Fox Switzerland: the most hunted predator without a lobby
In Switzerland, around 19,000 red foxes are shot every year in small-game hunting; in 2025, according to Federal Hunting Statistics the figure was 19,208, plus 1,730 special culls. Most of them end up in the waste bin. For the fox, Switzerland has no kill quota planning, no quotas and no scientifically recognised need for population control. It is hunted almost all year round: through small-game hunting, wait hunting, earth hunting and, with special permits, even during the closed season. Under the Animal Welfare Act (Art. 26 TSchG), there must be a "reasonable ground" for killing an animal. For fox hunting, there is none that withstands scientific scrutiny.
What a contradiction: the animal that plays the most important role in Switzerland as a natural mouser, scavenger and regulator of disease is classified as "vermin" and serves recreational hunters as a living target. More than 30 years of wildlife-biology research consistently show that fox hunting does not regulate populations; it destabilises them. It is no use for disease control; quite the opposite. In Luxembourg, fox hunting has been banned since 2015: populations have remained stable, and the infection rate with the fox tapeworm has fallen from around 40 to around 10 per cent. In the canton of Geneva there has been no recreational hunting for over 50 years, without any "fox explosion", without epidemics, without chaos. JagdSchweiz itself wrote in 2011: "Wildlife populations fundamentally regulate themselves, even in our cultural landscape."
This dossier brings together the key facts about the fox in Switzerland: its ecological role as health police and mouse regulator, the scientific refutation of the hunting arguments, the political mechanisms that protect its senseless persecution, and the question of why a practice that is demonstrably counterproductive is being continued in the 21st century. Anyone wanting to delve deeper will find in our Dossier on hunting in Switzerland.
What awaits you here
- Biology and way of life: Who the red fox is, how it lives, and why, as a synanthropic species and master of adaptation, it has colonised every habitat in Switzerland.
- Ecological significance: Why the fox, as a mouse regulator, carrion recycler and health warden, does more for ecosystems than any recreational hunter.
- Compensatory reproduction: The scientific mechanism that explains why fox hunting leads to more foxes, and why Luxembourg, Geneva and the National Park prove it.
- Fox tapeworm, rabies, mange: How the recreational hunting lobby exploits fears of disease, and what the data actually show.
- Threats: Recreational hunting, earth hunting, night hunting, mistaken-identity kills, road traffic and the systematic dehumanisation of a fascinating predator.
- Luxembourg and Geneva: The success stories that refute the entire hunting narrative.
- Politics and lobby: How JagdSchweiz defends fox hunting, and why its arguments do not hold up.
- “Did you know?”: 25 facts about the fox that refute the hunting narrative.
- Alternatives: What works instead.
- What would need to change: Concrete political demands.
- Argumentation guide: Answers to the recreational hunting lobby's most common claims about the fox.
- Quick links: All relevant articles, studies and dossiers.
Biology and way of life: Europe's most adaptable predator
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) belongs to the dog family (Canidae) and is the most widespread land carnivore on Earth. In Switzerland it is the only native fox species. Adult animals reach a head-and-body length of 60 to 90 centimetres, a tail length (brush) of around 40 centimetres and a weight of 5 to 8 kilograms. The characteristic reddish-brown coat varies by region and season, and the tip of the tail is white. The fox can rotate its upright, triangular ears in almost any direction and so pinpoint sounds precisely.
Foxes are loners with a flexible social system. In rural areas a fox claims a territory of 100 to 350 hectares (in the Swiss Jura), in cities such as Zurich only around 30 hectares. Territories are marked with urine and faeces and defended against other foxes. This territorial system is a natural regulatory mechanism: vacated habitat is quickly reoccupied by other foxes, not through reproduction but through immigration.
The mating season (rutting season) falls in the winter months from December to March. The vixen is only receptive for two to three days in January or February. After a gestation period of around 50 to 63 days, she gives birth to an average of four to six cubs. In stable, unhunted populations, only the highest-ranking vixen of the family group reproduces. “Birth control instead of mass misery” was how the biologist Erik Zimen described this phenomenon. When the social structure is destroyed by hunting, almost all vixens reproduce, litter sizes rise, and the population makes up for its losses within a very short time.
The fox is a thoroughly opportunistic feeder. Its diet includes field voles (its staple food, around 80 per cent), fruit and berries, worms, insects, carrion, waste and occasionally birds or rabbits. Its daily food requirement is equivalent to roughly 15 to 20 mice. This dietary breadth makes it one of the most important natural regulators of mouse and rodent populations, with direct benefits for agriculture and health.
The natural life expectancy of a fox is up to eight years. In heavily hunted areas, 95 per cent of all foxes do not live beyond four years. In the Swiss National Park, where the fox is fully protected, the population has regulated itself stably for decades, none of its prey species has died out, and there are neither epidemics nor “population explosions”.
More on this: Animal cruelty: fox massacre in Switzerland and End fox hunting
Ecology: health warden, mouser and carrion consumer
The fox is a keystone species in ecological terms. Its functions in the ecosystem are manifold, measurable and cannot be replaced by any recreational hunting:
As a Mouse regulator the fox keeps populations of field voles, water voles and other small mammals in check. A single fox eats several thousand mice a year. This has direct effects on agriculture (fewer crop losses due to mice), on forestry (less root damage to young trees) and on human health: fewer mice mean fewer ticks, less Lyme disease, less hantavirus. Recent research shows that the fox is one of our most valuable allies in the fight against Lyme disease.
As a Carrion consumer the fox removes animal carcasses and thereby prevents the spread of disease. This role as a “health police officer” is often romanticised in hunting literature but undermined in hunting practice: anyone who shoots foxes eliminates precisely those animals that perform this function.
As a Seed disperser the fox carries seeds of berries and fruits in its droppings into new areas, thereby promoting plant diversity. This function, too, is ecologically documented and cannot be replaced by any hunting method.
The recreational hunting lobby argues that the fox must be “regulated” in order to protect ground-nesting birds and brown hares. The data fundamentally refute this: in Germany, around 10 million foxes were shot over ten years, and in the same period brown hare populations fell by half, pheasant populations by 75 per cent, and grey partridges almost disappeared entirely. The decline of these species is due to the destruction of habitats by intensive agriculture, not to the fox. Luxembourg's environment minister made it clear: “There is no scientific evidence that the fox hunting ban is responsible for the decline of certain bird species.”
More on this: Fox hunting without facts: How JagdSchweiz invents problems and Hunting and biodiversity: Does hunting really protect nature?
Compensatory reproduction: why fox hunting leads to more foxes
The central scientific argument against fox hunting is compensatory reproductive dynamics. It is not an isolated finding but one of the best-documented phenomena in population biology. More than 30 years of wildlife biology research consistently shows that fox hunting does not regulate (see, among others, Baker & Harris 2006, Rushton et al. 2006, Kämmerle et al. 2019). In 2025/26, the canton of Zug became the first canton to have the question independently examined: the expert report by SWILD (Kistler & Bontadina 2026) concludes that fox hunting does not sustainably regulate populations, does not improve disease control and is inferior to non-lethal methods. The Zug hunting commission subsequently decided to no longer actively promote.
The mechanism is clear: when foxes are decimated by recreational hunting, the population responds with a higher birth rate. In stable, unhunted populations, only the highest-ranking vixen breeds and litter sizes are small. As soon as hunting tears apart the social structure, nearly all vixens reproduce, litter sizes rise to three or four times as large, and foxes from neighbouring areas move into the vacated territories. Studies show that even after three quarters of a population has been killed, the same number of animals is back the following year.
Robert Brunold, president of the cantonal licence hunters' association of Grisons, said it openly: “Small-game hunting is not necessary, but justified. One could just as well ask whether it makes sense to gather berries and mushrooms in the forest!” Peter Juesy, former hunting inspector of the canton of Bern, put it more soberly: “From a wildlife-biology perspective, fox hunting makes no sense; it cannot regulate the population.”
What practical experience confirms:
In the Swiss National Park, foxes have not been hunted for over 100 years. The population is stable. None of its prey species has become extinct. There is no “fox explosion”.
In the canton of Geneva, there has been no recreational hunting since 1974. Here too there is no “fox explosion” and no epidemics; instead there is growing biodiversity and 30,000 overwintering waterbirds.
In Luxembourg, fox hunting has been banned since 2015. Camera-trap counts show a stable, unchanged population. The horror scenarios of the Luxembourg hunting association have not materialised.
In German national parks (Bavarian Forest, Berchtesgaden and others), fox hunting has been discontinued or severely restricted, with consistently positive results.
More on this: Why recreational hunting fails as population control and Luxembourg Extends Fox Hunting Ban
Fox tapeworm, rabies, mange: how fear keeps fox hunting alive
The recreational hunting lobby changes its justifications as soon as one is scientifically refuted. First it was rabies, then the fox tapeworm, then mange, then Lyme disease. The hunting practice stays the same; only the label changes.
Rabies: Terrestrial rabies has been considered eradicated in Switzerland since 1998. It was not defeated by shooting, but by vaccine baits. The Swiss Rabies Centre had already concluded that a reduction of fox populations by hunting was «evidently not possible, and hunting to combat rabies even counterproductive». Mass hunting had spread the disease rather than contained it, because it intensified dispersal movements and destroyed the social structure. The «rabies control» argument disappeared; fox hunting remained.
Fox tapeworm: The claim «fewer foxes = less fox tapeworm = less risk» sounds logical but has been refuted. A four-year French study from the Nancy area (Comte et al. 2017, Preventive Veterinary Medicine) showed that despite 776 additional foxes being killed, the population did not decline, and the infection rate rose from 40 to 55 per cent. In the neighbouring control area without additional hunting, it remained stable. In Luxembourg, the infection rate fell from around 40 to around 10 per cent after the fox hunting ban. Hunting destabilises territorial structures, increases dispersal movements and thereby promotes the spread of the parasite. According to an analysis published in 2025 in «The Lancet Infectious Diseases», around 70 people a year on average fall ill with fox tapeworm in Switzerland. The disease is rare, and fox hunting does not reduce the risk; it increases it.
Mange: Fox mange occurs equally in hunted and unhunted populations. Hunting pressure and the stress that comes with it weaken the animals' immune systems and increase their susceptibility to disease. The claim that fox hunting protects against mange is not supported epidemiologically.
Lyme disease: Here the argument is turned completely on its head: fewer foxes mean more mice, more mice mean more ticks, more ticks mean more Lyme disease and more hantavirus. In outbreak years, more than 1,500 people in Germany fall ill with hantavirus (Robert Koch Institute, 2019), many times the number of fox tapeworm cases. Anyone who shoots foxes harms the health of the population.
More on this: Hunting and Wildlife Diseases and Small game hunting and wildlife diseases
Threats: A life under permanent fire
The fox is not protected in Switzerland. It can be hunted, is hunted practically all year round, and its killing is subject to no official planning. That makes it fair game, an animal in a legal no man's land.
Small-game hunting: During the day, foxes are shot in most cantons as part of small-game hunting. There are no quotas and no kill numbers set by the authorities. The animals serve as living targets.
Wait hunting and night hunting: At night, recreational hunters sit at baiting sites (feeding stations) in and at the edge of the forest, waiting for the «vermin» that cantonal ordinances expressly permit to be hunted despite the supposed ban on night hunting. Whether in Zurich, Grisons, Solothurn or Aargau, the pattern repeats itself. Officially, the ban on night hunting in forests applies, but the exemptions for «vermin» systematically hollow it out.
Earth hunting: One of the cruellest hunting methods of all. Dogs that have been made aggressive are driven into fox and badger dens. The trapped animals suffer mortal fear, are bitten and hounded. Under Art. 4 of the Animal Welfare Act, it is prohibited to set dogs on other animals. Yet this is precisely what is legalised in fox hunting and practised thousands of times. 64 per cent of the Swiss population support a ban on earth hunting, and only 21 per cent want to keep it. This is shown by a representative survey by Demoscope commissioned by the Swiss Animal Protection STS (September 2017, 1,015 respondents; A ban on senseless fox hunting is long overdue).
Mistaken-identity shootings: Foxes are regularly mistaken for protected species, in particular wildcats, which are spreading again in Switzerland. The consequences for recreational hunters are minimal.
Road traffic: Around 7,000 foxes fall victim to traffic every year; in 2025, according to Federal Hunting Statistics 6,022 were killed on roads and 684 on railways. Hunting pressure increases movement and drives foxes into unfamiliar territory, including across roads.
Disposal instead of use: Most foxes that are shot are thrown away with the waste. They are not eaten, and their fur is usually not used. The 2025 JagdSchweiz position paper treats foxes as an «ownerless public thing» and as a raw material with a fluctuating fur price. Not as sentient individuals.
More on this: Foxes in permanent fear of death because of hunting and A ban on senseless fox hunting is long overdue
Luxembourg and Geneva: the success stories that refute the hunting narrative
Luxembourg and the canton of Geneva provide irrefutable practical proof that fox hunting is unnecessary.
Luxembourg: Since 1 April 2015, fox hunting has been banned, and the fox has been removed from the list of huntable species. Even after the change of government in 2023 (the Greens were ousted from the coalition), the ban was retained. The new environment minister Serge Willmes (CSV) confirmed: the data give no reason to lift the fox hunting ban. After more than ten years, the results are unambiguous: no rise in the fox population (stable according to wildlife camera monitoring), no collapse in hares or pheasants, no problems with rabies or fox tapeworm. On the contrary: the infection rate with fox tapeworm fell from around 40 per cent before the ban to around 10 per cent, as the Technical Report No. 8 of the Luxembourg Nature Administration (2020) shows. Luxembourg has thus empirically refuted the main argument of the recreational hunting lobby.
Canton of Geneva: Since 1974 there has been no recreational hunting. Wildlife management is carried out by professional game wardens. The fox is not hunted. Biodiversity has increased, and bird life has grown from a few hundred to 30,000 overwintering waterbirds. The cost of professional wildlife management is around 1.2 million francs per year, which equals one cup of coffee per resident (Geneva and the hunting ban).
National parks: In the Swiss National Park, the fox has not been hunted for over 100 years. The population is stable. German national parks (Bavarian Forest, Berchtesgaden) show the same picture: ending fox hunting without negative consequences.
The conclusion is uncomfortably clear: a permanent fox hunting ban is possible, does not lead to chaos and removes the foundation from the recreational hunting lobby's scare arguments. What has been established practice for years in Luxembourg, Geneva and numerous national parks can become reality across Switzerland.
More on this: Geneva and the hunting ban and How Switzerland Keeps Shooting Foxes at Night — and What Geneva Already Does Better
Politics and lobby: how JagdSchweiz defends fox hunting
On 20 November 2025, JagdSchweiz published a position paper on fox hunting. The gist: fox hunting is 'sensible and useful' and must 'absolutely be retained'. Criticism from nature and animal welfare organisations is dismissed as emotional and short on facts. A look at the structure of the paper reveals the pattern:
Foxes are treated as a «ownerless public thing» and as a raw material with a fluctuating fur price. What matters is hunting law, the hunting bag and the market, not the animal as a sentient individual. The position paper systematically ignores the experience of Luxembourg, Geneva and national parks where fox hunting is banned. It paints dramatic scenarios (population explosion, risk of disease, loss of species) that have not occurred in a single area where hunting is banned. And it conceals the official figures on hunting practice: in the canton of Grisons, the Office for Hunting and Fisheries recorded more than 1,000 fines and complaints against recreational hunters every year from 2012 to 2020; since 2021 the figures have no longer been published. And for 7,966 of the 19,208 foxes killed in 2025, the sex is recorded as «undetermined» in the Federal Hunting Statistics: the recreational hunters did not even note whether they had shot a vixen or a dog fox.
The position paper directly contradicts JagdSchweiz's own earlier statement. On 29 August 2011, JagdSchweiz wrote publicly: «Wildlife populations fundamentally regulate themselves, even in our cultivated landscape.» With that, the umbrella association of Swiss recreational hunters dismantled its own core argument in writing.
In 2020, the criminal court in Bellinzona confirmed with final effect that criticism of a culture of violence in the circles around JagdSchweiz cannot be deemed defamation. Politically, something is now moving: in the canton of Bern, a cross-party motion calls for fox management instead of fox hunting, the canton of Zug has curbed fox hunting following the SWILD report, and Basel-Stadt is considering abandoning it. Our campaign page shows the situation in every canton: End fox hunting. The fox-hunting narrative is a textbook example of how lobby interests produce political resistance to facts.
More on this: Fox hunting without facts: How JagdSchweiz invents problems and How hunting associations influence policy and the public
«Did you know?»: 25 facts about the fox that refute the hunting narrative
- Every year in Switzerland, around 19,000 foxes are shot in small-game hunting. Most end up in the bin.
- For fox hunting in Switzerland there is no kill planning, no quotas and no scientifically recognised reason for regulation.
- More than 30 years of wildlife biology research consistently show that fox hunting does not regulate populations and is of no use in combating disease. In 2026, the canton of Zug had this confirmed by SWILD.
- JagdSchweiz itself wrote in 2011: “Wildlife populations are fundamentally self-regulating, even in our cultural landscape.”
- In Luxembourg, fox hunting has been banned since 2015. Populations are stable, and the rate of fox tapeworm infestation fell from around 40 to around 10 per cent.
- In the canton of Geneva there has been no recreational hunting since 1974, without any “fox explosion”, without epidemics, and with rising biodiversity.
- In the Swiss National Park, foxes have not been hunted for over 100 years. The population is stable, and none of its prey species has gone extinct.
- In heavily hunted populations, almost all vixens reproduce and litter sizes rise to three to four times the normal figure: compensatory reproduction produces more foxes, not fewer.
- Terrestrial rabies was not defeated in Switzerland by kills but by vaccine baits. The Swiss rabies centre described fox hunting as a means of rabies control as “counterproductive”.
- A French study showed that intensive hunting raised the fox tapeworm infestation rate from 40 to 55 per cent, while in the control area without additional hunting it remained stable (Comte et al. 2017).
- A single fox eats several thousand mice every year. Fewer foxes mean more mice, more ticks, more Lyme disease and more hantavirus.
- In Germany, more than 1,500 people fall ill with hantavirus in outbreak years, many times the number of fox tapeworm cases.
- Around 80 per cent of a fox's diet consists of mice. The hunting justification of “protecting brown hares” is factually false, since foxes practically never catch healthy hares.
- In Germany, around 10 million foxes were shot over ten years, and brown hare populations fell by half over the same period.
- 64 per cent of the Swiss population support a ban on Earth hunting. Only 21 per cent want it to be retained.
- For 7,966 of the 19,208 foxes killed in 2025, the sex is recorded as “undetermined” in the Federal Hunting Statistics: the recreational hunters did not even record whether they had shot a vixen or a dog fox.
- The Earth hunting sets trained dogs on foxes and badgers in their dens, although the Animal Welfare Act prohibits setting dogs on other animals.
- In many cantons, recreational hunters receive special permits to kill foxes even during the closed season (1 March to 15 June, Art. 5 JSG), declared as “game management hunting”.
- Around 7,000 foxes are killed on Swiss roads and railways every year. Hunting pressure increases dispersal movements and with them the risk of accidents.
- The Swiss fox population is estimated at over 100,000 animals; with no kill quota whatsoever, almost a fifth of them are shot every year.
- In 2024, even under a new, conservative government, Luxembourg expressly confirmed its ban on fox hunting.
- In the ecosystem, the fox acts as a regulator of mice, a scavenger of carrion and a seed disperser – functions that no recreational hunter can replace.
- In the canton of Geneva, professional wildlife management costs around 1.2 million francs per year, one cup of coffee per resident.
- Urban foxes in Zurich, Basel, Lausanne and other cities live peacefully alongside people. Conflicts arise almost exclusively through feeding and littering.
- In 2020, the criminal court in Bellinzona confirmed with final effect that criticism of a culture of violence in the circles around JagdSchweiz cannot be classed as defamation.
Alternatives: what works instead
Fox hunting is not only unnecessary, it is counterproductive. What works instead is tried and tested and well documented:
Allowing natural self-regulation: Fox populations regulate themselves through food supply, territoriality, disease and social mechanisms. In stable populations, only the highest-ranking vixen breeds. Luxembourg, Geneva and the National Park have demonstrated this for years and decades.
Deworming baits instead of kills: Fox tapeworm is demonstrably controlled better by deworming baits (praziquantel) than by hunting. This method reduces infection rates in a targeted way, without destroying territorial structures or triggering dispersal movements.
Professional game wardens instead of an armed militia: Following the Geneva model, state-employed specialist staff carry out the few interventions that are necessary: transparently, in line with animal welfare, according to ecological criteria, without trophy logic and without any thrill-seeking.
Hygiene and prevention: Conflicts with urban foxes are better resolved through hygiene measures (closed waste bins, no feeding, protected chicken coops) than through kills, since vacated territories are immediately reoccupied.
Habitat protection and connectivity: Wildlife corridors and contiguous green spaces allow stable territorial structures and reduce conflicts with road traffic.
Monitoring by independent specialist bodies: Population surveys must be separated from the recreational hunting lobby. Whoever counts, hunts and engages in politics cannot at the same time deliver objective data.
More on this: Alternatives to recreational hunting and The game warden model: professional wildlife management with a code of honour
What needs to change
- An immediate ban on fox hunting in Switzerland: There is no reasonable justification for the mass killing of foxes. Luxembourg, Geneva and the National Park prove that a ban works. Fox hunting is a clear breach of Art. 26 of the Animal Welfare Act (TSchG). Template motion: Template texts for hunting-critical motions
- An immediate ban on earth hunting: Earth hunting cannot be justified under animal welfare law, is rejected by the majority of the population and is scientifically pointless. It must be banned under federal law.
- A ban on night hunting and special permits for hunting foxes: The cantonal exemptions that allow fox hunting during the closed season and at night must be abolished. The fox must not remain an animal in a legal no-man's-land.
- Separation of enforcement, population surveys and interest representation: The surveying and monitoring of fox populations must not be carried out by recreational hunting associations that have an economic interest in the continuation of hunting.
- Use of deworming baits instead of kills: The fight against the fox tapeworm must be switched to scientifically proven methods (praziquantel baits), not to a hunting practice that demonstrably aggravates the problem.
- A gradual transition to professional wildlife warden structures: Following the Geneva model, with cantonal pilot projects, transparent cost calculation and scientific evaluation.
Talking points
«Without fox hunting, populations will explode.» In Luxembourg, Geneva and the Swiss National Park there is no fox hunting and nowhere a “population explosion”. Fox populations regulate themselves through food supply, territoriality and social mechanisms. Hunting destroys these mechanisms and triggers compensatory reproduction. The argument is not only false but describes the exact opposite of biological reality: more fox hunting produces more foxes.
“Fox hunting protects against the fox tapeworm.” The infection rate in Luxembourg fell from around 40 to around 10 per cent after the hunting ban. A French study showed that intensive hunting raises the infection rate from 40 to 55 per cent. Hunting destabilises territorial structures and increases dispersal movements, precisely what promotes the spread of the parasite. Deworming baits are effective, not shotgun pellets.
«The fox is to blame for the decline of brown hares and ground-nesting birds.» In Germany, around 10 million foxes were shot over ten years, yet brown hare numbers fell by half, pheasants by 75 per cent, and grey partridges almost vanished. Luxembourg's environment minister confirmed: «There is no scientific evidence that the ban on fox hunting is responsible for the decline of bird species.» The cause is habitat loss through intensive agriculture, not the fox. Making the fox a scapegoat lets agricultural policy off the hook and legitimises recreational hunting.
«Earth hunting is necessary to control fox populations.» Earth hunting is the cruellest hunting method, rejected by 64 per cent of the population, problematic under animal welfare law (setting dogs on other animals is prohibited), and demonstrably regulates nothing. It serves the gratification of recreational hunters, not wildlife management.
«Urban foxes are a problem and must be hunted.» Urban foxes are synanthropic animals that have adapted to human habitats. Conflicts arise from feeding and littering, not from the fox. Hunting in towns and cities is impractical, dangerous and ineffective, because vacated territories are immediately reoccupied. The solution lies in hygiene, prevention and information, not in weapons.
«The fox is a pest and belongs among the huntable species.» The fox is a key ecological player: a regulator of mice, a scavenger, a seed disperser and the most important natural check on rodent populations. The term «pest» is a projection by hunters. In hunting jargon the fox is called «Raubzeug» (vermin), which shows crystal clear the primitive attitude of recreational hunters towards wild animals.
Quick links
Articles on Wild beim Wild:
- Animal cruelty: fox massacre in Switzerland
- End fox hunting
- Fox hunting is organised animal cruelty
- Fox hunting is legalised gang violence
- Foxes in permanent fear of death because of hunting
- A ban on senseless fox hunting is long overdue
- How Switzerland Keeps Shooting Foxes at Night — and What Geneva Already Does Better
- Luxembourg Extends Fox Hunting Ban
- France and the fox: how a neighbouring country exposes hunting myths
- Small game hunting and wildlife diseases
- Hunting in Bern: stop the fox and badger massacre
- Campaign «End fox hunting»: status in the cantons and template letter
- Canton of Zug: Authorities Curb Fox Hunting After Study
- Fox management instead of fox hunting: Bern motion calls for a replacement
- Hunting statistics 2000 to 2025: half as many foxes killed
- Swiss Hunting Statistics 2025
- Hunting Fact Check
Related dossiers:
- The golden jackal in Switzerland: A natural immigrant under political pressure
- The otter in Switzerland: Exterminated, returned and politically threatened
- Brown bear Switzerland: Returned and still unwelcome
- Wildcat Switzerland: Back, but threatened
- Lynx in Switzerland: Key Species and Political Subject of Controversy
- Fox Switzerland: the most hunted predator without a lobby
- Wolf: ecological function and political reality
- Wolf in Europe: Politics and recreational hunting versus species protection
- Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Kills and Politics
- Valais wolf balance sheet: figures of a massacre
- Fox hunting without facts: How JagdSchweiz invents problems
- Herd Protection In Switzerland: What Works And What Fails
- Regulate recreational hunters, not predators
- Self-regulation of wildlife populations: Scientific evidence from Geneva, the National Park and international comparison
Our Standard
Fox hunting is the most thoroughly refuted hunting practice in Europe. No other wild animal is killed in such vast numbers, so systematically dehumanised and so stubbornly defended with arguments that have been empirically disproved in every fox-hunting-free region of the world. The fox is not a pest. It is a keystone ecological actor, a fascinating synanthropic species and a sentient individual with family structures, social behaviour and the capacity to suffer.
IG Wild beim Wild documents this reality with figures, studies, case reports and policy analyses. We do so because the 19,000 foxes killed each year in Switzerland have no voice. And because a practice that is scientifically refuted, questionable under animal welfare law and rejected by a majority of society cannot be legitimised by tradition or lobbying pressure. This dossier is updated continuously whenever new studies, figures or political developments require it.
More on the topic of recreational hunting: in our hunting dossier we bring together fact checks, analyses and background reports.






