Chamois Switzerland: High hunt, climate stress and the overpopulation myth

According to the cantons, around 90,000 chamois live in Switzerland, and in 2025 recreational hunters shot 9,228 of them. While populations are stagnating or declining in many regions, thousands of chamois continue to be killed every year. This dossier shows why the chamois is being squeezed between the high hunt, climate change and the debate over predators.

Profile

The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) belongs to the family of horned ruminants (Bovidae) and is one of the iconic wildlife species of the Alpine region. It inhabits steep mountain terrain between the treeline and the rocky zones, but also occurs in wooded low mountain ranges. In Switzerland, the chamois is found throughout the Alps, the Pre-Alps and the Jura.

Biology and social behaviour

Chamois live in matriarchal groups led by experienced females. Outside the rut (November/December), the bucks often live alone or in loose bachelor groups. In May or June, the females usually give birth to a single kid, rarely twins. The kids follow their mother just a few hours after birth and become independent after about six months.

Chamois are excellent climbers and can negotiate slopes with gradients of up to 80 degrees. Their hard, rubbery hooves provide optimal grip on rock and snow. In winter, chamois lower their metabolism and use low-snow, wind-exposed spots to save energy. Disturbance during the winter months, whether from ski tourers, off-piste skiers or recreational hunting, can be life-threatening, because every flight costs valuable energy reserves.

Population figures

For 2025, the cantons report a population of 90,697 chamois in the Federal Hunting Statistics, a similar number to 2015 (90,963). Populations have been declining for years in many regions of the north-western Alps, while they are considered stable in some areas of the central and eastern Alps. Population estimates are based on counts, which are relatively reliable in open terrain above the treeline but subject to considerable uncertainty in forested areas.

The chamois in the crosshairs of the high hunt

Hunting pressure

The chamois is among the most frequently shot ungulates in Switzerland; in 2025 it ranked just behind roe deer, red deer and wild boar. Recreational hunters killed 9,228 chamois, with a further 77 special culls and 1,429 animals found dead (Swiss Hunting Statistics 2025). In 2000, 16,625 chamois were still being killed (Hunting statistics 2000 to 2025). Kill figures vary greatly from region to region. In licence hunting cantons such as Grisons, Valais and Ticino, chamois hunting is a central part of the high hunt, which is staged as a cultural tradition with great emotional significance.

Chamois are hunted mainly in autumn during the high hunt. In Grisons, yearlings and does are also released for hunting alongside bucks, although the quota systems vary by region and year. Kill quotas are based on population counts and figures for animals found dead, which are often imprecise and fail to reflect the true population trend.

The problem of trophy hunting

Trophies play a considerable role in chamois hunting. The curved horns of chamois bucks (Krucken) are a coveted hunting trophy. Although official hunting planning stresses that killing is not trophy-oriented, practice tells a different story: in many regions a disproportionate number of bucks in their prime are shot, which distorts the age structure of the population and reduces genetic diversity. The selective removal of the strongest bucks contradicts the principle of natural selection, whereby the fittest animals reproduce most often.

Valais shows how little additional protective rules change the outcome: during the 2026 high hunt, 1,617 chamois were killed, more than the previous year (1,537), even though, because of wolf and lynx, the canton allowed only one adult chamois buck per recreational hunter in further wildlife zones (Valais high hunt 2026: More chamois killed despite additional protection rules).

More on this: Dossier: The high hunt in Switzerland

Declining populations: causes and ignorance

Climate change

Climate change hits mountain species such as the chamois particularly hard. Rising temperatures, more frequent heatwaves and altered snow conditions have an impact on several levels. The chamois is adapted to cold temperatures. Heat stress in summer forces it to retreat to higher, shaded elevations during the day, which reduces feeding time and strains its energy balance. The upward shift of vegetation zones changes the food supply. Chamois above the treeline find less suitable forage, while the advancing forest encroaches on their habitat. Earlier snowmelt and altered precipitation patterns can disrupt the synchronisation between the birth of kids and the period of optimal food availability.

Pressure from leisure activities

Chamois in the Alps are under growing pressure from leisure activities: ski touring, snowshoeing, paragliding and mountain biking are penetrating previously undisturbed refuges. The disturbances affect all seasons but are especially serious in winter. A chamois that is forced to flee repeatedly in winter cannot make up for the energy lost and dies.

Diseases

Chamois blindness (infectious keratoconjunctivitis) and chamois mange are recurring diseases that can cause massive local population crashes. Chamois mange, caused by mites, can decimate entire populations by 80 per cent. The spread of such diseases is encouraged by the stress of recreational hunting and by the high animal density in the remaining refuges.

Chamois and predators: the lynx as a natural regulator

The facts

The lynx regularly preys on chamois, especially in forested mountain areas. In regions with stable lynx populations, predation pressure on chamois can be noticeable locally. The recreational hunting lobby exploits this fact to portray the lynx as a threat to chamois populations and to demand its regulation or removal.

Putting it in context

The scientific evidence paints a more nuanced picture. KORA, the Swiss coordination centre for carnivore ecology, has documented predator-prey dynamics for years. The lynx influences chamois populations locally, but is not responsible for the large-scale decline. The main causes lie in climate change, habitat degradation and the cumulative pressure from recreational hunting and leisure disturbance. The lynx mainly takes weakened, sick or old chamois and kids, thus performing a sanitary function that strengthens the population as a whole. In areas where the lynx regulates chamois and roe deer, the protection forest benefits from reduced browsing damage, which is exactly the goal that recreational hunting claims for itself.

The demand to regulate the lynx in order to protect chamois populations is therefore ecologically untenable. It primarily serves the interests of recreational hunters, who see the lynx as a competitor for “their” prey, not the protection of the chamois.

More on this: Dossier: The lynx in Switzerland and Dossier: Hunting Myths

The chamois in the forest-wildlife conflict

As with the roe deer, the chamois is also accused of causing browsing damage in protection forests. In areas where chamois are pushed into the forest because they lose the open high-altitude zones to disturbance or climate change, browsing on young trees can increase. But here too the argument falls short: the chamois is not the problem; the problem is that its natural habitat above the tree line is shrinking due to leisure pressure and climate change. Recreational hunting itself contributes to driving chamois into the forest by chasing the animals out of the open terrain where they would naturally graze. The solution lies not in higher kill numbers, but in reducing disturbance, protecting quiet zones and promoting natural predators.

More on this: Dossier: Hunting and Biodiversity

Animal suffering in the high hunt

Hunting conditions in the mountains

From an animal welfare perspective, chamois hunting in the mountains is particularly problematic. Shooting distances are often extreme, light conditions change constantly and wind conditions are unpredictable. All of this increases the likelihood of missed shots and wounding. Recovering and following up a wounded animal on steep terrain is laborious and often impossible. Chamois that are wounded and flee into rock faces die there slowly over hours or days. The federal statistics record 20 chamois found dead with gunshot wounds in 2025, and 161 over the ten years from 2016 to 2025. Only animals that are actually found are counted (Swiss Hunting Statistics 2025).

Disturbance and stress

The high hunt lasts several weeks and creates constant hunting pressure in the affected areas. Chamois that are disturbed daily by recreational hunters abandon their established resting areas, shorten their feeding times and burn through energy reserves they would need for the coming winter. The disturbance affects not only the hunted animals but the entire mountain fauna, including golden eagles, ibex and ptarmigan.

More on this: Dossier: Hunting and Animal Welfare and Dossier: The high hunt in Switzerland

What needs to change

Adjusting kill figures to actual population trends: In regions where chamois populations are declining, recreational hunting must be stopped immediately. Kill quotas based on inaccurate counts and political compromises are not regulation but a threat to the population.
Large-scale wildlife quiet zones: Chamois need undisturbed winter habitats where they can balance their energy budget. Establishing binding wildlife quiet zones, including with regard to leisure users, is the most effective measure against the cumulative stress caused by recreational hunting, tourism and climate change.
Promoting the lynx as a natural regulator of chamois: The lynx regulates chamois populations in the forest more effectively and sustainably than any kill quota. Instead of fighting it as a competitor for 'their own prey', its role as a keystone species must be recognised and its spread encouraged.
Ending trophy-oriented buck hunting: The selective removal of the strongest bucks contradicts the principle of natural selection and distorts the age structure and genetic diversity of the population. Recreational hunting must move away from trophy thinking.
Professional wildlife management instead of the high hunt: Chamois regulation must be transferred to professional game wardens, who intervene in a targeted, planned way and with specialist expertise. The high hunt in its current form, a weeks-long traditional ritual with a massive disturbance effect, must be replaced by targeted individual removals.

Talking points

“Without recreational hunting, chamois populations would endanger the protection forest.” Recreational hunting itself drives chamois into the forest through constant disturbance, where they concentrate their browsing. In undisturbed areas, chamois stay predominantly above the treeline, where they naturally graze. The solution lies in reducing disturbance, not in higher kill figures. The lynx regulates chamois in the forest more effectively than recreational hunting does.

“The lynx endangers chamois populations and must be regulated.” KORA has documented for years that the lynx preys predominantly on weakened, sick or old chamois and kids, thereby performing a sanitary function. The main causes of the chamois decline are climate change, habitat deterioration and cumulative pressure from recreational hunting and leisure disturbance. The demand to regulate the lynx in order to “protect” chamois populations serves the interests of recreational hunters, not the protection of the chamois.

“The high hunt is tradition and part of Alpine culture.” Tradition is no argument against scientific evidence. The high hunt causes weeks of continuous disturbance in the most sensitive habitats of the Alps, with a high risk of missed shots in steep terrain, considerable animal suffering from wounding shots and negative effects on the entire mountain fauna. Professional wildlife management is not the destruction of culture, but an adaptation to the current state of science and ethics.

“Chamois populations are stable, there is no cause for concern.” Population estimates are based on counts in open terrain, which do not capture chamois in the forest. In the north-western Alps, populations have been declining for years. The nationwide figure of around 90,000 chamois is a sum of cantonal estimates. The claim of stability ignores regional differences and the cumulative effect of climate change, leisure pressure and recreational hunting.

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Our Standard

The chamois is an emblem of the Alps and one of the symbols of the Swiss mountain world. That it continues to be hunted on a massive scale despite regionally declining populations shows how strongly the interests of recreational hunting dominate wildlife policy. Research shows that the lynx regulates chamois in the forest more effectively than recreational hunting, that climate change is shrinking the chamois's habitat from above, and that the high hunt causes weeks of continuous disturbance in the most sensitive mountain habitats. A shift to professional wildlife management, wildlife quiet zones and natural predators is not radical, but an adaptation to the current state of science. This dossier is updated continuously as new figures, studies or political developments require.

More on the topic of recreational hunting: in our hunting dossier we bring together fact checks, analyses and background reports.