Hobby hunters spread diseases through hunting practices

And once again, a study has proven that those who fear diseases such as Lyme disease or the so-called fox tapeworm should speak out unequivocally against hunting.

Fewer foxes mean less fox tapeworm, and therefore less risk of infection for humans.

At first glance a plausible conclusion, but upon closer analysis it turns out to be nothing more than tall tales, as several international studies have shown.

Hobby hunters do not help in the detection and control of wildlife diseases and epidemics. They therefore do not protect livestock, pets, or humans; in fact, they endanger them. Hobby hunters are generally, in all these areas, often the actual cause of any problems.

Hobby hunters are a societal nuisance. Especially in densely populated areas, the introduction of modern wildlife management is desirable to restore law and order. Fewer amateur hunters are a strong guarantee of less stress (burnout, etc.) for wildlife. Less stressed wildlife is less prone to illness and behavioral problems, just like humans.

In the canton of Vaud, which is almost twice the size in terms of area (3,212 km²), for example, there are over 50% fewer amateur hunters than in the canton of Zurich (1,729 km²).

With the ongoing spread of Echinococcus multilocularis in Europe, health authorities are searching for the most effective solution to protect the population. Fox hunting by recreational hunters has become one tool in this search, a tool that – supposedly guaranteeing a healthy wildlife population according to hunters' tales – has mutated into a pseudo-public health management practice.

A four-year study in France scientifically investigated whether hunting foxes is a useful measure against the fox tapeworm (or to protect humans from infection). For this purpose, fox hunting was significantly intensified in an area of almost 700 square kilometers near the city of Nancy. Foxes were shot at night, including from cars, for 1,700 hours, resulting in a 35% increase in the number of foxes killed. This area was then compared to another area without intensified hunting.

The result is clear:

1. The fox population was NOT reduced by the drastically intensified hunting in the test area.
2. The fox tapeworm spread in the intensively hunted test area instead of being reduced: The infestation rate even increased significantly from 40% to 55%, while it remained constant in the comparison area during the same period.
3. Instead of hunting foxes, which is not only obviously pointless but even counterproductive, and which, according to the study, is also very time-consuming, costly, and ecologically and ethically questionable, the treatment of foxes with deworming baits is recommended when necessary. As other studies (e.g., from the Starnberg district) have impressively demonstrated, these deworming baits can effectively reduce the infestation rate of foxes with the fox tapeworm to almost zero percent.

Summary of the original study :

With the ongoing spread of Echinococcus multilocularis in Europe, sanitary authorities are looking for the most efficient ways of reducing the risk for human populations. Fox culling is one particular tool that has recently shifted from predation control to population health management. Our study aims to assess the effectiveness of this tool in limiting E. multilocularis prevalence in fox populations in France. During four years, a culling protocol by night shooting from cars was implemented around the city of Nancy (eastern France) representing ∼1700 h of night work and ∼15,000 km driven. The 776 foxes killed represented an overall increase of 35% of the pressure on the fox population over 693 km2. Despite this consistent effort of culling, not only did night shooting of foxes fail to decrease the fox population, but it resulted in an increase in E. multilocularis prevalence from 40% to 55% while remaining stable in an adjacent control area (585 km2). Although no significant change in age structure could be described, an increase in immigration and local recruitment is the best hypothesis for population resilience. The increase in prevalence is therefore considered to be linked to a higher rate of juvenile movement within the culled area shedding highly contaminated faeces. We therefore advocate managers to consider alternative methods such as anthelmintic baiting, which has been proven to be efficient elsewhere, to fight against alveolar echinococcosis.

The publication of the new study bears the fitting title “Echinococcus multilocularis management by fox culling: An inappropriate paradigm ”:

A similar study recently showed that hunting foxes increases the risk of Lyme disease infection through ticks .

With these two publications, we now have two further recent scientific studies that clearly demonstrate that hunting foxes does not combat diseases, but rather increases their spread and the risk of infection (including for humans). Fox hunting therefore does not serve the common good, as hobby hunters repeatedly and falsely claim, but instead poses a significant health risk to both humans and animals.

Switzerland is a European hotspot

A review study published in July 2025 in the renowned journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases (Medical University of Vienna et al.) has, for the first time, compiled Europe-wide case numbers: Between 1997 and 2023, 4,207 cases of alveolar echinococcosis were documented in 40 countries. Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland alone accounted for 2,864 cases – around 68 percent of all European diagnoses. Switzerland has the second-highest number of cases per capita after Lithuania. In Switzerland, infections have risen from a handful of annual diagnoses in the 1990s to an average of 70 cases per year today.

Important context: The study explicitly points out that part of the increase could be due to improved medical awareness and better diagnostics. At the same time, it cites high fox populations and more intensive wildlife-human contact as further possible causes. What the study doesn't mention—and what the hunting lobby is keeping quiet about—is that the only demonstrably effective measure remains deworming with praziquantel baits. In the Starnberg district (Bavaria), the risk of infection was reduced by 97 to 99 percent through the consistent distribution of deworming baits. Fox hunting, on the other hand, as the French study cited in 2017 clearly demonstrates, has increased the infestation rate—not decreased it.

The pattern is clear: Rising case numbers are reflexively used by the hunting lobby as an argument for more fox culls. Science says the opposite: More hunting = more stress = more migration of young foxes = more spread of the parasite. The solution lies in deworming, not in shooting.

→ Read more: Hobby hunting promotes diseases – Lyme disease and ticks