FAQ

How many hunting accidents occur in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, approximately 300 UVG-recognized accidents in recreational hunting are registered annually. Since 2000, according to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), over 75 people have been killed in the context of recreational hunting.

Wild beim Wild Editorial Team — March 7, 2026

Mathematically speaking, a hunting accident occurs every 29 hours. Despite this, there is still no central, comprehensive reporting requirement – and the number of unreported cases is considerable.

What do BFU data since 2000 reveal?

The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU) has been documenting hunting accidents for decades. Evaluations since 2000 show a consistently alarming picture: Over approximately 25 years, more than 75 fatal hunting accidents were recorded. This corresponds to an average of three deaths per year in the recorded categories alone. Additionally, dozens of severely injured individuals with permanent disabilities are recorded annually.

The BFU distinguishes between firearm accidents, falls, and other accidents in hunting operations. Firearm accidents constitute a significant portion of serious and fatal accidents – contrary to the occasionally cited narrative from the hunting lobby that recreational hunting is 'safer than golf.' Source: BFU – Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.

SUVA data 2006–2015 and 2016–2020: What the numbers show

SUVA (Swiss Accident Insurance Fund) records hunting accidents as recreational accidents under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG). The analysis for the period 2006–2015 shows approximately 300 recognized accidents annually in recreational hunting, around 2 deaths per year, and around 2 new disability pensions per year.

The subsequent period 2016–2020 confirms these figures and provides an important cost dimension: Still around 300 accidents per year, around 1 death per year (in the recorded collective), around 2 new disability pensions per year, and annual insurance costs of around 3.6 million francs.

These 3.6 million francs per year cover exclusively the costs for the insured collective — namely employed hunting supervisors, game wardens and similar professional groups as well as hobby hunters who are UVG-obligated as gainfully employed persons. The total economic costs including the uninsured are far higher.

The dark figure: Who is not recorded

The SUVA statistics have a fundamental gap: They only record persons who are obligatorily insured under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG). Retired hobby hunters — statistically a particularly accident-prone group, as older age groups are disproportionately represented in hunting — fall completely outside the statistics. The same applies to self-employed persons without voluntary UVG coverage, housewives and househusbands, students, and foreign guest hunters who hunt in Switzerland.

Since hobby hunters in Switzerland are significantly older than the population average — many are 55 years and older, a considerable proportion is already retired — the dark figure is structurally substantial. A nationwide, complete hunting accident statistic does not exist to this day.

Cantonal distribution: Where do most accidents happen?

The regional distribution of hunting accidents follows hunting intensity and terrain character. According to BFU evaluations, Graubünden accounts for 28% of all recorded hunting accidents. This is followed by accidents abroad (Swiss hobby hunters on hunting trips) with 16%, Ticino with 7%, Aargau with 6%, and Valais with 5%. The remaining cantons share the remaining 38%.

The high proportion in the canton of Graubünden is explained by the alpine terrain, the high hunting season (which annually sends thousands of hobby hunters into difficult mountain terrain), and the sheer size of the hunting area. The 16% of foreign accidents show that Swiss hobby hunters also take on considerable accident risks during hunting trips abroad.

Concrete case: The fatal accident in Vaud, December 2024

In December 2024, in Oulens-sous-Echallens in the canton of Vaud, a 64-year-old hobby hunter was shot dead by a colleague. A group was trying to drive wild boars out of dense undergrowth. In the confusion of the situation, another hobby hunter opened fire and fatally struck the 64-year-old. The case exemplifies the dangerous combination of group hunting, poor visibility, and high stress levels that is typical for driven hunts and battues.

Such cases are not isolated incidents. In previous years as well, there were fatal hunting accidents in various Swiss cantons due to confusion between animal and human or misdirected shots in groups. The lack of public documentation prevents systematic investigation of these cases.

Alcohol in recreational hunting

A factor that is hardly addressed in public discussion is alcohol consumption. In many hunts — particularly in social driven hunts and community hunts — the communal consumption of alcohol is part of hunting culture. Stalking and driving alternate with breaks during which schnapps and wine are served.

In Switzerland, there are no comprehensive, binding legal alcohol bans for hobby hunters during active hunting operations. Some cantons have recommendations or regulations in hunting ordinances, but a clear 0.5 per mille limit with systematic controls comparable to road traffic law is not established in hunting. Anyone who drinks alcohol while driving risks losing their license; anyone who consumes alcohol while hunting with a rifle risks — apart from the lives of others — few legal consequences.

JagdSchweiz's conflict of interest with its own statistics

JagdSchweiz, the umbrella organization of Swiss hobby hunters, collects and publishes data on hunting accidents itself. This creates an obvious structural conflict of interest: The association that lobbies for the interests of hobby hunters and wants to present hunting in the most positive light possible simultaneously produces the statistics on which public debates and authorities rely.

JagdSchweiz statistics do not capture the same population as SUVA or BFU, which complicates direct comparisons. The association has an interest in presenting accident figures as low as possible. There is no independent external review of JagdSchweiz's own data collection. Cantons that are supposed to report hunting accidents do so at different offices and according to different criteria.

Missing central reporting obligation: A structural problem

Unlike in other dangerous recreational areas, there is no central, complete reporting obligation for all accidents in hobby hunting in Switzerland. The cantons handle documentation differently, some not systematically at all.

The contrast to other EU countries is striking: In France, where hunting is particularly intensive and socially controversial, the government has introduced a public database for hunting accidents after a series of fatal accidents and legally enshrined minimum distances to residential areas. Switzerland is far from comparable transparency measures. Further information on European comparisons is provided in our Dossier on hunting victims in Europe.

What the 3.6 million francs do not include

The annual SUVA costs of 3.6 million francs for hunting accidents only capture direct insurance benefits for the UVG-mandatory collective. Not included are: costs for accidents involving retirees and self-employed individuals; costs for psychological aftercare of accident victims and witnesses; costs for prosecution and court proceedings following hunting accidents; costs for search and rescue operations (helicopters, mountain rescue); production losses due to disability; costs for accidents abroad. The real total economic costs are thus considerably higher. More on this in the dossier "What hobby hunting really costs Switzerland".

Hunting accidents and poaching: The criminal dimension

Not all firearm incidents in hunting contexts are accidents. Part of the reported cases involves illegal shootings, poaching and the intentional shooting of wildlife outside permitted times, areas or species. These cases are categorized differently in hunting accident statistics but are part of the overall picture. Our Dossier on poaching and hunting criminality illuminates this dimension.

Political demands: What would be necessary

From a hunting-critical perspective, there is an urgent need for: a central, independent reporting obligation for all hunting accidents regardless of insurance status; complete documentation of all victim groups including retired and foreign hunting tourists; an alcohol and drug ban in hunting analogous to road traffic law; safety distances to settlements, hiking trails and recreational areas; and independent control of JagdSchweiz statistics. Further contextual information is provided in our Dossier on hobby hunting and weapons.

Conclusion: Transparency instead of association statistics

Hunting accidents in Switzerland are no marginal phenomenon. Around 300 recorded accidents per year, 3.6 million francs in direct insurance costs, a massive dark figure due to missing data collection for retirees and self-employed individuals – and an interest group that holds data sovereignty over its own accident statistics. This is no coincidence, but the result of a lobby structure that prevents transparency. As long as no independent, complete and mandatory hunting accident statistics exist, the extent of the problem remains in the dark.

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More background on current hunting policy in Switzerland can be found in our Dossier on wildbeimwild.com.