, modeled on the system used in the Canton of Geneva – without recreational hunters, but with reputable game wardens who truly deserve the title and act according to a code of ethics. The monopoly on the use of force should remain with the state. The IG supports scientifically based methods of immunocontraception for wild animals.

More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our dossier on hunting, we compile fact checks, analyses and background reports.