Lucerne: Refugees from Terror

Now every third deer is to be massacred, even though a higher population is desired.

In the canton of Lucerne, the estimated deer population in 2010 was 136 individuals. Over the past four years, the number of deer has risen by around 80% to 245. Because they are competing with other animals for space, the population is to be drastically reduced on a temporary basis, as Thomas Stirnimann, Head of the Nature, Hunting and Fisheries Division of Lucerne, recently mused in the cantonal newspaper. It makes no difference whether they are calves — those are now being particularly targeted as well. Births destined for the cull. Not much meat on those bones.

At the same time, Mr Stirnimann wishes to see the deer population grow — it just shouldn’t explode, that privilege is reserved for the hobby hunters’ rifles, let’s be clear about that. The red deer is the largest free-living wildlife species in Switzerland.

Red deer populations across Switzerland are also at risk of having their social structures and behaviour shot to pieces during periods of cantonal hunting misconduct, making them impossible to manage. Daytime activity and habituation must be preserved. Closed hunting seasons prevent forest damage. The social behaviour of red deer is highly developed. A prime negative example is the canton of Graubünden, which continually has to implement new hunting methods that amount to animal cruelty. Currently, 2 popular initiatives against the misdeeds of hobby hunters are being processed in Chur. Simply raising the culling quota in defiance of all hunting ethics and animal welfare principles is a symptom-based approach that may temporarily reduce the population in certain regions, but does nothing to solve the underlying problem. Culling is not regulation — it is hunting-driven stimulation of the birth rate. The senseless hobby hunting of healthy foxes and the destruction of their social structures likewise serve only the pleasure of the trigger-happy.

Not only the relationship between predators and prey animals is completely out of control, particularly in the canton of Lucerne. A single wolf (M20) is said to have occasionally been present there since 2009, along with fewer than 15 lynxes. Roe deer have it somewhat better. Their population has been around 7’000 for 40 years. In this canton too, hunting season on some species of wildlife is open for practically the entire year. Every hunting excursion by the more than 2’000 licensed hunters represents a massive disturbance and burden for the entire wildlife population as well as the general public.roe deer roe deer

The demand by animal welfare organizations for serious wildlife management reflects the spirit of the times

Recreational hunting has a far too long tradition of mistreating and damaging our native culture. Hobby hunters engage in various ways in animal cruelty and disturbances in nature. They repeatedly ensure that biodiversity among wildlife is diminished and unnatural population levels are reached. Hunting statistics speak a clear language. More hunting pressure does not mean less wildlife among deer, roe deer, foxes, wild boar and the like — it means more births.

One should not burden wild animals, which are already under pressure due to the loss of their habitat, with additional unnecessary stress and suffering caused by hobby hunters. Nature and our living environment should not simply be waged war upon, disfigured, and consumed on the basis of flimsy arguments. Wild animals are not resources for experimentation in times of prosperity — they are living beings that deserve respect.

Deer contribute to forest regeneration and biodiversity. Along wildlife trails, tree seedlings grow many times more abundantly. This is the finding of two studies by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, both conducted in the Swiss National Park. If deer and roe deer cause any damage in forests at all, it is because cantonal authorities have driven them there through their relentless hunting pressure. The responsible authorities should also honestly communicate to the public that they themselves are primarily the ones causing this damage. Roe deer and red deer are normally diurnal grazing animals, like sheep and goats, and when these wild animals feed, that does not constitute damage.

It is not wildlife that encroaches on animals' habitat, but livestock and humans. In Lucerne, there are more pigs than residents (over 400,000 pigs for a population of 390,000).Wild boar paradoxically have a hard time in the canton of Lucerne. Six were shot in 2014, even though the healthy animals had caused no damage.

The healthy balance of biomass is out of equilibrium

Horses   2’967	Cattle   149’606	Pigs   413’967	Sheep   17’443	Goats   4’630	Chickens   1’089’284

Deer   245	Roe deer   7’945	Chamois   1’557	Wolf   1	Lynxes   15	Wild boar   25

In 2013, the biomass of these excessive livestock in Lucerne stood at 79.5% (1,677,897). Added to this is the human population at 20% (390,000). In contrast, the biomass of wildlife amounts to just 0.5% (9,788). This means that humans and their livestock — most of which are raised under conditions of animal cruelty — outnumber wildlife by a ratio of 99.5% to 0.5%! A disproportion without equal, which should give us pause for thought. These are the real damages — not the grazing wildlife. A purely plant-based diet for humans would be a liberation for these animals and would remedy these unhealthy conditions.

Today’s “hobby hunting” has long since ceased to deserve the term hunting at all. More fitting terms would be eco-terrorism, manipulation, sniping, and predatory behavior.

Animal and nature conservationists, as well as politicians, are increasingly concerned with criticizing hobby hunters for their contribution to the distress of wildlife and the disruption of their habitats. Across Europe, more and more people are recognizing that hobby hunting is a form of cultural barbarism and animal cruelty. In many countries, hunting bans, hunting restrictions, the abolition of hunting, and similar measures are either being developed or have already been implemented.

Related dossiers and articles:

• Dossier: The Red Deer in Switzerland
• Dossier: Hunting Myths
• Dossier: Hunting and Biodiversity
• Dossier: Hunting and Animal Welfare
• Dossier: The Wildlife Warden Model
• Dossier: Hunting Ban Switzerland
• Northern Black Forest National Park to become hunt-free
• All 53 template texts for hunt-critical motions