Hobby hunters create a “Landscape of Fear”

Negative impact on migrations and habits

Hobby hunters have a strong negative impact on the migrations and habits of wildlife.

Observational findings show that hobby hunters, like other large predators, frequently create a “Landscape of Fear” and, by their mere presence, drastically alter how animals use a given area.

Both predators and prey alter their locations and activity times in certain areas when hobby hunters are present. Some wildlife abandon areas they had previously used entirely, others visited them less frequently, and yet others shifted to nocturnal activity in order to avoid hobby hunters.

Social structures are destroyed

The stress and manipulation that recreational hunting exerts on animals throughout the year significantly impairs wildlife’s ability to feed in peace and quiet, maintain normal social behaviour, move freely, and adjust their population to available resources. Recreational hunting fails as population control.

Today’s recreational hunting destroys the normal social coexistence of wildlife, the ecological balance, natural behavioural patterns, family structures and social bonds, and leads to increased dispersal into unhunted residential areas and unnatural concentrations of animals in forests and even in cities.

Small-game hunting is not necessary

Even without hunting, there would not suddenly be too many foxes, hares or birds. Experience shows that nature can be left to its own devices. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, small-game hunting is not necessary.

Heinrich Haller, former National Park Director and wildlife biologist

Hunting is not about extensive biodiversity or the protection of individual wildlife, but about money and pleasure. The Geneva Model has shown since 1974 that professional wildlife management works without hobby hunters.