Hunting in the DACH Region: A Tradition in Twilight

Criticism of wolf culling, trophy hunting, compulsory hunting and forest damage.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 26 October 2025

While hobby hunters portray their activity as an indispensable contribution to nature conservation, criticism is growing in Switzerland, Germany and Austria: cruel methods, questionable culls and the myth of “regulatory hunting” are increasingly coming under scrutiny.

Few practices divide society as deeply as hobby hunting. Its proponents speak of stewardship, responsibility and tradition. Critics, on the other hand, see animal suffering, ecological imbalances and a recreational activity that has outlived its purpose.

A look at the three Alpine countries reveals: hobby hunting is mired in a crisis of legitimacy.

Switzerland: Wolf Culls and Earth Hunting

In Switzerland, more than 120’000 wild animals are killed every year. Particularly controversial is the permitted hunting of wolves. While farmers celebrate it as a protective measure for livestock, animal welfare organisations speak of scapegoat politics. Herd protection measures are systematically neglected, while a protected species is instead cleared for culling.

Equally fiercely contested is earth hunting: dogs chase badgers and foxes through underground burrows. Animal welfare advocates call this legalised animal cruelty, with stress, panic and often an agonising death as the result.

Germany: Forest Conversion or Trophy Hunting?

Germany is currently grappling with a reform of hunting law. Conservationists warn that the urgently needed transition to climate-resilient mixed forests is being massively obstructed by excessive populations of ungulates. Hobby hunters are failing to regulate these populations adequately; trophy-worthy bucks and stags are frequently spared while ecological targets go unmet.

Trophy hunting is booming in parallel: at trade fairs such as "Jagd & Hund" in Dortmund, big-game safaris and luxury hunting trips continue to be sold. For many people, killing exotic animals for entertainment is no longer morally justifiable.

Austria: Compulsory Hunting and State Luxury

In Austria, it is above all compulsory hunting that is attracting attention: landowners are not free to decide whether hunting takes place on their land. Even those who wish to prohibit hunting on ethical grounds are legally compelled to allow it.

Particularly explosive: the Federal Forests organise exclusive hunts in which trophy red stags are sold to wealthy guests. Critics speak of state-sanctioned “trophy excesses”.

Hunting Myths Put to the Test

The image of hobby hunters as “nature conservationists with a rifle” barely withstands scientific scrutiny:

Wildlife populations can regulate themselves when habitats are intact.
Fox hunting demonstrably leads to higher reproduction rates and is ecologically counterproductive.
Supplementary feeding, driven hunts and population management increase the risk of wildlife accidents rather than reducing it.

Recreational hunting does not stabilise ecosystems — it distorts them.

Hunting in the DACH region stands at a crossroads: between tradition and animal ethics, lobbying interests and scientific reality. More and more citizens are asking the question:

Is recreational hunting truly still necessary, or is it merely a relic sustaining itself?

Hobby Hunters — A Natural Disaster

In the disarray in which nature finds itself after decades of management and stewardship by hobby hunters, the proportion of endangered species is higher in no other country in the world than in Switzerland. For decades, these hired killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultural landscape, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, disease, agricultural damage, and much more). More than a third of plant,wildlife and fungal species are considered threatened. Switzerland also ranks last in Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. It is precisely these same circles of hobby hunters, through their lobbying efforts, who have been responsible for this state of affairs via politics, media and legislation for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements to animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly resist more Schweiz ist europaweit beim Ausscheiden von Schutzflächen für die Biodiversität ebenfalls Schlusslicht. Es sind genau immer auch diese Kreise aus Hobby-Jägern mit ihrer Lobbyarbeit, die über die Politik, Medien und Gesetze seit Jahrzehnten dafür verantwortlich zu machen sind. Sie sind es, die zeitgemässe, ethische Tierschutzverbesserungen notorisch blockieren und den seriösen Tier- und Artenschutz sabotieren. Hobby-Jäger wehren sich regelmässig gegen mehr national parks in Switzerland, because they are not concerned with nature, biodiversity, species protection, or animal welfare but rather with indulging their perverse, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are being liquidated?
that hobby hunters lie about the assessment of game meat quality and that processed game meat, according to the WHO, is carcinogenic like cigarettes, asbestos, or arsenic?
that according to a study, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, due to the ammunition used by hobby hunters?
that the fair chase ethics of hobby hunters diametrically contradict the Animal Welfare Act and are nothing but a mirage?
that hunting is war, where animal competitors are simply liquidated?
that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting stands in our countryside, some so rotten that they pose a danger to children and can cost people their lives?
that year after year, countless people are killed or injured by hunters' weapons, some so severely that they end up in wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
that in Switzerland approximately 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots, and chamois are killed each year, mostly without purpose?
that because of hobby hunters, it is today barely possible to live in harmony with wildlife or to see wild animals at all?
that shotgun blasts make hares scream like small children and tear apart the entrails of “shot” roe deer and red deer so that they leave a trail of blood during their flight for trackers to follow?
that the claim made by hobby hunters that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations has been scientifically refuted?
that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “pleasure of killing” and “the joy of making a kill,” driven by a pathological passion?
that hobby hunters have no sixth sense and yet regularly claim they only shoot sick and weak animals, which is of course not true in practice?
that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far removed from any species protection or hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel agencies catering to such debased hunting pleasures?
that the overwhelming majority are not licensed professional hunters but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport, and leisure activity, which is neither ethical nor consistent with the Animal Welfare Act?
that 99.07% of civilized people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning only 0.3% of hobby hunters take pleasure in these bloody activities?
that these wildlife killers do not hunt on the basis of scientific justifications?
that protected species should not actually fall under hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species conservation and repeatedly shoot animals listed on the Red List — such as lynx, wolf, brown hare, grey partridge, quail, etc. — for sport?
that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species to eliminate competition for their unnatural behavior (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
that wildlife dies before the hobby hunter can fire a single shot, that this must be prevented, and that this is indeed the central idea behind game management, stewardship, and hunting planning?
that with wild boar (and foxes), normally only the lead sow gives birth to young, but due to her being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and that this is one reason we have a wild boar surplus?
that grazing animals — deer, roe deer, etc. — originally lived primarily as diurnal animals in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, and cows, and not in the forest?
that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because it hunts sick or weak animals with incredible precision, for example, and is therefore far superior to hobby hunters?
that foxes usually end up in the trash after being pointlessly hunted?
that foxes are hunted today primarily so that there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters’ frying pans? Yet that the fox feeds on hares in fewer than 10% of cases and would never catch a healthy hare?
that in animal protection, one cannot respond to hobby hunters with gentleness, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. alone (a tough problem requires a tough solution)?
that hobby hunters, with their hunting tall tales engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
that it is considered taboo to shoot large game at feeding stations or during the mating season, yet the hobby hunter has no scruples about doing exactly this with the fox, a competitor for prey?
that in some cantons hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother deer in front of their young, or only target young animals during the rearing season (post-special hunt)?
that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans and animals with their ammunition?
that bestiality, barbarism, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless suffering cannot be considered cultural heritage in a civilized society?
that hobby hunters shoot approximately 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
that hobby hunters in harsh winters lure starving animals with food only to shoot them in a treacherous and cowardly manner?
that hobby hunters send attack-trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (den hunting)?
that hobby hunters lure peaceful living creatures into cage traps, where they may suffer for days awaiting their killer, or are often subjected to an agonizing death struggle lasting hours (trap hunting)?
that hobby hunters cowardly ambush and shoot or injure peaceful wild animals while they sleep or bask in the sun, using state-of-the-art precision weapons?
that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy cults, trophy shows, fur trading, etc.?
that hobby hunters place firearms into the hands of underage schoolchildren and practice killing with them?
that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in isolation, which encourages animal cruelty?
that hobby hunters seriously wound many wild animals, and the victims often suffer for hours in tremendous pain and fear until a tracking dog finds them and they are shot?
that hobby hunters (apart from vivisection) inflict the most suffering and abuse on animals, including through the manner of killing?
that the hunter's love of animals and nature does not take joy in the existence of the beloved subject, but rather aims to possess the beloved creature body and soul, culminating in making it prey through the act of killing?
that hobby hunters actively promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, particularly on predators such as foxes, lynx and wolves?
that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behavior?
that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observation and interaction?
that there is no greater product of suffering — and one contaminated with ammunition residue — than game meat?
that there is no uniform nationwide regulation in Switzerland regarding vision tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
that there is no psychological character assessment for hobby hunters?
that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they shoot at animals with their weapons?
that hobby hunters infiltrate educational institutions to foist their hunting myths and their violence upon children?
that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting clubs promote practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
that the association JagdSchweiz primarily cultivates disrespect and a culture of violence – the exact opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to.
that in the canton of Graubünden alone, over 1,000 reports and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?