Hobby hunters have no place in hunting reserves
Valais State Council and FOEN overruled on hobby hunting in the Aletsch Forest.
The Federal Court has upheld a complaint by the nature conservation organisation Pro Natura against the hunting of red deer in the Aletsch Forest hunting reserve in Valais.
Federal Court rules in favour of Pro Natura
The State Council opened a sub-area of the hunting reserve to general red deer hunting in 2018. The Federal Court concluded in a published ruling that hobby hunting in the Aletsch Forest hunting reserve is prohibited under the applicable legal provisions.
Hobby hunting is not the same as culling
The law uses the term “culling” in such cases, which is not to be equated with hobby hunting. According to the Federal Court, opening the hunting reserve to hobby hunting for licence holders is out of the question!
In this regard, the Federal Court states that due account must be taken of the conservation objectives and the significance of the Aletsch Forest, with its stands of arolla pines several hundred years old, as well as of highly endangered and disturbance-sensitive birds such as the black grouse.
