On December 8, 2025, a glance at the news reveals the same pattern across three continents: hobby hunters, the trophy lobby, and political majorities systematically disregard science, ethics, and species conservation.
From the wolf culling in Swiss hunting reserves to the planned wolf hunting law in Germany and the elephant trophy in Botswana, wild animals are becoming pawns in day-to-day politics.
Switzerland: The wolf as a political lightning rod
In Bern, the hunting lobby is celebrating one victory after another. The National Council and the Council of States have decided in this session to further lower the hurdles for culling wolves, even though the number of livestock kills is declining. In the future, it should be even easier to control wolves preventively, even in hunting reserves that are actually intended as refuges for wild animals.
Even Federal Councillor Rösti, not usually known for obstructing hunting policy, was more reserved in the debate. This doesn't bother the parliamentary majority made up of farmers' associations, the hunting lobby, and right-wing parties. Where facts are lacking, buzzwords like "safety," "tradition," or "protection of the Alpine population" come to the rescue.
Conservation organizations speak of an unrestrained policy of culling. Those who declare wolves to be targets also undermine the very concept of protected areas. Hunting bans lose their credibility when, of all places, shooting is permitted there with state authorization.
The international criticism is correspondingly strong. Experts from the IUCN have previously warned that a virtually permanent hunting season for wolves is neither ecologically sound nor legally compliant. With its obsession with wolves, Switzerland is risking not only its reputation but also the functioning of entire ecosystems that depend on large predators.
Germany and the EU: How wolf problems are created
While Switzerland is driving wolves out of protected areas, Germany is working on a wolf hunting law that, according to legal experts, is in clear conflict with EU law. What is being sold as a "solution" to conflicts with livestock farmers ultimately amounts to a virtually unfettered shooting lane.
The biological connections have been documented for years. The indiscriminate shooting of pack members can lead to the collapse of social structures, young animals hunting independently, and even an increase in conflicts with livestock. This is precisely what those political circles ignore who campaign on fear of wolves while simultaneously counting on the votes of the hunting lobby.
These forces have already prevailed at the EU level. This spring, the European Parliament voted in favor of weakening the strict protection status. It is no coincidence that these same circles hardly ever discuss livestock protection, land-use policies, or subsidy systems. The focus is not on solutions, but on creating enemies.
Worldwide: Bears, elephants and abalone as collateral damage
Looking beyond Europe reveals the same pattern. In Florida, politicians have permitted bear hunting for the first time in ten years. Biologists and animal welfare organizations criticize the fact that populations are barely reliably assessed and that political symbolism is overshadowing scientific evidence. Recreational hunting is being marketed as "management," even though fundamental tasks such as waste disposal, habitat planning, and public education are being neglected.
In India, reports of poaching are increasing in regions like Telangana. Deer are being shot in city parks, and suspects with ties to local politicians are being named. Where weapons, hunting traditions, and political influence converge, wild animals are clearly without rights.
The situation is particularly dire in South Africa. Despite a massive decline in populations, the government is withdrawing abalone's international protected status. Stocks have shrunk to a fraction of their original levels due to poaching and organized crime. Instead of taking decisive action against these networks, commercial pressure remains unchecked while marine ecosystems collapse.
In Botswana, elephants have been pawns in the trophy hunting industry for years. Adult bulls are simultaneously burdened by hunting quotas, poaching, habitat loss, and conflicts with humans. Repeatedly removing the strongest animals from a population weakens its genetic base in the long run. What appears in brochures as "sustainable use" is, in reality, a slow, costly exploitation.
New cases of poaching are reported daily from Europe and North America: illegally killed trophy deer, wounded birds of prey, and species mistaken for other animals. Behind many of these cases lies not necessity, but a combination of a need for recognition, a fetish for weapons, and virtually no consequences for prosecution.
From hobby to raison d'état: The political power of the hunting lobby
The patterns are similar everywhere:
- Science and monitoring are mentioned decoratively, but ignored in concrete policy.
- Hobby hunting is systematically reinterpreted as a "service" and "species conservation" to silence public criticism and ensure the continued flow of subsidies.
- Wild animals are either stigmatized as pests or marketed as trophies.
In Switzerland, this is particularly evident in the area of protected forests. Instead of taking the ecological role of predators like wolves and lynxes seriously, the focus remains primarily on lead from recreational rifles. At the same time, these same groups complain about browsing damage and high costs, without questioning their own interventions in the forest.
"Wild beim Wild" has begun sample texts for motions critical of hunting in cantonal parliaments . This allows at least a counter-narrative to be established politically. Where the hunting lobby works with emotionally charged images, questionable "educational programs" for children, and aggressive lobbying, cantons and parliaments need fact-based, legally sound alternative proposals.
Children, schools, and the normalization of violence against animals
Particularly problematic is the sectarian propaganda with which hunting associations attempt to gain a foothold among children through school projects and teaching materials. When amateur hunters appear in classrooms to glorify hunting as idyllic nature conservation with "smiling beside the carcass," violence, suffering, and death disappear from view.
Instead of factual environmental education, children are presented with a romanticized narrative in which shooting is portrayed as responsible environmental stewardship. Suffering, misfires, tracking wounded animals, maiming, injured wildlife, and entire ecosystems are barely mentioned in these materials.
Those who exert influence so early are building willing majorities for tomorrow's hunting policies. From an educational perspective, this is a problem. From a democratic perspective, it is a deliberate manipulation of the next generation's worldview.
Hunting policy in 2025 is a stress test for the rule of law
Whether it's wolves in Switzerland, bears in Florida, elephants in Botswana, or abalone off the coast of South Africa: conflicts surrounding hunting and wildlife are no longer a fringe issue. They demonstrate how easily democratic systems can be hijacked by vocal minorities, traditional arguments, and short-term economic interests.
Instead of addressing the real issues, such as consistent livestock protection, habitat conservation, reducing livestock numbers in agriculture, or honest management of consumption and land use, the focus is on treating the symptoms. Wild animals serve as a projection screen for frustration, fear, and power fantasies.
A modern wildlife policy would have to look exactly the opposite:
- clear priority for habitats and ecosystems
- Predators as allies of the forest instead of as enemies
- Consistent prosecution of poaching and illegal killings
- Separation of the arms lobby, trophy industry and state management
- Real environmental education for children instead of hunting propaganda
Until that happens, hunting policy in 2025 will remain one of the visible examples of how fine words can be used to gradually undermine the rule of law, animal welfare and science.
Basic information and classifications regarding hobby hunting can be found in the dossier .
