No to the hunting fair at Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach!

From March 7 to 8, 2026, a so-called Jagdmesse Schweiz is to take place at the Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach, an event that sells the killing of animals as recreational entertainment. We say: This is not culture. This is violence.

Recreational hunting is not a contribution to nature conservation, but a relic from an era when killing wild animals was considered "sport". Today we know:

There is no ecological reason to hunt carrion crows, foxes, badgers or other wildlife.
Hunting causes animal suffering, ecological damage and victims, including among humans.
Fox hunting is an abhorrent ritual that serves neither population management nor nature conservation.

We call on the Umwelt Arena and the municipality of Spreitenbach:

No platform for a culture of violence and animal cruelty!
No more venues for hunting and animal trading events!

Animal cruelty at reptile fairs

Events such as the Terra Expo (February 1, May 3, August 9, November 8, 2026) are also associated with real animal suffering: Exotic animals are crammed into tiny plastic boxes, without escape routes, under stress, fear and pain. Many die prematurely from improper care.

90% of reptiles carry dangerous salmonella, a particular danger for children. Animal shelters are overcrowded with abandoned exotic animals that could never be kept in species-appropriate conditions.

Animals are not commodities! We demand a ban on such animal welfare-violating fairs.

Nature needs protection, not bullets

Hobby hunters destroy what they claim to protect:

They create ecological imbalance,
endanger biodiversity and public safety,
and poison their own environment with their ammunition.

Year after year, over 130,000 healthy wild animals are killed in Switzerland, not out of necessity, but out of bloodlust.

Recreational hunting is not nature conservation.
Recreational hunting is a hobby.
Recreational hunting is violence.

Geneva as a model: Wildlife protection without hobby hunters

The canton of Geneva demonstrates that there is another way, with professional wildlife wardens, education, peaceful coexistence between humans and animals, and without bloody hunting rituals.

Our demand:

End the complicity between Umwelt Arena and militant hobby hunters.
End the hypocrisy of 'connection to nature' through killing.
A ban on recreational hunting and angling.
A ban on animal trade fair events.

The future belongs to compassion, ethics, and genuine respect for life. Not to violence. Not to animal cruelty. Not to recreational hunting.

Natural disaster: hobby hunters

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of management and care by hobbyhunters the proportion of threatened species is larger in no other country in the world than in Switzerland. These contract killers have been creating ecological imbalance in the cultural landscape for decades with partly dramatic consequences (protection forests, diseases, agricultural damage and much more). Over a third of plant, wildlife and fungal species are considered threatened. Switzerland is also at the bottom in Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. It is precisely these circles of hobby hunters with their lobbying who have been responsible for this through politics, media and laws for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical animal welfare improvements and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly oppose more national parks in Switzerland because it is not about nature, biodiversity and species protection or animal welfare for them, but about maintaining their perverse, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are liquidated?
that hobby hunters lie about the assessment of game meat quality and that processed game meat is carcinogenic according to the WHO, like cigarettes, asbestos or arsenic?
that according to studies, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, because of hobby hunters' ammunition?
that the hunting ethics of hobby hunters is diametrically opposed to animal welfare law, a mirage?
that hunting is war where animal competitors are simply liquidated?
that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting stands in our nature, some of which are so rotten that they pose a danger to children and can kill people?
that year after year countless people are killed or injured by hunters' weapons, sometimes so severely that they end up in wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
that in Switzerland approximately 120,000 completely healthy deer, stags, foxes, marmots and chamois are mostly senselessly killed annually?
that because of hobby hunters, it is hardly possible today to live in harmony with wildlife, to see wild animals?
that shotgun pellets make hares scream like small children and shred the entrails of 'shot' deer and stags so they leave trails for tracking while fleeing?
that the hobby hunters' claim that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations has been scientifically disproven?
that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the 'lust for killing' and 'the joy of making prey' — a pathological passion?
that hobby hunters have no sixth sense yet regularly claim they only shoot sick and weak animals, which of course is not true in practice?
that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far from any species protection and hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter tour operators for such debile hunting pleasures?
that the overwhelming majority are not legitimate professional hunters, but practice hunting as a hobby, sport and recreational activity, which is not morally acceptable and actually contradicts animal welfare law?
that 99.07% of civilized people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, so only 0.3% hobby hunters take pleasure in these bloody activities?
that these wildlife killers do not hunt based on scientific justifications?
that protected species do not actually belong in hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species protection and repeatedly shoot animals on the Red List for fun, such as lynx, wolf, brown hare, partridge, quail, etc.?
that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species to avoid competition for their unnatural behavior (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
that wildlife dies before the hobby hunter can even fire a single shot, that this must be prevented, and that this is probably the central idea of game management and care as well as hunting planning?
that with wild boar (and foxes) normally only the lead sow has young, but due to her being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and we therefore also have a wild boar plague?
that grazing animals — deer, roe deer, etc. — originally lived mainly during the day in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in the forest?
that wolves are vital for the long-term health of wild ungulates because they prey on sick or weak animals with incredible precision, thereby being far superior to hobby hunters?
that foxes usually end up in the garbage after senseless hunting?
that foxes are mainly hunted today so there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters in the frying pan? That the fox feeds on hares less than 90% of the time and never catches a healthy hare?
that one cannot only proceed against hobby hunters in animal welfare with gentleness, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. (a rough peg requires a rough hammer)?
that hobby hunters with hunters' tales engage in disrespectful mockery of living beings?
that it is frowned upon to shoot big game at feeding stations or during mating season, but hobby hunters have no scruples about doing this with their prey competitor, the fox?
that in some cantons hobby hunters only go hunting for the tender meat of a young animal?
that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother animals in front of their young or only shoot young animals during rearing time (post-special hunt)?
that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans and animals with their ammunition?
that bestiality, barbarism, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless torture cannot be cultural heritage in a civilized society?
that hobby hunters shoot around 10,000 deer fawns annually?
that hobby hunters in harsh winter lure starving animals with food only to treacherously and cowardly shoot them?
that hobby hunters chase sharpened dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (badger hunting)?
that hobby hunters lure peaceful beings into box traps where they may suffer for days and wait for their killer, or often cause the animals hours of death throes (trap hunting)?
that hobby hunters cowardly assassinate or injure peaceful wildlife while sleeping or sunbathing from ambush with highly modern precision weapons?
that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy cults, trophy shows, fur trade, etc.?
that hobby hunters put firearms into the hands of minor schoolchildren and practice killing with them?
that hobby hunters often carry out their torturous acts in solitude, which promotes animal cruelty?
that hobby hunters only severely injure many wild animals and the victims often suffer for hours under enormous pain and fear until a tracking dog finds them and they are shot?
that hobby hunters (except for vivisection) inflict the most torture and abuse on animals, also through the manner of killing?
that hunters' love of animals and nature does not rejoice in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved being body and soul, culminating in making it prey through the act of killing?
that hobby hunters actually promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, particularly on predators like fox, lynx and wolf?
that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behavior?
that hobby hunters withhold normal natural animal observations and interactions from the population?
that there is no greater torture product contaminated with ammunition than game meat?
that there is no uniform nationwide regulation regarding vision tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
that there is no psychological aptitude test for hobby hunters?
that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they shoot at animals with their weapons?
that hobby hunters infiltrate educational institutions to impose their hunting myths and violence on children?
that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting associations promote practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
that the association «JagdSchweiz» primarily cultivates disrespect and a culture of violence – exactly the opposite of what a civilized person in our society should strive for.
that in the canton of Graubünden alone, over 1’000 charges and fines are imposed against hobby hunters every year?

Further Information:

Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach