Hobby hunter must appear in court in Mels SG

Poaching and illegal lynx preparation

Once again, a Swiss hobby hunter faces court over poaching and violation of the Weapons Act.

A hobby hunter must answer before the district court of Werdenberg-Sarganserland in Mels SG on 25.4.2024 on charges of poaching. In addition, he is alleged to have prepared a protected lynx without authorisation and to have violated the Weapons Act. The public prosecutor's office is seeking a suspended prison sentence as well as a temporary hunting ban.

The St. Gallen public prosecutor's office accuses the now 58-year-old of having illegally shot two red deer. In one case, he allegedly went out on a night hunt for red deer without authorisation. In both cases, he is said to have concealed the kills from the game warden of his hunting association and to have failed to declare them anywhere.

Camera trap exposes the perpetrator

He was not sure whether he had not hit another animal. This is what the hobby hunter allegedly wrote to an acquaintance after shooting one of the red deer, according to the indictment. In doing so, he had violated key duties of care in hunting and contravened the cantonal hunting regulations.

On another night, according to the indictment, the man was again stalking without authorisation and in an area for which he had no hunting rights. In doing so, he was caught by a camera trap. When the hobby hunter noticed this, he allegedly removed the camera.

Furthermore, the man is said to have found the carcass of a lynx in a barn. Without the required authorisation, he prepared the skull of the protected animal and displayed it in his bedroom. The hobby hunter should have been aware that he was obliged to report the animal he had found, according to the public prosecutor's office.

Prohibited weapon discovered during house search

In 2021, a search was carried out at the home of the accused. A prohibited weapon and prohibited weapon accessories were found. In addition, he had stored several weapons in unlocked cabinets.

The prosecution found that these had been insufficiently protected against access by third parties. The public prosecutor's office is demanding a suspended prison sentence of eight months and a fine of 7’000 francs. The 58-year-old's hunting licence should be revoked for four years.

Update: 25.4.2024

Hobby hunter convicted of poaching

The District Court of Werdenberg-Sarganserland in Mels SG convicted a hobby hunter of poaching on 25.4.2024. He also committed a criminal offence by having a protected lynx taxidermied without authorisation. The court handed down a suspended prison sentence and a temporary hunting ban .

The judge considered it proven that the accused had illegally shot two red deer. The judge devoted a large part of his remarks during the sentencing to the legality of an image from a camera trap, which was a key piece of evidence in the trial.

“Criminal offences, not trivial matters”

In this image, the now 58-year-old can be seen at night with a torch, a weapon and hunting equipment, the public prosecutor argued. However, he had not been authorised to hunt in the hunting ground in question. Furthermore, he had been hunting red deer at the time. Such hunting at night is, however, illegal, the prosecutor argued.

The judge noted that while the publication of these images had violated the accused's personal rights. This had also been criticised by the defence counsel. “However, the state's interest in prosecuting the acts is in this case greater than the protection of personal rights,” said the judge. He added: “For me, these were serious criminal offences and not trivial matters.”

Accused largely refused to make statements

The accused largely refused to make statements. Only regarding the camera trap image did he say: “The person in the photo is one thousand percent not me.” The judge saw it differently and said to the accused: “I can see you in the photo.”

The prosecutor had also argued that the man photographed was the defendant. Work clothing similar to that seen in the image had been found during a house search at the defendant's residence. Adding to the suspicion was the fact that the hobby hunter had subsequently made the wildlife trap disappear.

Prepared skull of a lynx

Furthermore, antler trophies had been found during the house search that had not been declared as required by law. Had the red deer been shot legally, the hobby hunter would have been able to declare them, the prosecution argued.

Further questions arose regarding the prepared skull of a protected lynx found in the defendant's bedroom, the prosecution stated. The hobby hunter had been unable to provide a plausible explanation of when and where he had found the protected animal.

Illegal weapon

The prosecutor further noted that an illegal weapon as well as illegal weapon accessories had been found during a house search. In doing so, the defendant had violated the weapons act. Numerous weapons had also been stored in unlocked cabinets and were therefore insufficiently protected against access by third parties.

Defense demanded full acquittal

The defendant's defense attorney had demanded a full acquittal during the trial. He questioned whether the camera trap images were evaluable and showed his client: “The entire proceedings are based on a photocopy with a dreadful resolution.” Furthermore, the work clothing visible in the photo was likely widespread throughout the region.

The defense attorney also had an explanation for the trophies found in the defendant's home that, according to the prosecutor, had not been declared anywhere. These originated from hobby hunts abroad or from the hobby hunter's father, who had likewise hunted previously.

Ultimately, however, the district court was not persuaded by the defense attorney's arguments and found the 58-year-old guilty of, among other things, poaching, offenses against the federal hunting act, and offenses against the weapons act. The hobby hunter received a suspended prison sentence of eight months and must pay a fine of 7’000 francs. His hunting license will be revoked for four years. The verdict is not yet final. The defense announced an appeal in the courtroom itself.

Dossier Hunting Administration St. Gallen:

• Dominik Thiel: Wolf hunter at state expense – a department head as a security risk for wildlife protection
• Psychology of hunting in the Canton of St. Gallen
• Hunting season until New Year's Eve: shooting pressure instead of wildlife management
• Patent hunting as a solution to red deer conflicts?
• Hunting administration St. Gallen: wolf management without science and without credibility
• The permit to shoot a wolf in the Canton of St. Gallen was unlawful
• Public dumbing-down in the Canton of St. Gallen
• Office for Hunting and Nonsense in St. Gallen modernises hunter training
• St. Gallen wants to regulate wolf pack at Gamserrugg
• Controversy surrounding a Swisscivil servant at the wolf hunt in Russia
• «Experts» in St. Gallen end wolf regulation for this winter
• The rotten apple in the St. Gallen hunting administration
• Lying hunter became department head in the Canton of St. Gallen
• St. Gallen: Stop the fox and badger massacre
• Are the FOEN and thehunting administrations still operating responsibly?
• How hobby hunter Simon Meier leads onto the wrong track