Killing as «Leisure»: Criticism of the Hunting Fair in Bern

Deadly hobby: From Thursday, 15 to 18 February 2018, the hunting and fishing trade fair «Fischen Jagen Schiessen» (Fishing Hunting Shooting) will be held on the Bernexpo grounds. PETA and the IG Wild beim Wild criticise the event and urge the public to avoid the fair. Although there is no justifiable reason for hobby hunting of species such as foxes, birds, and martens, the wild animals — as well as cats and dogs — are killed in their thousands every year, primarily as a «leisure activity». In doing so, hobby hunters frequently cause considerable suffering to these sentient beings. In addition, incidents occur every year in which stray shots or ricochets injure or even kill people, rifle bullets strike houses, or walkers suddenly find themselves under fire. Anglers lure millions of fish into traps every year, drive hooks through their mouths, let them suffocate, or in some cases gut them while still alive. The IG Wild beim Wild demands a ban on hobby hunting and sport fishing.

Killing Animals as «Leisure Sport»

«It is tasteless to promote the killing of animals as a kind of entertaining ‘leisure sport’,» says Carl Sonnthal, policy officer at the IG Wild beim Wild. «Under the guise of ‘closeness to nature’, hunting causes immeasurable suffering — every year many animals are wounded by stray shots or literally crushed in traps. Many of them die slowly and in agony. Sensitive fish are treated as toys or sporting equipment, impaled and clubbed to death.»

Hobby Hunting Is Ecologically Unnecessary

Recognized wildlife biologists agree that from an ecological standpoint, there is no necessity for hobby hunting. According to renowned biologist Prof. Dr. Josef Reichholf, the nearly extinct wolves do not need to be replaced by human hobby hunters, as natural regulation of animal populations living in forests occurs through environmental factors such as weather, food availability, and disease [1]. English scientists also concluded that fox populations, for example, self-regulate based on food availability and social factors [2]. Hobby hunting, on the other hand, destroys the age and social structures of animal populations, which leads to increased reproduction among survivors. Losses in the population are thus quickly offset or even overcompensated by offspring and immigration. Hobby hunting is unnecessary, counterproductive, and cruel.

Animals are not here for us to eat, wear, be entertained by, experiment on, or exploit in any other form. More on the animal welfare problem of hobby hunting.

[1] Reichholf, J. H.: Die Wahrheit über die Jagd – Evolutionsbiologe Prof. Josef Helmut Reichholf widerlegt Jägerlügen. TV-Dokumentation SWR BW.
[2] Baker, P., Harris, S. & White, P. (2006): After the hunt: The future for foxes in Britain. Report. University of Bristol/University of York. / Baker P. & Harris S. (2006): Does culling reduce fox (Vulpes vulpes) density in commercial forests in Wales, UK. Springer-Verlag 2005.