Hunting Law NO on 27.9.

The proportion of threatened species is, according to the UN, higher in Switzerland than in any other country in the world.

This is a SCANDAL and at the very least a SLAP IN THE FACE for all those responsible.

Opportunities during the revision of the Hunting Act (JSG) were missed at every turn. Why, despite the dramatic loss of species in Switzerland, is there still small game hunting, the animal-cruel earth hunting, or driven hunts, no alcohol ban before and during stalking, and no character assessment or age restriction for hobby hunters?

Not a single demand from the Swiss Animal Protection (STS), the Association for Wildlife Protection Switzerland, Alliance Animale Suisse, Animal Party Switzerland, Animal in Law, Zurich Animal Protection, IG Wild beim Wild, etc. was implemented in this revision of the Hunting Act (JSG), which is undemocratic.

IG Wild beim Wild will never cooperate with these hobby hunters or make rotten compromises. Common sense, self-respect, and ethics alone forbid this. From an animal rights perspective, such an alliance is simply not an option. Those organisations (WWF, Pro Natura, Bird Life, etc.) that do so are now paying a heavy price in time, criticism, and donor funds — to say nothing of what the additional and numerous cantonal revisions required because of these hobby hunters cost taxpayers. Bird Life even supports the trade fair «Fishing Hunting Shooting» with its reeking sausages in Bern. The IG advocates for serious wildlife management based on the model of Canton Geneva.

Natural Disaster: Hobby Hunters

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of stewardship and management by hobby hunters, the proportion of threatened species is nowhere in the world as high as in Switzerland. For decades, these contract killers have created an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, disease, agricultural damage, and much more). Over 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 circles of hobby hunters, through their lobbying work, who have been responsible for this via politics, media, and legislation for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly oppose more national parks in Switzerland, because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species conservation, or animal welfare, but rather the pursuit of their perverted, 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 — just like cigarettes, asbestos, or arsenic?
• that according to studies, 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 ethic of hobby hunters is diametrically at odds with animal protection law and is nothing but a mirage?
• that hunting is war, where animal competitors are simply eliminated?
• that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting blinds in our countryside, some so rotten that they pose a danger to children and could 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, around 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots, and chamois are killed every year, mostly for no meaningful purpose?
• that because of hobby hunters, it is today hardly possible to live in harmony with wildlife or even to see wild animals?
• 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 for hunters to follow?
• that the claims made by hobby hunters that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations have been scientifically refuted?
• that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “lust for killing” and “the joy of making a kill” — a pathological passion?
• that hobby hunters do not have a sixth sense and yet regularly claim they only shoot sick and weak animals, which is of course not the case in practice?
• that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far from any species protection and hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel agencies catering to such mindless hunting pleasures?
• that the vast majority are not legitimate professional hunters, but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport, and leisure activity, which is neither morally justifiable nor consistent with animal welfare legislation?
• that 99.07% of civilised 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 do not actually belong under hunting law, because hobby hunters are ill-equipped to handle species conservation and repeatedly shoot animals listed on the Red List — such as lynx, wolves, hares, grey partridges, quails, and others — for fun?
• that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species to eliminate competition for their unnatural behaviour — foxes, lynx, wolves, birds of prey, and so on?
• that wildlife often dies before the hobby hunter has even fired a single shot, that this is precisely what must be prevented, and that this is perhaps the central idea behind wildlife stewardship, care, and hunting planning?
• that in wild boar (and fox) populations, normally only the lead sow gives birth to young — but that due to her being shot, all female animals within the group start reproducing, and this is one reason why we have a wild boar population explosion?
• that grazing animals — deer, roe deer, and others — originally lived primarily as diurnal animals in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, and cattle, and not in forests?
• that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because it preys on sick or weak animals with remarkable precision, for example, and is thus far superior to hobby hunters in this regard?
• that foxes, after being senselessly hunted, usually end up in the rubbish?
• that foxes are hunted today primarily so that there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters to put in the frying pan? That the fox's diet consists of more than 90% non-hare food sources, and that it would never catch a healthy hare?
• that in animal welfare, you cannot deal with hobby hunters through gentleness alone, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. (you need to fight fire with fire)?
• that hobby hunters use hunters' yarns to engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
• that it is frowned upon to shoot big game at feeding stations or during mating season, yet hobby hunters have no scruples about doing exactly this to their competitor the fox?
• that in some cantons, hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
• that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother animals in front of their young, or target only young animals during the rearing period (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 civilised society?
• that hobby hunters shoot approximately 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
• that in harsh winters, hobby hunters lure starving animals with food only to shoot them in a cowardly and treacherous manner?
• that hobby hunters drive trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (earth hunting)?
• that hobby hunters lure peaceful living beings into box traps, where they may suffer for days awaiting their killer, or are subjected to an agonising death struggle lasting hours (trap hunting)?
• that hobby hunters cowardly ambush and shoot or wound peaceful wild animals while they sleep or bask in the sun, using high-tech precision weapons?
• that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy cults, trophy shows, the fur trade, and so on?
• that hobby hunters place firearms in the hands of underage schoolchildren and practise killing with them?
• that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in isolation, which encourages animal cruelty?
• that hobby hunters frequently seriously wound wild animals, leaving the victims to suffer for hours in enormous 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 in which they kill?
• that the hunter's love of animals and nature does not delight in the existence of the beloved object, 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, lynxes, and wolves?
• that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical, and unchristian behavior?
• that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observations and interactions?
• that there is no greater product of suffering, contaminated with ammunition residue, than venison?
• that across Switzerland there is no uniform regulation regarding vision tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
• that there is no psychological aptitude test for hobby hunters?
• that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they shoot at animals with their weapons?
• that hobby hunters intrude into educational institutions to foist their hunting lore 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 «Jagd Schweiz» cultivates above all disrespect and a culture of violence — the exact opposite of what a cultured person in our society should aspire to.
• that in the canton of Grisons alone, over 1’000 complaints and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?

Lead-free ammunition is absent from hunting legislation

Nowhere in the entire Alpine region are the lead levels in golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, as a study shows.

In light of these alarming results, the study's authors find it “disturbing” that a substance like lead, which is harmful to all body systems even in the smallest quantities, is present in wildlife at such high concentrations and so widely. The authors warn: “We should be aware that a bullet — unintentionally — can kill more than once.»

The study proposes two measures to reduce the risk of lead contamination: first, hobby hunters should not leave the entrails of shot animals lying in the open but should bury them in the ground. Second, a switch to lead-free ammunition should be made in order to protect birds of prey from the harmful, or indeed lethal, effects of lead.

According to the study, game wardens in some regions of Switzerland have already switched to lead-free ammunition, and in four German federal states and several other regions of Europe, lead-containing ammunition is already banned.

Alcohol ban missing from hunting law

Both the marksmanship of hobby hunters, alcohol consumption, and the many hunting accidents themselves give cause for concern and should be addressed in the hunting law.

From the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild, the threshold at which a hobby hunter is considered unreliable under weapons law for handling firearms under the influence of alcohol should bestrictly set at 0.0 per mille blood alcohol as is the case in military or police service. Anyone who goes hunting goes out to kill. No one may handle a weapon or even shoot while under the influence of alcohol. Anyone who is alcohol-dependent must have their hunting and firearms licence revoked immediately. Mandatory alcohol tests must be introduced following hunting accidents. In addition, medical-psychological assessments for hunters are needed, as well as an upper age limit. The largest age group among hobby hunters is those aged 65 and over — those with age-related, visual, concentration and reaction impairments as well as training and practice deficits.

Loss of biodiversity

The cantons of Geneva and Thurgau have shown the way and abolished fox hunting and earth hunting respectively – because they are unnecessary and sadistic animal cruelty.

The fact is that climate change and biodiversity loss are here and have been confirmed by the UN. This requires more measures and expertise beyond hunters' jargon. Fox hunting and small game hunting in general are an ecological and wildlife-biological nonsense without equal and should be abandoned sooner rather than later, if only for reasons of biodiversity.

«Small game hunting is not necessary, but it is permitted. One might equally ask whether it makes sense to pick berries and mushrooms in the forest.«

Robert Brunold, President of the Hobby Hunters of Graubünden

A passion for hunting and animal cruelty are not cultural heritage. Hunters' slogans are smoke and mirrors and empty words. When one analyses the hunters' faction in politics, it quickly becomes clear that they rarely, if ever, engage on behalf of nature — what does become clear is that exploitation and self-interest are their true motivations, which is no longer in keeping with the times in the hunting law as it stands. The disrespect shown by hobby hunters knows no bounds.

Hunting to decimate and massacre populations is, historically speaking, not hunting at all, but rather terrorist zooicide.Recreational hunting is a massive cancerous growth that has spread across our country.

«Even without hunting, there would not suddenly be too many foxes, hares, or birds. Experience shows that nature can be left to its own devices. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, small game hunting is not necessary.«

Heinrich Haller, National Park Director and Wildlife Biologist

As long as prey animals do not belong first and foremost to predators, hunting is senseless killing, andthose who kill senselessly are not protecting anything, and civilized society gains nothing from it.

Age restrictions are missing from the hunting law

Why is there no age restriction in the hunting law for these ecological mass murderers? The accident figures are alarming, as is the unnecessary suffering and the costs caused by these elderly hobby hunters — and not only in the animal kingdom.

The largest age group among amateur hunters is the 65+ group, the one characterized by age-related, visual, concentration, and reaction impairments, as well as deficits in training and practice. From the age of 40 onwards, the number of accidents rises dramatically. A hunting accident occurs every 29 hours, and a fatality is recorded every 3½ months. In the police force or the military, older individuals are, for good reason, no longer deployed in armed operations involving dangerous firearms. This was also a missed topic during the revision of the Hunting and Protection Act (JSG) (article).

If the police or the military regularly recorded as many casualties as occur in hunting, hardly anyone would speak of responsible firearms handling.

Cantons and authority

For the IG Wild beim Wild, granting cantons more authority under the hunting law is not a productive approach — quite the contrary. They are unable to handle the responsibility, are overwhelmed, are insufficiently trained as hobby hunters and decision-makers, and they lie. Furthermore, they already have more than enough unchecked freedom. Current examples include, for instance, the head of the hunting and fisheries authority in the canton of Zurich.

In a letter in April 2017 to all municipalities in the canton and to neighboring cantons regarding the launch of the completely absurd night hunting of foxes and badgers, the hobby hunter Urs Philipp claims that foxes transmit rabies, even though the Swiss Rabies Center warns that a hunting-based reduction of fox populations is not possible and that hunting to combat rabies is even counterproductive. As we know today, only animal-friendly vaccine baits were able to defeat terrestrial rabies – it has been considered eradicated in Switzerland since 1998 and in large parts of Europe! The hobby hunter Urs Philipp is not particularly concerned with the truth. For instance, Philipp has even invoked the Zürich Animal Protection Society in public debate to support his abhorrent ideology, even though the organization holds an entirely different view.

Foxes in the canton of Zürich are pursued day and night for a full 8 months – for badgers it is over 6 months, according to federal hunting statistics. Given that level of stress, it is no wonder these animals fall ill. Across all of Europe, the epicenter of fox tapeworm reports is located in Switzerland – precisely in the region where hunting-affiliated hobby hunters like Urs Philipp have entrenched themselves within cantonal authorities. These senseless disturbances and noise emissions caused by hobby hunters during night hunting disrupt entire wildlife populations as well as local residents.

• Hunters spread disease: Study
• Hunting promotes disease: Study

Or take the head of the hunting and fisheries office in Graubünden, hobby hunter Adrian Arquint, who arbitrarily orders the shooting of innocent young wolves – without any scientific or wildlife biology expertise whatsoever. Any ordinary person – not shaped by a hobby-hunting mindset – would ask: how is a pack supposed to learn, through the killing of its family members in autumn 2019, what the parent animal M92 provoked months earlier in summer 2019? What pedagogical or wildlife-biological experience do these decision-makers draw upon? How are the wolves meant to correctly interpret the killing of their family members when snipers terrorize them in a different location months later? Science and wildlife management work differently (Article)!

In Valais, protected species such as the lynx and the wolf have been poached for decades.

«Accordingly, poaching of lynxes and wolves is common. Particularly so in Valais, as a chronology of the past 20 years using the lynx as an example shows: In line with the views of influential figures in politics, authorities, and the judiciary, despite scientifically documented poaching, charges for the killing of lynxes and wolves were almost never brought. And roe deer in the mountain valleys continue to be privately fed so that many roe deer can be hunted in the mountain forests in autumn as well. Alongside the humans who hunt there, lynx and wolf have no place. The world there seems to have stood still in the 19th century.»

Andreas Moser, Netz Natur

• Hobby hunters in crime: The list

In the section «Facts instead of hunters' tales» or «Hunting law» interested readers can find further arguments and criticism of hunting that can be incorporated into revisions of the hunting law (JSG).

Particularly when it comes to hobby hunters, it is absolutely essential to look very closely. Nowhere is so much manipulation carried out through untruths, hunters' tall tales, and fake news. Violence and lies are two sides of the same coin!

The “experts” of the hobby hunters are usually nothing more than advocates for a self-serving lobby, seeking to preserve and put a positive spin on their uncouth practices. In the environmental rankings, hobby hunters regularly occupy the lowest positions in politics.

Read here what prominent organisations, biologists, and even hunters say about recreational hunting: References

Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, politics, and the limits of hunting

Interest Group Wild beim Wild

The IG Wild beim Wild is a non-profit interest group dedicated to the sustainable and non-violent improvement of the human-animal relationship, with a particular focus on the legal aspects of wildlife protection. One of our main concerns is to introduce a contemporary and professional wildlife management system in the cultural landscape, modelled on the canton of Geneva — without hobby hunters, but with upright game wardens who truly deserve the title and act in accordance with a code of honour. The monopoly on the use of force belongs in the hands of the state. The IG supports scientific methods of immunocontraception for wildlife.