Hunting lodge: Hobby hunter arrested in Ticino

The individual in question is a hobby hunter from Ticino who was caught by police at his hunting lodge in possession of modified weapons and illegally poached wildlife.

The Ticino cantonal police reported today that a Swiss man residing in the Riviera region was arrested on Saturday. At the hunting lodge where the hobby hunter had been living in terminal conditions, several heavily modified firearms were also seized, along with silencers, ammunition, black powder, fuses, illegally obtained game meat, and trophies from hoofed animals.

A fully armed police special unit was deployed, arriving at the scene by helicopter. The man was considered highly dangerous, and a shootout had been feared. He had been under lengthy observation by game wardens prior to the operation.

The hobby hunter had already had his hunting licence revoked back in 2005, with a fine of nearly 5,000 francs and a three-year ban. This was because he had shot 2 chamois and an ibex using a silenced rifle during the closed season. He later chose not to renew his hunting licence and simply continued to poach throughout all those years until 1 February 2020, believing he had the right to do so.

The criminal offences attributed to the hobby hunter, who is over seventy years old, constitute a violation of the Federal Firearms and Hunting Act .

Naturally, the poacher will be added to the blacklist maintained by Wild beim Wild, where an excerpt (the tip of the iceberg) of criminally relevant activities by hobby hunters in Switzerland is compiled.

The details surrounding the arrest of the individual in question are still the subject of ongoing investigations. However, the head of the hunting and fishing authority, Giorgio Leoni, in Bellinzona does not conceal the fact that this is an extreme case.

In general, the first part of these investigations is carried out by employees of the hunting and fisheries office in Bellinzona and by game wardens, and then concluded with the assistance of the police. It is a confirmation that forests must remain under surveillance even outside of hunting season: Apart from the wildlife killed, the behavior of the hobby hunter damages the entire ecosystem. 

It is a difficult time for wildlife, during which they must cope with the depleted energy reserves from winter. Poaching is not only highly illegal, but also has a negative impact on all forest animals.