How an individual initiative restricted bird hunting in Zurich

The canton of Zurich's removal of the jay, magpie and Eurasian collared dove from the list of huntable bird species followed an individual initiative by former cantonal councillor Robert Brunner.

In its report of 18 June 2025, the cantonal government formally rejected the initiative, but by simultaneously amending the cantonal hunting ordinance, it adopted a central part of its concern.

A concern without political consequence

This followed a consultation on the cantonal hunting ordinance, in which Birdlife Zurich had advocated for a ban on hunting harmless bird species. At the time, the cantonal government did not take this demand into account.

A citizen submits the law himself

Robert Brunner, former Green Party cantonal councillor from Steinmaur and president of the Steinmaur Nature and Bird Protection Association, was not willing to let the matter rest. On 10 November 2023, he submitted the individual initiative KR No. 367/2023 “Protection of biodiversity, not just in Sunday speeches”. He stresses to wildbeimwild.com that he is not fundamentally opposed to hunting. His fully drafted legislative proposal aimed to place the rook, hooded crow, mallard, magpie, jay, and wood pigeon and Eurasian collared dove under cantonal protection. Under the law, only the cormorant, carrion crow and feral domestic pigeons were to remain huntable.

Clear majority in the cantonal parliament

The cantonal parliament provisionally supported the initiative on 8 January 2024 with 95 votes. During the debate, Wilma Willi, a Green politician and regional director of Birdlife Zurich, confirmed that Brunner is an ornithologist. The proponents' central argument: magpies and jays cause hardly any damage, and the animals shot are not put to use.

Prey for endangered birds of prey

Already in his written individual initiative, Brunner argued that the Eurasian collared dove, wood pigeon, magpie, jay and mallard are an important food source for birds of prey such as the goshawk, sparrowhawk, hobby and peregrine falcon. He adds to wildbeimwild.com that this prey function is particularly relevant in the canton of Zurich because goshawk and sparrowhawk populations are declining. It is therefore not just about the protection status of a species itself, but also about its function in the food chain.

Administration only relented ahead of an imminent defeat

In its report of 18 June 2025, the cantonal government formally rejected the individual initiative. At the same time, it amended the cantonal hunting ordinance: the jay, magpie and Eurasian collared dove were removed from the list of huntable species. As justification, the cantonal government stated that hunting them was “only sensible in individual cases” and that they caused “hardly any damage” in agriculture. The carrion crow, rook, hooded crow and wood pigeon, however, remained huntable, with reference to documented compensation payments from the wildlife damage fund. In addition, waterfowl hunting was banned in floodplains, moors, amphibian spawning areas and other significant wetlands. The Commission for Economy and Taxes therefore unanimously proposed on 11 November 2025 that the initiative itself be rejected, since the concern had “already been partially implemented”. The cantonal parliament followed this proposal at its session on 18 May 2026 and definitively rejected the initiative.

Brunner himself assesses the administration's behaviour soberly: his argument did not convince them. They only relented, he says, because he had beforehand specifically held talks with opinion leaders in the parliamentary groups, thereby building up a majority in favour of the initiative. The administration reacted in the face of a foreseeable defeat, not out of professional insight.

A pattern that extends beyond Zurich

How differently cantons handle the same bird species is shown by a comparison with St. Gallen, which, despite a comparable factual situation, continues to allow hunting of the jay, magpie and Eurasian collared dove. More on the ecological function of the jay in the dossier The Jay in Switzerland. Further background in the dossier Introduction to hunting criticism.