Hobby Hunters vs. Animal Rights Activists in Basel-Landschaft

Tires Slashed on Response Vehicle

Last Saturday, two tires on the response vehicle of animal rights activist Olivier Bieli of «Hunt Watch» were slashed.

Bieli suspects that someone is attempting to intimidate him.

There are tensions between the Basel-Landschaft hunting associations and animal rights activist Olivier Bieli. Bieli, a police officer from Basel, regularly documents the driven hunts of the recreational hunters, films them, and shares the material on his Facebook page «Hunt Watch». The tone in the posts is heated, with hobby hunters being accused of “murder.” The recreational hunters are increasingly troubled by Bieli’s activism.

Complaint Against Bieli Dropped

Earlier this spring, Bieli was reported to the Basel-Landschaft hunting authority on the grounds that he had allegedly obstructed the recreational hunters in their work. Bieli emphasizes, however, that he was only observing, and the complaint was dropped. Last Saturday, 16.12.2023, Bieli and four other individuals accompanied the cruel driven hunts in the Basel-Landschaft region.

After the driven hunt in Bubendorf was called off without any apparent reason, the five-person team moved on to Bretzwil. There too, however, Bieli was unable to locate the hobby hunters. Finally, Bieli found the hobby hunters in Ziefen and followed them through the hunting grounds for twenty minutes.

When Bieli returned to his response vehicle, he found both tires on the driver’s side slashed. He filed a complaint. The police is investigating an unknown perpetrator. Bieli suspects that the act originated from within the circle of hobby hunters and is intended to intimidate him. The chairman of a hunting association, however, denies any connection to the incident.

The Baselland hunting master Martin Thommen distances himself from the act and emphasizes that the hobby hunters had received instructions on how to conduct themselves toward animal welfare advocates. Nevertheless, they feel disturbed by being accompanied by «Hunt Watch». Bieli, in turn, reports receiving support from members of the public who criticize hobby hunting but remain silent out of fear of reprisals.

Hobby hunting does not serve population control

Hunting associations and hobby hunting in general have for years repeatedly drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates, who see in them animal cruelty and senseless violence. The notion that the cruel driven hunts are used for population control of wildlife in order to maintain a balance between agriculture, nature, and humanity is a fairy tale. Driven hunting is a form of mobile hunting in which dogs or beaters cause all wildlife to leave their cover. Everything that moves is shot at.

We commend the canton of Geneva for its professional wildlife management without hobby hunters, but with dedicated game wardens. On the shores of Lake Geneva there are vineyards and other cultivated areas, as there are in the rest of Switzerland. Evidently, however, they have adopted humane and ethical approaches to dealing with wildlife, along with intelligent measures to protect crops. Game wardens do not organize driven hunts or require hunting dogs for this purpose. In Geneva, foxes, martens, badgers, birds, etc. are not regulated simply because a hunting season has been arbitrarily set. Instead, practical deterrent measures, meaningful education, assistance, and further training are carried out among the population together with game wardens. Safety, expertise, animal welfare and ethics are the guiding principles.