Hunting licence raffle at RTR: IG Wild beim Wild takes case to the UBI with 114 signatures

The SRG ombudsman sees no problem in RTR's kill hotline, hunting licence raffle and trophy photo competition. IG Wild beim Wild has therefore lodged a complaint with the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television. It also objects to images of children alongside killed wild animals.

Acquarossa, 2 November 2026. The ombudsman of SRG.R, Toni Hess, rejected IG Wild beim Wild's complaint against RTR's hunting portal «Chatscha grischuna» on all counts in his final report of 30 October 2026. IG Wild beim Wild today took the case to the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) in Bern. 114 people support the public complaint (Popularbeschwerde) with their signatures.

What this is about

RTR, the Romansh business unit of the SRG, took telephone kill reports every hunting day during the 2026 Grisons high hunt on the programme «La Preda» (the prey). Anyone who had killed an animal and reported it entered the raffle for a hunting licence for 2027. The draw was made by a cantonal game warden, and the licence was financed by the Graubündner Kantonalbank. In parallel, RTR let the audience vote for the «most beautiful» photo of the hunt, including trophy photos showing killed animals. We set out the background in the article RTR: SRG broadcaster raffles hunting licence and crowns the “most beautiful” trophy photo.

What the ombudsman decided

Toni Hess considers the objections concerning the trivialisation of violence, protection of minors, factual accuracy and diversity to be unfounded and makes no recommendation to RTR. The photos showed the animals «in a respectful manner», he says, and the gutting incisions were «covered with fir branches in each case». Trophy photos are «part of everyday reality». The requirement of factual accuracy did not apply, he argues, because RTR was concerned with an «entertaining portrayal» of hunting.

Why IG Wild beim Wild is taking it further

• No dead animal, no ticket. RTR speaks of a «mere random draw». But only those who had killed an animal could take part, and the prize is permission to kill again.
• Entertainment trivialises violence. The Ombudsman himself classes the formats as 'entertaining presentation'. Anyone who stages and rewards the killing of animals as entertainment trivialises violence. That is precisely what Art. 4 para. 1 of the Federal Act on Radio and Television prohibits.
• The fir sprigs conceal the violence. The wound is covered up, the animal arranged for the camera. The code of the Grisons Cantonal Licence Hunters' Association itself rejects such 'unnecessarily staged depictions of killed game'.
• RTR knows the impact. On 12 September 2026, RTR itself reported on a study according to which 96.1 to 98.5 per cent of emotional reactions to photos with kills are negative and 73.3 per cent want a content warning. A few weeks later, the broadcaster put such images to a public vote without any content warning.
• Blood despite promises. RTR states that bloody depictions are excluded. In the RTR gallery, image 8 shows a girl holding a dead chamois in her arms, with blood sticking to the animal's muzzle.
• Sponsorship not labelled. RTR confirms that it is funded by the Graubündner Kantonalbank and announces that it will review the labelling in future. On the registration page of 'La Preda' on 26 September 2026, in the middle of the high hunt, there was no mention of the bank whatsoever; a screenshot is available. RTR has since added the notice. The UBI is to forward this point to the Federal Office of Communications.

Children next to dead animals

The complaint also objects to four images from the RTR gallery showing children next to killed wild animals, including a toddler next to a shot fox with the caption 'Pleased with the first kill'. In two cases, names and places of residence in the captions make the children identifiable. Under Art. 4 para. 1 RTVG, programmes must respect fundamental rights. The IG Wild beim Wild sees the children's right to privacy and to their own image as violated, as protected by the Federal Constitution (Art. 13) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 16).

What happens next

The UBI is examining whether RTR has violated the ban on trivialising violence, the requirement of fair and balanced reporting, and the protection of minors. The IG Wild beim Wild is not pursuing the complaint on diversity any further. If the UBI finds a violation, the SRG must set out what measures it will take. The procedure is, in principle, free of charge.

«A licence-fee-funded broadcaster that rewards kill reports with a hunting licence and awards prizes for the 'most beautiful' photos of dead animals is no longer a neutral observer. It has become part of the staged spectacle it was supposed to document. A public broadcaster must not accept that children are shown next to dead animals as well.»

Carl Sonnthal, IG Wild beim Wild

Contact: IG Wild beim Wild, Carl Sonnthal, Postfach 120, 6716 Acquarossa, info@wildbeimwild.com, +41 (0) 79 236 95 81. We will make the complaint and the final report of the ombudsman's office available to newsrooms on request. To protect the children, we will not release the photos of the children.

On the subject of the trophy photo, IG Wild beim Wild has released the song «Bitte lächeln» («Smile, please»). It tells, from the perspective of the killed animal, the story of the photo for which recreational hunters pose with their prey. Like all Anti-Hunting Songs it is free to use.

You will find more background in the category Hunting on wildbeimwild.com.