Hunting law: The new hunting act is a disaster
The new hunting act would establish clear rules for the regulation of protected species by cantonal game wardens, thereby increasing safety for animals, nature, and people. The hunting law would also promote biodiversity, including through federal support for natural wildlife habitats. This is how supporters of the thoroughly botched hunting act open their election campaign in a press release dated 13 January 2020.
The new hunting act would establish clear rules for the regulation of protected species by cantonal game wardens, thereby increasing safety for animals, nature, and people.
The hunting law would also promote biodiversity, including through federal support for natural wildlife habitats.
This is how supporters of the thoroughly botched hunting act open their election campaign in a press release dated 13 January 2020. And they continue:
«In our view, the opposition to the new hunting law is unfounded.»
Anton Merkle, President of JagdSchweiz
This will hardly surprise anyone with common sense. After all, a court recently confirmed of the organisation Jagd Schweiz that «practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary, and heartless is promoted by Jagd Schweiz.» And furthermore: «Jagd Schweiz cultivates above all a culture of disrespect and violence — the exact opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to. These people from the dark world of the recreational hunting scene spare no effort to manipulate democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and so on.»
Also on board in the committee of supporters of the disastrous hunting act — alongside the animal-exploiting farmers’ association — is the fundamentalist «Swiss Working Group for Mountain Regions (SAB)», which takes a clearly unconstitutional stance on the issue of predators.The SAB wants to exterminate predators in Switzerland. This contravenes the Federal Constitution and federal law.
A fact-check of the new hunting act reveals that it contains no new provisions for the protection of individual animals that are not already covered by the Animal Welfare Act would be regulated. In concrete terms, it therefore brings no improvements for animal welfare. And for many protected animal species, life becomes even more precarious, as they can be shot more easily.
Of the newly protected duck species, for example, only a handful were still being shot each year (usually even accidentally). The vast majority of kills involve the 3 species that remain huntable (mallard, grey heron, teal). Under the new hunting law, theoretically only around 2% of all wild ducks are protected from being shot. Accidental kills will continue to occur.98% of all wild ducks remain huntable, even though there is no ecological justification for this hobby hunting.
No tangible improvements are added in terms of habitat protection either. Wildlife corridors are already recognised today as “worthy of protection habitats” under the NHA (Nature and Heritage Protection Act) pursuant to a Federal Court ruling. The new hunting law also does not establish any concrete rules on the construction of fences, but merely grants cantons the authority to enact such rules. Meanwhile, a number of cantons and municipalities already have such regulations in their agricultural or zoning planning. An obligation to take animal welfare into account when constructing fences can furthermore be derived from the Animal Welfare Act.The safety of people is already guaranteed under the existing hunting law, because wild animals — including protected ones — that pose a danger to people can already be and have been shot.
Hunting law and biodiversity
While the world grapples with the climate and the biodiversity crisis, the Swiss Hunting Association has turned its back on animal and species protection. The association communicates this clearly and unambiguously:
«On the other hand, excessive demands against hunting and hobby hunters were not written into the law…»
Anton Merkle, President of Jagd Schweiz
The new hunting law is neither progressive nor geared towards future requirements, as it can weaken nature and animal protection even further.
It cannot be acceptable for wild animals to be shot preventively solely on the basis of potential damage. The unacceptable culling law seeks to allow exactly this. Species protection and a civilised democracy look different.
The new hunting law also seeks to delegate the regulation of endangered species to the cantons. A recent Neue Zürcher Zeitung investigation into the lynx also illustrates that this would lead, for example, in the Valais is not a good idea at all. Not only there are there already initiatives for a “predator-free canton,” which are even supported by the cantonal governments. But things are no better in Graubünden, Zurich, Bern, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, or Solothurn, etc.
The completely botched hunting law recklessly undermines the painstaking reintroduction projects for lynx, beaver, and grey heron.
Native Swiss species such as lynx, beaver, and grey heron could end up on the shooting list and be killed in future without having caused any damage — simply because they exist. And this even in wildlife protection areas.
Each year, 400 to 500 black grouse cocks and 400 rock ptarmigan are shot. A questionable practice, as the already small populations are weakened even further. The fact that certain cantons use this to pad their public coffers with blood money makes matters no better. The canton of Valais, for example, profits from the kills, which it frequently sells to foreign hunting tourists as well. The new hunting law still makes no provision for the protection of black grouse and ptarmigan. Yet another reason to reject this nature- and species-hostile law at the ballot box in autumn.
Most forms of hunting today are simply unnecessary, cruel to animals, and therefore essentially criminal. Our legal system has simply not yet advanced far enough to reflect that in criminal law.
The completely botched hunting law will continue to allow hobby hunting of endangered species such as black grouse and ptarmigan. The mountain hare also remains huntable. Around 1’000 mountain hares are still killed annually in Switzerland through hobby hunting. Therefore: NO to the botched shooting law on 27 September – an excessive demand?
Woodcock should also have been placed under protection — instead, the revised hunting law allows them to continue to be hunted. The closed season is extended to mid-October, but breeding birds remain in Switzerland until November or even December. There is therefore a risk that among the 2’000 woodcock shot each year, some are native breeding birds. The additional month of closed season will save just 4% of the woodcock previously shot on average from being killed. This is because 96% of all kills occur in October and November, which remain open hunting season — an excessive demand?
The improved protection promoted by the Swiss Hunting Association is therefore nothing but window dressing, since there is no ecological justification for hobby hunting of many animal species in the first place.
Wild animals are also increasingly suffering from the effects of climate change and the spread of human activities into their natural habitat. This habitat is not only being reduced in size, but also fragmented, which leads to genetic impoverishment of the population. In addition, the stress caused leads to increased energy consumption of up to 20%, which significantly affects their chances of survival.
Placing the species under protection would help relieve unnecessary pressure on a species increasingly threatened by climate change and human disturbance, and reduce mortality within the population. Parliament must once again carefully and courageously go back to the drawing board — an unreasonable demand?
Opportunities during the revision of the Hunting Act (JSG) were missed at every turn. Why is lead-free ammunition still not universally required, or why, despite the dramatic loss of species in Switzerland, is there still small game hunting, the animal-cruel den hunting for sadists, or driven hunts, and no alcohol ban before and during stalking, etc.?
Contrary to what David Clavadetscher, the spokesperson for Jagd Schweiz, has communicated, follow-up tracking etc. is already mandatory.
At the federal and cantonal level, however, one searches in vain for statistics on missed shots and follow-up tracking — with one exception: only the canton of Grisons keeps such statistics with well-documented figures, showing a missed shot rate of between 7% and 10% depending on the species. Extrapolated to the total number of wild animals shot in Switzerland, that amounts to 6’000 to 10’000 animals per year that, due to missed shots, die only after hours or days of suffering, or must linger on while injured. Such animal welfare issues must not be covered up, writes the Swiss Animal Protection STS.
Herd protection
Livestock protection in Switzerland is highly successful and contributes decisively to the safety of farm animals. This can be impressively demonstrated by looking at the population development of the wolf, sheep numbers, and predation figures. Around 90% of damage to livestock in Switzerland occurs on pastures without livestock guardian dogs. Even with herds fully enclosed by an electrified fence, predation incidents occur only in exceptional cases. Supporters of the deeply flawed hunting law will want to exploit predation incidents in the media over the coming weeks, without pointing out that under existing legislation individual animals can already be shot — but only after damage has occurred. Today, significantly fewer livestock are killed per wolf than in the early phase of the species' return to Switzerland.The claim that wolves are constantly killing more livestock and that herd protection is becoming increasingly difficult does not hold true.
Hunting law and hobby hunters
Our way of life is increasingly driving the brown hare out of its habitat. The result is a drastic decline in populations. Without protection, the brown hare could disappear completely from Switzerland. With the revision, parliament missed the opportunity to place the brown hare under protection —an excessive demand? If cantons order measures against individual huntable species such as the brown hare, environmental organizations will in future presumably no longer be able to oppose them even by means of the right of association appeal.
The ibex is protected and causes no damage, yet in Switzerland it can still be hunted by trophy hunters. The new hunting law seeks to maintain this absurd contradiction.
No new wildlife corridors, no improvements for hobby hunting, and a massive erosion of species protection — these are the reasons why numerous hunters are also saying NO to the utterly flawed hunting law!
Interestingly, supporters of the utterly flawed hunting law do not mention the mute swan with a single word.Yet parliament has already commissioned the Federal Council by means of a motion to open the species up for regulation. If the law is adopted, mute swans could then be shot before any damage has even occurred.
Since the extermination of large predators in Switzerland, the ungulate population has steadily increased. This has a major impact on natural forest regeneration, as wildlife loves to nibble on buds and fresh shoots, threatening the growth of young trees. Wolves and lynx can help mitigate this problem!
What in Geneva hundreds of Sunday hunters also did poorly in the past is today handled more exemplarily by 11 wildlife wardens alongside many other responsibilities. With more wildlife wardens who only intervene therapeutically in cases involving foxes, lynx, wolves, birds of prey, etc., Switzerland too would once again have more order, biodiversity, and protection against natural hazards.And taxpayers would likely be spared hundreds of millions of francs that the federal government, cantons, and municipalities pour into the maintenance of protective forests — in places where problem hunters park and breed wildlife.
Wildlife corridors
Wildlife corridors are already legally recognised and designated as habitats worthy of protection. The new law will not result in a single corridor being restored more quickly or better protected — it merely reorganises the flow of funds from the federal government to the cantons.No federal financial assistance for the promotion of species and their habitats in wildlife reserves and bird sanctuaries. The cantons benefit from federal financial assistance for the promotion of species and their habitats in wildlife reserves and bird sanctuaries. Habitats are thereby enhanced. The federal government will allocate more funds to the cantons for monitoring and habitat promotion in protected areas — that is, for measures the cantons are already implementing today. Neither will new protected areas be created, nor will protection in existing areas be improved.In addition, the federal government will in future also provide cantons with funding for measures against protected animals in protected areas — for example, for the culling of wolves in wildlife reserves.
What is notably absent from the thoroughly flawed hunting law coming to a vote on 27 September is a national character assessment for hobby hunters, modelled on the Dutch example. Across Europe, gun owners are subject to more extensive checks due to concerns about ethical standards — – an excessive demand?
