Is the hunters' association pulling the wool over the eyes of the Bern public?

Hobby hunting in the canton of Bern should become less violent.

To this end, the interpellation «Non-violent alternatives to hunting in Bern» was submitted to the municipal council on 13.3.2025.

TeleBärn organised a debate on the subject under the title: «Wildlife regulation: with hunting or non-violent alternatives». The guests: Tobias Sennhauser, municipal councillor of «Tier im Fokus», hobby hunter Sabine Brechbühl and hobby hunter Lorenz Hess, president of the Bern hunting association.

The amateur hunter Lorenz Hess is also known in Switzerland as the fox-clubber. This is because he beat a fox to death with a piece of wood after it had been shot by a hobby hunter, since, according to his own statement, his rifle barrel was blocked with soil. A video documented the incident. “Hunting animals means respecting animals” or “A little, whatever works, is always possible” is his motto.

As early as 2020, during the parliamentary debate on the botched hunting act, Lorenz Hess wanted the lynx to be added — alongside the beaver, grey heron and goosander — to the list of species that may be regulated preventively. These wild animals could then have been shot without having caused any damage.

What the lynx in Switzerland need is fresh blood from lynx of other populations. The weakening of the lynx's gene pool is by far not the only factor jeopardising the future of the lynx. Traffic accidents and poaching by hobby hunters also pose a real threat to the survival of the lynx population.

Fundamental points

Only where wild animals are hunted and family as well as social structures are destroyed does the species' own population control fail in the biotope.

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of “care and management” by Swiss hobby hunters, the proportion of endangered species is, according to the UN, greater in no country in the world than in Switzerland.

For decades, amateur hunters have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, diseases, agricultural damage and much more).

For genuine care and management, a handful of game wardens is enough, as the example of Geneva or entire countries with a hunting ban show. Wild animals would no longer be shooting-gallery targets for people with poor ethical hygiene and psychological problems.

Even without hunting, there are not suddenly too many foxes, hares or birds. Experience shows that nature can be left to its own devices. – Former national park director and wildlife biologist Heinrich Haller

Since 1 April 2015, Luxembourg has made the right decision based on verifiable scientific facts and banned fox hunting.

Those who senselessly kill wild animals protect nothing, and it serves no purpose for a civilised society. In Switzerland, every year there are human injuries and fatalities caused by the high-risk group of hobby hunters. Hobby hunting and its slaughter, organised by the cantonal administrations, is no scientific, biologically sensible or professional wildlife management. The staff of these authorities still hold the view that cruelty to animals is tradition. Not only for the fox is there no numerical kill quota planning; here any hobby hunter can simply blast away, depending on their mood and fancy.

It is crystal clear that with professional game wardens, as in Geneva, an entirely different standard replaces the leisure hunters. Wild animals benefit from this through less animal suffering, as do the population, nature and the environment. Champions League instead of amateur kickabouts.

Studies in various countries and at various times have demonstrated the influence of the red fox not only on the roe deer population: for the Bern Mittelland, it is estimated that a fox can capture on average eleven fawns in the months from May to July. In the canton of Bern, however, hobby hunters shoot around 2,500 healthy foxes for the rubbish bin every year. Exactly the number needed so that the high-risk group can later spread its hunters' yarns as indispensable regulators.

Hobby hunters do not save roe deer fawns so that they may live either; rather, they cowardly and treacherously shoot them dead themselves a few months later – currently around 1,600 per year in the canton of Bern. If the wild animals are lucky, they are killed instantly, or else, as so often, they are merely wounded and suffer. Professional game wardens are demonstrably the better marksmen, which leads to less animal suffering.

Particularly with hobby hunting, it is absolutely essential that the public looks very closely. Nowhere is there so much manipulation with untruths. Violence and lies are two sides of the same coin. Hobby hunting, not only in the canton of Bern, has for decades been nothing other than a permanently cost-intensive building site and point of contention for politics, forestry, agriculture, administrations, the judiciary, health insurers, insurance companies, animal welfare organisations, environmental and nature conservation organisations, the police, the federal government, the media, and so on. The canton of Bern does not need anywhere near as many game wardens to easily compensate for the damage and costs by abolishing hobby hunters.

The taxpayer would probably be spared hundreds of millions of francs, which the federal government, cantons and municipalities pump into forest conservation, if there were no more hobby hunters.

The hunting president

According to his body language in the film segment, the amateur hunter Lorenz Hess was uncomfortable in his own skin. He did what he does best.

Lorenz Hess: «Geneva has an army of state hunters who have nothing to do with wildlife wardens.»

In truth, it is exactly the opposite. Before the hunting ban in 1974 in the canton of Geneva, around 420 hobby hunting licences were sold per year and 7 Garde-Faune were active. An army, moreover, always means thousands of units.

So what hundreds of hobby hunters used to do pointlessly in the canton of Geneva is today done in an exemplary manner by a good dozen game wardens who together share 3 full-time positions, alongside many other tasks. From the canton of Geneva it is also known that not only the surveillance, monitoring etc. of hobby hunters was an enormous financial burden. Today the game wardens cost taxpayers the equivalent of a cup of coffee per year in wages, and the added value in biodiversity for the population is gigantic.

There are years in which in the canton of Geneva not a single red deer, roe deer, red fox, badger, marten, brown hare, jay and so on is shot, according to the federal hunting statistics. This is because there are no hunting seasons for hobby hunters, as there are in the other cantons. In the canton of Geneva, wild animals primarily enjoy a year-round closed season. Many wild animals are visible and can be experienced by the population, which is scientifically proven and valuable for the health of both animals and humans.

Sanitary and therapeutic kills by the game wardens in Geneva are not the same as decimating hunting based on hunters' tall tales or a misunderstood notion of communing with nature. According to biologists, hobby hunting does not necessarily mean fewer wild animals, but rather more births. On close analysis, hobby hunters provide no «unpaid service» to the public, and certainly not to the wild animals. Wild animals do not like hobby hunters. The hobby hunters would not perform any “unpaid service” if they were not allowed to kill.

Facts instead of hunters' tall tales

Across all cantons and over several years, in the case of roe deer the finds of dead game with gunshot wounds in the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Basel-Land, Schwyz and Zurich, and in the case of fox in the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Grisons and Zurich, account by far and consistently for the largest share of the finds.

Given the stress and the pathological hunting pressure exerted by hobby hunters in habitats that are in places densely populated, it is hardly surprising that wild animals fall ill.

What Mr Lorenz Hess always forgets to mention is that game wardens with a federal certificate of proficiency have undergone a demanding three-year additional training. Regardless of the Animal Welfare Act, the amateur hunters, shielded from public view, commit abhorrent acts of cruelty to animals and countless criminal offences. In the canton of Grisons alone there are over 1’000 complaints and fines against hobby hunters every year.

The canton of Grisons has had excellent experiences with how the wolf reduces the population of roe deer and red deer, and was thus able, in certain areas, not only to reduce the special hunt. The forestry association is delighted. With the establishment of the lynx, too, the roe deer population has markedly declined in various regions of Switzerland. This is scientifically proven. For example in the Toggenburg, Uri, Bernese Oberland or Solothurn. The roe deer and the chamois are typical prey of the lynx, so the development is hardly surprising. Forest health and the cultural landscape are far better off where there are predators instead of hobby hunters. Who complains? Always the hobby hunting associations.

Who repeatedly fights against national parks on the front line? The hobby hunting associations.

Who repeatedly fights against the protection of endangered species, as currently in the canton of Uri? The hobby hunting associations.

The Mitte politician Lorenz Hess also campaigns politically to strengthen the domestic fur market through the senseless fox hunt.

It is therefore not surprising that in the past it was repeatedly animal welfare advocates who set in motion the drive for improvements in wildlife protection. The hobby hunters always reacted reluctantly to initiatives of progress. Common sense led to more wildlife protection in the hunting world. For example, through the abolition of leg-hold traps or bird hunting with limed twigs. Animal welfare advocates were the driving force behind restricting hunting seasons and reducing the number of huntable species. To prevent the extinction of species, animal welfare advocates imposed on hobby hunters the moral obligation to manage wildlife. Or that the whole ammunition issue, wildlife corridors, etc. came to the table. The ethics of hobby hunters traditionally always lag behind the spirit of the times.

Under federal law, no canton in Switzerland is required to provide for hobby hunting. It is the right of the cantons to decide whether hobby hunting is permitted or not. If a canton decides against, or even only partially against, hobby hunting, it may freely do so under the Federal Constitution. The canton of Geneva opted for this exemplary path long ago. Many cantons already ban hobby hunting locally today through hunting reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, etc.

Nature lovers actively create wonderful experiences in nature without executing wild animals in order to feel good. There are countless commendable people who also use, tend and care for nature – performing sustainable, selfless work with the fire brigade, civil protection, animal welfare, the mountain forest project, building dry-stone walls, tending biotopes, completing rural service, rescuing roe deer fawns, wildlife stations, and so on. It would never occur to any of them to demand a violent sacrifice in the form of a living being for this, as the hobby hunters do.

Dossiers: The fox in Switzerland: most-hunted predator without a lobby | Fox hunting without facts: how JagdSchweiz invents problems

Natural disaster: hobby hunters

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of management and care by the hobby hunters, the proportion of threatened species nowhere in the world as great as in Switzerland. For decades, the contract killers have created an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape, with at times dramatic consequences (protective forests, diseases, agricultural damage, and much more). Over a third of plant, wild animal and fungal species are considered threatened. Switzerland also brings up the rear across Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. And it is precisely these circles of hobby hunters with their lobbying who, through politics, the media and legislation, are to be held responsible for this for decades. It is they 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 for them it is precisely not about nature, biodiversity and species protection or animal welfare, but about indulging their perverse, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

• that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are liquidated?
• that hobby hunters lie when assessing the quality of game meat, and that processed game meat is, according to the WHO, 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, because of the ammunition used by hobby hunters?
• that the sportsmanlike conduct of hobby hunters diametrically contradicts the Animal Welfare Act and is a fata morgana?
• that hunting is war, where animal competitors are simply liquidated?
• that there are countless illegal and unmarked high seats in our countryside, some so rotten that they pose a danger to children and people can be killed?
• 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 completely healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed each year, mostly senselessly?
• that because of hobby hunters it is today scarcely possible any more to live in harmony with wild animals, to see wild animals?
• that shotgun loads make hares scream like little children and tear apart the entrails of “shot” roe deer and red deer, so that as they flee they leave a trail for the follow-up search?
• that the claim by hobby hunters that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate wild animal populations has been scientifically refuted?
• that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “lust for killing” and “the joy of making a kill” of a pathological passion?
• that hobby hunters do not have a sixth sense and yet regularly claim that they only shoot sick and weak animals, which of course is not true in practice?
• that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far removed from any species and hunting protection regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter tour operators for such moronic hunting pleasures?
• that the vast majority are not legitimate professional hunters, but instead pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure pastime, which is not ethical and actually contradicts the Animal Welfare Act?
• that 99.07% of civilised people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning only 0.3% are hobby hunters who take pleasure in these bloody activities?
• that these wildlife killers do not hunt on the basis of scientific justifications?
• that protected species actually do not belong under hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species protection and repeatedly shoot animals on the Red List, such as the lynx, wolf, brown hare, grey partridge, quail, etc., for fun?
• that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species in order to have no competition for their unnatural behaviour (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
• that the game dies before the hobby hunter can fire even a single shot, that this is to be prevented, and that this is probably the central idea behind game management and care as well as hunting planning?
• that among wild boars (and foxes) normally only the lead sow has young, but because she is shot, all the female animals within the sounder reproduce, and this is also why we have a wild boar glut?
• that grazing animals – red deer, roe deer, etc. – originally lived mainly by day in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in the forest?
• that the wolf is vital in the long term for keeping wild ungulates healthy, because, for example, it preys with incredible precision on sick or weak animals and is thereby far superior to hobby hunters?
• that foxes mostly end up in the rubbish after the senseless hunt?
• that foxes today are mainly hunted so that there are more hares, etc. in the frying pan for the hobby hunters? That the fox, however, does not feed on hares in over 90 % of cases and never catches a healthy hare?
• that hobby hunters in wildlife protection cannot be tackled with gentleness, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. alone (a tough knot needs a sharp wedge)?
• that hobby hunters, with their hunter's tall tales, carry out a disrespectful mockery of living creatures?
• that it is frowned upon to shoot large game at the feeding station or during the mating season, yet the hobby hunter has no scruples about doing this to the fox, a competitor for prey?
• that in some cantons hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender flesh of a young animal?
• that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother cows in front of their young, or shoot 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 torment cannot be a cultural asset in a civilised society?
• that hobby hunters shoot around 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
• that hobby hunters, in the harsh winter, lure starving animals with feed, only to shoot them in a treacherous and cowardly manner?
• that hobby hunters drive trained-to-attack dogs into burrows in order to eliminate foxes and badgers (earth hunting)?
• that hobby hunters lure peaceful living creatures into box traps, in which they may have to suffer for days awaiting their killer, or which often subject the animals to an hours-long death struggle (trap hunting)?
• that hobby hunters cowardly murder or wound peaceful wild animals as they sleep or bask in the sun, ambushing them with ultra-modern precision weapons?
• that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize-givings for the trophy cult, trophy shows, the fur trade, etc.?
• that hobby hunters place firearms into the hands of underage schoolchildren and practise killing with them?
• that hobby hunters often carry out their agonising deeds in solitude, which encourages cruelty to animals?
• that hobby hunters only severely wound many wild animals and the victims often suffer for hours in enormous agony 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, also through their method of killing?
• 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 in its entirety, culminating in turning it into prey through the act of killing?
• that hobby hunters positively promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, especially on predators such as fox, lynx and wolf?
• that hobby hunters open the door wide to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behaviour?
• that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observation and interaction?
• that there is no greater product of suffering, contaminated with ammunition, than game meat?
• that there is no uniform regulation across Switzerland regarding eyesight tests, shooting practice and so on for hobby hunters?
• that there is no psychological character test for hobby hunters?
• that there is no ban on alcohol for hobby hunters when they shoot at animals with their weapons?
• that hobby hunters intrude into school institutions to foist their hunters' tall tales and their violence on 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 first and foremost disrespect and a culture of violence – precisely the opposite of what a cultivated person in our society ought to strive for.
• that in the canton of Grisons alone, over 1,000 reports and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?