Wolf massacre: Is a lynx scandal now looming?

Following the controversial wolf massacre, National Councillor and fox-clubber Lorenz Hess is calling for an assessment of the lynx population in Switzerland.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 4 May 2024

Hobby hunter Hess wants to regulate the lynx

Back in 2020, hobby hunter Lorenz Hess sought, during the parliamentary debate on the ill-conceived hunting law, to have the lynx added to the list of species subject to preventive regulation, alongside beaver, grey heron and goosander.

These wild animals could then have been shot without having caused any damage.

The Centre Party politician Lorenz Hess also advocates strengthening the domestic fur market through the senseless fox hunt — entrenching this form of animal cruelty in Switzerland. He himself is most fond of clubbing foxes over the head without cause. “Hunting animals means respecting animals” or “A little of what you fancy always goes” is the hobby hunter’s motto. Die Weltwoche ran the headline at the time: Militant BDP National Councillor Lorenz Hess on a psychopathic fox hunt without legal mandate.

Rösti supports the motion

Environment Minister Albert Rösti supports the motion put forward by the hobby hunter, with the aim of creating a basis for regional regulations, including the possibility of shooting lynxes that cause damage to livestock or hunting resources.

Hess today emphasises in an article in Blick concerns about the growing lynx population, which could lead to problems such as inbreeding and reductions in local roe deer and chamois populations.

What concerns the hobby hunter even more is “what it means for biodiversity when an artificially introduced species displaces native species”. Exactly what — and whom — might he mean by that? It is always hobby hunters who exterminate animal species or shoot the natural balance out of equilibrium. No animal species has ever wiped out another.

The lynx became extinct in Switzerland during the 19th century. The last historical sighting occurred in 1904 at the Simplon Pass. The lynx was hunted by every means available.

Many hobby hunters, such as Lorenz Hess, are overwhelmed by the most basic connections and have great difficulty placing this in the correct mental context.

There are no “hobby hunters” in Switzerland and therefore this term does not exist in Switzerland either.
Hobby hunter Lorenz Hess, 28.9.2021

Reintroduction since 1971

With the reforestation of woodlands and the return of wild cloven-hoofed animals in the 20th century, the ecological conditions for a reintroduction were in place. In 1967, the Federal Council passed a corresponding resolution. In 1971, the first pairs of lynx from the Carpathians were released in the canton of Obwalden. Further releases took place in the Jura.

Since then, two lynx populations have developed in Switzerland, in the Jura and in the Northwestern Alps. From there, individual lynx are periodically relocated in order to promote the spread of the species throughout the Alpine region, thereby strengthening genetic diversity and biodiversity and preventing inbreeding.

Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting

Natural disaster: hobby hunters

In the disarray in which nature finds itself after decades of stewardship and management by hobby hunters, the proportion of endangered species is greater than in any other country in the world — and Switzerland leads this grim ranking. These contract killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape for decades, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, disease, agricultural damage, and much more). Over a third of plant, wildlife and fungal species are considered endangered. In terms of designating protected areas for biodiversity, Switzerland also ranks last in Europe. It is precisely these circles of hobby hunters, through their lobbying efforts in politics, media and legislation, who have been responsible for this situation for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly resist more national parks in Switzerland because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species protection or animal welfare, but rather the pursuit of their perverse, blood-soaked hobby.

Did you know …

that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are being liquidated?
that hobby hunters in the Assessment of venison quality lie and that processed game meat, according to the WHO, is carcinogenic like cigarettes, asbestos or arsenic?
that according to a study, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, due to the ammunition used by hobby hunters?
that the fair chase ethics of hobby hunters diametrically contradicts animal protection law and is nothing but a mirage?
that hunting is war where animal competitors are simply liquidated?
that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting blinds in our natural spaces, some so rotten that they pose a danger to children and can cause people to lose their lives?
that year after year countless people are killed or injured by hunters' weapons, in some cases so severely that they end up in wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
that in Switzerland approximately 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed each year, mostly without purpose?
that because of hobby hunters it has today become nearly impossible to live in harmony with wildlife or to observe wild animals at all?
that shotgun blasts make hares scream like small children and tear apart the entrails of “shot” roe deer and red deer so that they leave a trail of blood for trackers to follow?
that the claim by hobby hunters that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations has been scientifically refuted?
that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “pleasure of killing” and “the joy of making a kill,” a pathological obsession?
that hobby hunters have no sixth sense and yet regularly claim they only shoot sick and weak animals, which in practice is simply not true?
that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far removed from any species protection or hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel operators catering to such mindless hunting pleasures?
that the overwhelming majority are not licensed professional hunters but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure activity, which is immoral and in fact contradicts animal protection law?
that 99.07% of civilized people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning only 0.3% of hobby hunters take pleasure in these bloody activities?
that these wildlife killers do not hunt on the basis of scientific justifications?
that protected species actually do not belong under hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species conservation and repeatedly shoot animals listed on the Red List, such as lynx, wolf, hare, partridge, quail, etc., for fun?
that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species in order to eliminate competition for their unnatural behavior (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
that wildlife dies before the hobby hunter can fire even a single shot, that preventing this is the goal, and that this is likely the central idea behind wildlife management, care, and hunting planning?
that with wild boar (and foxes), normally only the lead sow produces young, but due to her being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and this is also one reason we have a wild boar surplus?
that grazing animals — deer, roe deer, etc. — originally lived mainly as diurnal creatures in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in the forest?
that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because it hunts sick or weak animals with incredible precision, for example, and is therefore far superior to hobby hunters?
that foxes usually end up in the trash after senseless hunting?
that foxes are hunted today mainly so that there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters in the frying pan? But that the fox feeds on hares in less than 10% of cases and would never catch a healthy hare?
that in animal protection, you cannot deal with hobby hunters through gentleness alone, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. (you need to fight fire with fire)?
that hobby hunters, with their hunters’ tall tales engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
that it is frowned upon to shoot big game at feeding stations or during mating season, yet the hobby hunter has no scruples about doing exactly this to the competing predator, the fox?
that in some cantons, hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother cows in front of their young, or target only young animals during the rearing period (post-special hunt)?
that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans, and animals with their ammunition?
that bestiality, barbarism, cruelty, bloodshed, and senseless suffering cannot be considered cultural heritage in a civilized society?
that hobby hunters shoot approximately 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
that hobby hunters in harsh winters lure starving animals with bait only to shoot them in a treacherous and cowardly manner?
that hobby hunters chase attack-trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (earth hunting)?
that hobby hunters lure peaceful living creatures into box traps, where they may suffer for days awaiting their killer, or are often subjected to an agonizing death struggle lasting hours (trap hunting)?
that hobby hunters cowardly ambush and kill or injure peaceful wild animals while they sleep or bask in the sun, using state-of-the-art precision weapons?
that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, trophy cult prize ceremonies, trophy shows, fur trade, etc.?
that hobby hunters place firearms into the hands of underage schoolchildren and practice killing with them?
that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in isolation, which encourages animal cruelty?
that hobby hunters seriously injure many wild animals, and the victims often suffer for hours under enormous pain and fear until a tracking dog finds them and they are shot?
that hobby hunters (apart from vivisection) inflict the most suffering and abuse on animals, including through the manner of killing?
that the hunter's so-called love of animals and nature does not take pleasure in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved creature body and soul, culminating in making it prey through the act of killing?
that hobby hunters actively promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, particularly on predators such as fox, lynx and wolf?
that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behaviour?
that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observation and interaction?
that there is no greater torture product — and one contaminated with ammunition — than venison?
that across Switzerland there is no uniform regulation regarding vision tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
that there is no psychological character assessment for hobby hunters?
that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they are shooting at animals with their weapons?
that hobby hunters infiltrate educational institutions in order to push their hunter's jargon and their culture of violence onto children?
that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting associations promote practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
that the association «Jagd Schweiz» cultivates above all disrespect and a culture of violence – precisely the opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to.
that in the canton of Graubünden alone, more than 1’000 complaints and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?