Pine marten Switzerland: Shy forest dweller under hunting pressure

The pine marten is one of the most secretive and rarest members of the marten family in Switzerland. It lives exclusively in forests, avoids human settlements and reacts with great sensitivity to the fragmentation of its habitat. Despite its low population density, it continues to be hunted in many cantons. In 2025, recreational hunters shot 132 pine martens according to the Federal Hunting Statistics, and a further 7 were killed in special culls (Swiss Hunting Statistics 2025). BirdLife Switzerland comments: «It is difficult to understand why 146 of these elusive pine martens are being shot.»

Profile

The pine marten (Martes martes), also known as the noble marten, belongs to the family of martens (Mustelidae) and is a comparatively small predator, about the size of a small domestic cat. Its head-and-body length is 40 to 58 centimetres, and its bushy tail measures a further 16 to 28 centimetres. Adult animals weigh between 0.8 and 1.8 kilograms, with males (dogs) generally 10 to 15 per cent heavier than females (bitches). Its fur is chestnut to dark brown, silky and glossy, and noticeably finer than that of the stone marten. The most striking distinguishing feature is the throat patch: in the pine marten it is yellowish to orange and rounded at its lower edge, whereas in the stone marten it is white and forked. The furred soles of the feet also distinguish the pine marten from the stone marten, whose soles are bare.

Biology and Way of Life

The pine marten is a solitary animal and mainly active at dusk and at night. It is an outstanding climber, able to leap up to 4 metres between trees and to rotate its hind legs through 180 degrees while doing so (Wikipedia, Baummarder). Its bushy tail serves as a balancing organ. By day it rests in tree hollows, abandoned squirrel dreys, woodpecker holes or birds-of-prey nests, changing its sleeping places daily (Waldwissen.net, Baummarder im Kanton Luzern).

The pine marten displays pronounced territorial behaviour. Its territories are exceptionally large, at up to 30 square kilometres. In the Swiss Jura, the population density is only 0.1 to 0.8 individuals per square kilometre (Stadtwildtiere Schweiz). This extremely low density makes the pine marten one of the rarest mammals in Swiss forests. The territories of males overlap with those of several females, but are rigorously marked with glandular secretions and defended against others of the same sex.

Reproduction

The mating season falls between June and August. Like the badger and the roe deer, the pine marten also exhibits delayed implantation: the fertilised egg only implants in the uterus after a delay of several months, so that the young are not born until the following April. The female usually gives birth to 2 to 4, rarely up to 6, young. The pups are born blind and barely furred. After around 8 weeks they leave the nest for the first time, and they become independent at 12 to 16 weeks. Sexual maturity is reached at around 14 months, yet many pine martens do not reproduce for the first time until their third year of life. Life expectancy in the wild rarely exceeds 10 years; in captivity, pine martens can reach up to 16 years of age.

Slow reproduction, late sexual maturity and large territories make the pine marten particularly vulnerable to population collapses. Every kill weighs heavily.

Habitat: old forests, no compromises

A true forest dweller

The pine marten is a pronounced forest dweller and, unlike the stone marten, consistently avoids the vicinity of human settlements (Waldwissen.net, Nationalpark Donau-Auen). It prefers old, continuous deciduous and mixed forests with a well-developed shrub layer and a high proportion of old-growth stands. Tree hollows are essential to it: as a daytime hideout, as a place to raise its young and as shelter from the weather. Forests without old trees rich in hollows are unsuitable for the pine marten.

In Switzerland, the pine marten is found in most forests up to the tree line, though it is rare at altitudes above 2,000 metres. In the canton of Lucerne, records are concentrated in regions with large, contiguous forest complexes such as the Entlebuch and the Upper Wigger Valley (Waldwissen.net, Pine marten in the canton of Lucerne). It is largely absent from areas with fragmented woodland and farmland with little cover.

Sensitivity to fragmentation

Of all native mustelids, the pine marten is the most sensitive to obstacles in its habitat. Buildings, roads, channelled watercourses and open terrain with little cover are barriers that it finds hard to cross (Waldwissen.net, Pine marten in the canton of Lucerne). The growing fragmentation of Swiss forests by infrastructure and urban sprawl therefore hits the pine marten particularly hard. While the adaptable stone marten can survive in attics and garages, the pine marten depends on intact forest landscapes.

Apart from recreational hunting, the most common cause of death is road traffic, especially on forest roads. Young pine martens that cross the edge of the forest in search of a territory of their own are particularly at risk.

Hunting: an anachronism without justification

Legal situation

Under the Federal Act on Hunting (JSG, Art. 5 para. 1 let. k), the pine marten (called the "Edelmarder" in the legislation) is a huntable species and is classed as small game. Under federal law, a closed season applies from 16 February to 31 August. The cantons may extend the closed season or remove the pine marten from the list of huntable species altogether (Art. 5 para. 4 JSG). According to Waldwissen.net (Pine marten in the canton of Lucerne, 2005), it was protected in the cantons of Aargau, Appenzell Outer Rhodes, Basel-Landschaft, Geneva, Schaffhausen, Ticino, Thurgau and Zurich. The Federal Hunting Statistics record not a single pine marten shot between 2016 and 2025 in 13 cantons (Aargau, both Appenzells, both Basels, Geneva, Neuchatel, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Ticino, Thurgau, Uri and Zurich). It is shot mainly in Grisons, Lucerne, Bern, Obwalden and Valais; in Grisons and Valais, the marten hunt runs until 15 February in 2026/27 (small game hunting 2026). Under the Hunting Ordinance, snares, poison and traps are prohibited, with the exception of box traps for live capture (Art. 2 para. 1 JSV).

The scale of the killing

According to the Federal Hunting Statistics, between 73 and 224 pine martens were shot in Switzerland every year from 2016 to 2025; in 2025 the figure was 132, most of them in Grisons (37), Lucerne (33), Bern (14) and Obwalden (14). For 2006 the statistics record 64 kills, and for 2005 130 (Swiss Hunting Statistics 2025). BirdLife Switzerland cited 146 kills for a later year and commented that it was 'hard to understand' why these secretive animals were being shot (BirdLife Switzerland, hunting statistics). The BUWAL (predecessor of the FOEN) warned as early as 2004 that the falling number of pine martens shot suggested a decline in the species (BUWAL press release, 2004).

To this must be added animals found dead: in 2025 the Federal Hunting Statistics list 209 pine martens as fallen game. The cause of death is almost never recorded; road traffic is noted for only 2 animals. Because of the similarity to the stone marten, misidentifications in the records cannot be ruled out either.

No reason to hunt it

Unlike the stone marten, the pine marten causes no damage to buildings, vehicles or agricultural crops. It lives exclusively in woodland and hardly ever comes into conflict with human interests. There is no 'wildlife damage' that could be cited as a justification for hunting it. The pine marten is shot because it is listed as huntable in federal law and happens to be in a recreational hunter's hunting ground. There is no reasonable ground within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act (TSchG, Art. 4).

The name 'noble marten' points to the historical motivation for hunting it: its dense, silky fur was formerly more prized than that of the stone marten and was used in the fur trade. Hunting for fur made the species rare in some areas (Wikipedia, pine marten). The fact that recreational hunters still hunt the pine marten today, even though its fur has no economic value any more and it causes no damage whatsoever, shows the absurdity of hunting legislation that permits kills without purpose.

More on this: Animal welfare problem: wild animals suffer agonising deaths because of recreational hunters

Ecological importance: mouse hunter and seed disperser

Regulation of small mammals

The pine marten's main diet consists of voles, bank voles, yellow-necked mice and other small mammals (Donau-Auen National Park). It also preys on squirrels, birds and their eggs, insects, amphibians and snails. In late summer and autumn, berries, fruit and nuts play an important part in its diet. Rowan berries, rosehips, raspberries and blackberries are eaten regularly. In autumn the pine marten also lays down food stores for the winter.

As a regulator of mouse populations in the forest, the pine marten performs an important ecological function. In mast years of beech and oak, voles and bank voles can multiply explosively and cause considerable damage to forest regeneration through browsing damage and bark stripping. The pine marten keeps these populations naturally in check. As with the badger and the fox, its ecological benefit is not accounted for in any cantonal hunting planning.

Seed dispersal

Thanks to the high proportion of berries and fruit in its diet, the pine marten contributes to the dispersal of plant seeds. Because it roams large territories and deposits seeds in its droppings at varying locations, it links plant populations over long distances. This service is important for forest biodiversity, yet it is ignored in the hunting debate.

The pine marten compared with the stone marten: why the distinction matters

In the public mind, pine martens and stone martens are often confused or treated as one and the same. The differences, however, are fundamental. The stone marten (Martes foina) is an adaptable species that thrives alongside humans, living in attics, barns and even the engine compartments of cars. It causes damage to vehicles and buildings and is therefore a source of conflict near settlements. The pine marten, by contrast, consistently avoids human settlements and does not come into conflict with human interests.

That both species are equally classed as huntable under federal law is not justified from a wildlife-biology perspective. The risk of confusion also means that pine martens are shot under the pretext of "marten hunting", even though the actual conflict concerns only the stone marten. Several cantons already refrain from hunting it altogether. The remaining cantons should follow suit.

More on this: Why recreational hunting fails as population control

What needs to change

Nationwide protection of the pine marten: The pine marten causes no damage, lives exclusively in the forest and does not come into conflict with human interests. What several cantons have already implemented must be enshrined in federal law. The pine marten should be removed from the list of huntable species.
Protection of old-growth forest stands and cavity trees: The pine marten depends on tree cavities. Stands of old timber and cavity trees must be recognised in all cantons as structures worthy of protection and spared from felling. Near-natural forest management must explicitly take into account the needs of cavity-dwelling species.
Connecting forest areas: The pine marten reacts more sensitively to the fragmentation of its habitat than any other native marten species. Wildlife corridors, hedgerow strips and permeable forest-edge structures must be preserved and expanded. The planning of new infrastructure must ensure permeability for forest-dwelling species.
Reducing road mortality: Forest roads are a significant source of danger for the pine marten. Speed limits on forest roads and small-animal underpasses on cantonal roads in wooded areas can reduce losses.
Research and monitoring: There are no reliable population figures for the pine marten in Switzerland. The existing data are based on kill figures and chance observations. A national monitoring programme using camera traps and genetic analyses is a prerequisite for an evidence-based protection strategy.
Separating pine marten and stone marten in hunting legislation: As long as both species are listed as huntable in the same article of the act, pine martens are shot along with stone martens under the pretext of stone marten hunting. The two species must be clearly separated in hunting law.

Talking points

“The pine marten is not endangered and can therefore be hunted.” The fact that a species is not considered endangered at global level (IUCN: Least Concern) says nothing about its local situation. In Switzerland, the pine marten's population density is extremely low: 0.1 to 0.8 individuals per square kilometre in the Jura. As early as 2004, the BUWAL (the then Federal Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape) warned of a suspected decline. That a species is not officially endangered does not mean that hunting it is sensible or necessary. There is no reasonable justification for killing it.

“The pine marten belongs to small-game hunting, and hunting it is tradition.” Hunting the pine marten as small game historically served a single purpose: fur production. That use has been obsolete for decades. Recreational hunting without any use of the animal and without any damage prevention fulfils no reasonable ground within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act. The tradition of fur hunting is no argument for continuing a pointless killing.

“The pine marten does not regulate itself and must be hunted.” The pine marten regulates itself through its territoriality and the availability of food. Its large territories naturally limit population density. One cannot speak of “overpopulation” in a species with fewer than one individual per square kilometre. In the 13 cantons in which not a single pine marten has been shot since 2016, no overpopulation has been documented.

“Pine martens and stone martens cannot be told apart during recreational hunting.” The two species can be clearly distinguished by the throat patch (yellow-orange vs. white) and the soles of the feet (furred vs. bare). If recreational hunters cannot tell the two species apart, that is not an argument for hunting the pine marten, but one against the competence of those pulling the trigger. In case of doubt, the rule is: do not shoot. The pine marten also lives in woodland and not near settlements. Where recreational hunting of the stone marten takes place, the pine marten is generally not to be found.

“The pine marten preys on ground-nesting birds and squirrels and must therefore be controlled.” The pine marten is a natural component of the forest ecosystem, and its choice of prey is part of a balance that has been established over millennia. That a predator catches prey animals is no argument for hunting it, but an expression of functioning ecological processes. The notion that recreational hunters must protect “useful” animals from “harmful” ones is outdated and unethical. The pine marten does not decimate species; it regulates populations.

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sources

Federal Hunting Statistics, BAFU/Wildtier Schweiz: http://www.jagdstatistik.ch (kills, special kills and fallen game 1995–2025 by canton, queried on 21.10.2026)
BUWAL press release (2004): Hunting statistics 2003, note on the suspected decline of the pine marten
BirdLife Switzerland: The Current Hunting Statistics and the Revised Hunting Act (birdlife.ch)
Waldwissen.net/WSL: The pine marten in the canton of Lucerne (Holzgang/Muggli, 2005, updated)
Stadtwildtiere Schweiz/Wilde Nachbarn: Species profile pine marten (stadtwildtiere.ch)
Nationalpark Donau-Auen: Pine marten (donauauen.at)
Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz: Pine marten (wald.rlp.de)
Wikipedia: Pine marten (Martes martes)
IG Wild beim Wild (2025/2026): Hunting statistics Switzerland 2025; Small-game hunting 2026; Fox massacre in Switzerland (wildbeimwild.com)
Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (JSG, SR 922.0) and Hunting Ordinance (JSV, SR 922.01), as at 1 February 2025
Animal Welfare Act (TSchG, SR 455)

Our Standard

The pine marten is a phantom of the Swiss forest. Most people have never seen one. It lives in the treetops, hunts at dusk and vanishes silently before anyone notices it. It causes no damage, conflicts with no human interest and, as a hunter of mice and a disperser of seeds, plays an important role in the forest ecosystem. Yet it is hunted in many Swiss cantons, for no reason, to no purpose, and without any use of the carcass. Its silky fur, which earned it the name “noble marten”, was once its undoing. Today it is simply the fact that it is listed as huntable in federal law. The conclusion is clear: the pine marten must be protected throughout Switzerland. What several cantons have already put into practice must no longer be treated under federal law as a matter of cantonal goodwill. This dossier is updated continuously as new figures, studies or political developments require.

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