Criticism of the Obwalden Fälimärt 2026 in Giswil
How such events combine tradition, commerce and animal suffering.
Criticism of fur, pelt and trophy events in Switzerland, exemplified by the traditional Obwalden Fälimärt in Giswil (OW) on 14 March 2026.
Wild animals are not a commodity for entertainment, prestige and commerce.
The IG Wild beim Wild criticises fur, pelt and trophy events in Switzerland in the strongest terms. Year after year, such events present killed wild animals as trophies, decorative objects and merchandise. This normalises a way of dealing with wild animals that is no longer in keeping with the times and that clearly contradicts society's expectations of animal ethics and respect for fellow creatures.
The organisers sell these events as the cultivation of tradition and as a contribution to so-called game management. In reality, the focus is on killed wild animals, whose body parts are measured, graded, awarded prizes or traded as merchandise. This practice promotes an outdated trophy culture in which it is not the animal as a sentient individual that counts, but rather the hunting achievement and the size of antlers, horns or other «signs of success».
It is particularly offensive that such events additionally serve as a marketplace for the trade in furs. Fox furs and other hides are bought up, assessed, sometimes awarded prizes or raffled off. This trade ignores the suffering behind every single fur and contributes to the view of wild animals as a raw material. While politics and society are taking steps towards restricting the fur trade, Switzerland continues to celebrate a commercialised form of hobby hunting that is ethically barely justifiable.
Such markets are not folklore, but part of a system that assigns value to animal bodies. When furs are traded at unit prices, animal suffering becomes a matter of calculation. It is precisely this logic that is incompatible with a modern understanding of wildlife protection
The IG Wild beim Wild also points out that the hunting practice depicted often conveys a sugar-coated picture. In reality, missed shots, injured animals and long periods of suffering are part of the everyday reality of hobby hunting. These aspects are neither addressed at such events nor openly communicated by those responsible. The claim that trophy shows serve to analyse the state of wildlife populations is hardly tenable. Scientifically based monitoring instruments do not require displayed skulls and antlers, which primarily serve self-promotion. Trophies are a material expression of killed wild animals, whose kill quality, follow-up search and suffering barely feature in the official picture.
From an animal welfare perspective, it is also concerning that children and young people are introduced to such events without being taught a respectful and contemporary way of dealing with wild animals. Instead of imparting knowledge, the focus is on a spectacle that trivialises violence and propagates a romanticised hunting world.
Arms dealers, optics manufacturers, hunting accessories, hunting trips, raffles of hunting kills abroad: a hunting-industrial system of violence is emerging, in which kills and animal carcasses are part of a marketing system.
Those who kill senselessly protect nothing, and it is of no use to civilised society. Hobby hunters therefore do not ensure healthy or natural wildlife populations, especially not with their abhorrent fox hunting. Such events regularly raise questions about ethical aspects, licensing practice and public perception, and it is high time they were fundamentally reviewed politically and socially.
The IG Wild beim Wild calls on those responsible in municipalities, towns and cantons to fundamentally rethink such events. A civilised society does not need contests in which dead wild animals are presented as achievements, nor does it need a market on which pelts are traded like any other commodity. What is needed instead is a respectful understanding of wild animals, a scientifically grounded wildlife ecology and a move away from hobby hunting.