The hunting license

The hunting license is known as a hunting permit in Switzerland, a hunting card in Austria, and a hunting license or hunting permit in Germany and elsewhere. Officially, it authorizes the holder to engage in recreational hunting. Colloquially, however, it has long been used in German as a metaphor for something quite different: mental incapacity. Someone who "has the hunting license" is colloquially considered ripe for psychiatric commitment. This double meaning is no accident. It reveals something about the relationship that society and language have developed with hunting practices – and it sits at the heart of a current, scientifically grounded debate about hunting motivation, self-presentation, and social perception.

What awaits you here

The idiom and its origin. Why "having a hunting license" has long meant mental incapacity in German, what this reveals about the social perception of hobby hunting, and why even hunting association presidents describe hobby hunting as a "disease".
What science says about hunting motivation. What motives lie behind recreational hunting, why control, status and the search for excitement play a relevant role alongside nature and tradition, and why hobby hunters do not exhibit a greater connection to nature than non-hunters.
Images of hunters and society. What a representative study with over 1,000 respondents from Generation Z shows: 96 to 98 percent negative reactions to images of hunters, and why the German Hunting Association presented these results itself.
When language reveals attitudes. Why the linguistic history surrounding the hunting license consistently links exceptional status, breach of norms, and loss of control with hobby hunting, and what this means in socio-political terms.
What this means for the debate. Which four areas together paint a clear picture: institutionally promoted motives, socially rejected self-presentation, critical everyday language, and research findings on hunting motivation.
What needs to change. Concrete political demands for transparency, regulation, and societal reassessment.
Argumentation. Answers to the most common justifications for hobby hunting in the psychology and motivation debate.
Quick links. All relevant articles, studies and dossiers at a glance.

The idiom and its origin

According to Wikipedia, the idiom "to have a hunting license" means that an incapacitated person, analogous to a hunter, possesses an imaginary "carte blanche" that allows them to do things with impunity that are forbidden to others. A hunter is allowed to kill within their hunting grounds, something forbidden to others. Someone who "has a hunting license" acts outside of societal norms – and thus means they can get away with it.

The phrase is "very unpleasant," as users in forums note—it carries the connotation of stigmatizing mental illness. At the same time, it reveals the image of hunting that has become entrenched in everyday language: not "nature conservation" or "game management," but rather an exceptional status, impulsiveness, and a disregard for norms. This is culturally revealing—not as a judgment on individual hunters, but as a reflection of societal perceptions.

Tarzisius Caviezel, long-time president of the hunting association in the canton of Graubünden, humorously addressed this perception himself, describing hunting as a "disease" from which he could not be cured. His favorite quote: "There is never so much lying as before an election, during a war, and after a hunt." The quote is attributed to Otto von Bismarck. That a hunting association president uses it is not self-criticism—but it says something about the inner workings of a hunting culture that sees itself as an exceptional world.

More on this topic: Psychology of hobby hunters: Motives between tradition, power and longing for nature and Hobby hunters on the psychological seesaw

What science says about hunting motivation

Why do people hunt in a society where hunting is no longer a survival strategy? Günter Kühnle's dissertation (University of Trier, 2004) describes hunting motivation as a culture-specific, fundamental drive that generates hunting motivation through mind-brain interaction. Because this "hunting spirit" resides in the subconscious, hunters are often unable to fully explain to themselves what drives them to hunt. This is a hypothesis, not a diagnosis—but it explains why self-reported motives from recreational hunters ("nature," "tradition," "regulation") don't necessarily reflect the entire psychological picture.

Studies on hunting motivation consistently show that motives such as control, status, the search for excitement, and social identity play a significant role, alongside a connection to nature and tradition. Further research suggests that recreational hunters do not exhibit a greater connection to nature than non-hunters and tend to be more critical of animal welfare and environmental protection issues. This refutes the self-image of the hunting lobby – and it can be demonstrated without pathologizing individual hunters. It's about structural patterns, not individual diagnoses.

Images of hunters and society: What research shows

The social tension surrounding hunting psychology is nowhere more visible than in photos of hunters: pictures in which amateur hunters pose next to killed animals, often with a weapon, in a dominant posture.

A representative master's thesis by Christine Fischer (MBA Digital Business, FH Burgenland, 2024) was the first to scientifically investigate this question: 1050 respondents from Generation Z – who grew up with social media – were confronted with such images. The results are clear:

Between 96.1 and 98.5 percent of all image reviews were negative.
Only 1.5 to 3.9 percent of the responses were positive.
Terms like "contempt", "trophy-obsessed", and "lacking empathy" increased sharply after viewing the images.

The author summarizes: "Images of hunters on social media harbor considerable potential for conflict and can negatively influence the public image of hunting." This finding is particularly relevant because it does not originate from an animal welfare organization, but rather from communication research closely related to hunting. It was presented by the German Hunting Association in an online lecture series in April 2025.

The social impact of hunting images is no longer a matter of opinion, but empirically proven. Dominant poses over slain animals, weapon in hand, trophy in the foreground: this is the visual language that defines hunting in the public perception – and that every Gen Z user sees on TikTok and Instagram.

More on this topic: Images of hunters: Double standards, dignity and the blind spot of recreational hunting and Regulating images of hunters: Protecting animal dignity beyond death (model initiative)

When language reveals attitude: The "small hunting license"

In criminal slang, "the small hunting license" refers to someone who does without official authorization what others are only allowed to do with a license. Colloquially, it's a form of self-empowerment outside of societal rules. This image captures something structural about recreational hunting: it's one of the few legal leisure activities where the killing of living beings is institutionally normalized and access is regulated not by necessity, but by obtaining a permit.

When language is so consistently associated with the exclusion of norms – a license to break rules, exceptional status, impunity for norm violations – this is a finding of socio-political interest. Not as a pathologization, but as a question: What social function does hunting fulfill when it is described by its own proponents as a "disease" and a "field of lies"?

What this means for the debate

The debate about hunting psychology is most effectively conducted not through individual pathologies, but through systemic issues:

Which motives are institutionally promoted? Territorial rights, trophy preservation, shooting statistics as a social currency mechanism.
What images does the hunting lobby communicate? Photos of hunters as a self-presentation tool on social media, which empirically demonstrably generate rejection.
What kind of language has society developed? One that links hunting with exceptional status, loss of control, and breaking norms.
What does research say about motivation? That a connection to nature is not a statistically dominant hunting motive.

These four areas together paint a clear picture: not of an individual psychological defect, but of a cultural framework that favors certain motives, normalizes certain self-presentations, and is increasingly viewed critically by society.

What would need to change

First: Regulation of images of hunters in public media. 96 to 98 percent of Generation Z react negatively to images of hunters. Dominant poses over killed animals on social media normalize recreational violence against animals and violate animal dignity. Cantons should regulate the public display of images of hunters in digital media from an animal welfare perspective. A model proposal has been submitted.

Secondly: Ethics and reflective competence as mandatory components of the hunting examination. Swiss hunting training tests weapons handling and species identification, but not ethical reflection skills, an examination of hunting motivations, or an understanding of social criticism. Cantons should introduce a mandatory training module on animal ethics, hunting motivations, and social responsibility, which would be assessed by an independent body.

Thirdly: Periodic psychological aptitude tests for hunting license holders. Hunting licenses in Switzerland are granted for life. There is no periodic review of psychological aptitude, eyesight, or shooting skills. Cantons should introduce a mandatory aptitude test every five years, similar to other areas involving firearms in public spaces.

Fourth: Independent research on hunting motivation in Switzerland. The available research on hunting psychology comes predominantly from Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia. Switzerland needs its own independent studies on hunting motivation, societal perceptions, and the psychological patterns of recreational hunters, financed by public funds and not by the hunting community.

Fifth: Transparency regarding hunting motivations in public discourse. The hunting lobby communicates "nature conservation," "wildlife management," and "tradition" as primary hunting motives. Research shows that control, status, and the search for excitement are also relevant motives. Media outlets and public authorities should consider these research findings in their reporting on recreational hunting, instead of uncritically adopting the lobby's self-portrayal.

More on this topic: Sample texts for motions critical of hunting in cantonal parliaments and hunters: role, power, training and criticism

Argumentation

"The dossier pathologizes recreational hunters and portrays them as mentally ill." This dossier does not portray anyone as mentally ill. It analyzes structural motives, societal perceptions, and research findings. The phrase "to have a hunting license" does not originate from animal welfare but from everyday German language. That a hunting association president describes recreational hunting as an "illness" is a self-description, not an attribution from others. Anyone who confuses structural analysis with pathologization is avoiding the debate.

“Hunting is about a connection to nature and tradition. Period.” Research consistently shows that recreational hunters do not have a greater connection to nature than non-hunters and tend to be more critical of animal and environmental protection issues. Control, status, and the search for excitement demonstrably play a role alongside nature and tradition. This is not an attack on individual recreational hunters. It is a finding that puts the hunting lobby's self-image into perspective.

"The study on hunter photos is not representative or originates from an anti-hunting source." The study by Christine Fischer (2024) is an MBA thesis from the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland with 1,050 respondents from Generation Z, methodologically designed to be representative. It originates from the hunting-related communications sector and was presented by the German Hunting Association in April 2025. The results are unequivocal: 96 to 98 percent negative reactions to hunter photos. The source is the hunting lobby itself.

"Language proves nothing. Idioms become outdated." Language stores social experiences for decades. The fact that "having a hunting license" is so consistently associated with exceptional status, breaking norms, and loss of control is a cultural finding that aligns with empirical research on the social perception of recreational hunting. Idioms only become outdated when the reality they describe changes.

"Hobby hunters hunt because they love animals and want to preserve nature." Those who love an animal don't kill it for leisure. Love that ends in killing isn't love, but a misinterpretation. Nature conservation demonstrably works without recreational hunting: The Canton of Geneva has shown since 1974 that professional wildlife management without recreational hunting performs better ecologically than licensed hunting.

"This debate is damaging public understanding of wildlife management." Quite the opposite is true. A public understanding that distinguishes between professional wildlife management and recreational hunting is essential for an objective debate. Those who fear this distinction benefit from the fact that the two are often confused.

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Our claim

The use of the hunting license as an idiom is no coincidence. Language is inert – it stores social experiences for decades before it changes. The fact that "having a hunting license" in German is so consistently associated with exceptional status, breaking norms, and loss of control is a collective observation. It doesn't mean that all hobby hunters are mentally unfit. It reveals the image that has stuck in the public consciousness

Christine Fischer's 2024 study of hunting photos empirically confirms this for the younger generation: 96 to 98 percent negative reactions, a sharp increase in terms like "contempt" and "lack of empathy"—and this in a study originating from the hunting-related communication sector, not from animal welfare. The hunting lobby is therefore aware of the effect it is creating. It has had it scientifically measured. And it presented the results to the German Hunting Association in 2025.

What remains: The self-presentation of recreational hunting – photos of the successful hunter, trophy poses, displays of dominance over killed animals – generates societal disapproval. The language used about hunting reflects a lack of accountability and an exceptional justification. Research on hunting motivation shows that a connection to nature is statistically not the dominant motive. These three findings together are not a pathologizing of individuals – they are a sober assessment of what recreational hunting means in the public perception.

A society that takes this reflection seriously draws one conclusion: not outrage, but transformation.

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