Criticism of Hubertus Mass in St. Peterzell

On November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM, a Hubertus Mass with the Toggenburg hunting horn players is scheduled to take place in the Catholic church in St. Peterzell. IG Wild beim Wild sharply criticizes this event and calls on the church to clearly distance itself from hunting and its glorification.

Hubertus masses, which are primarily attended and co-organized by militant hobby hunters, contradict all Christian ethics from the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild. Instead of teaching respect for life, they symbolically grant blessing for killing.

«Celebrating a church service that gives hunters ecclesiastical support for killing defenseless fellow creatures sends a completely wrong signal,» says Julia Bielecki, theologian. «Churches must advocate for the preservation of creation, not for its destruction.»

There are people who structure their daily lives with untruths, brutal violence, hatred and falseness. Such beings gladly join hunting associations and hunting horn groups and wallow with like-minded individuals in this breeding ground.

As with military signal trumpets, hunting horns are predominantly variants of the natural trumpet with a very limited, primitive and unfamiliar tonal range for the war music of hobby hunters. Such events are hoped to attract recruits for the sectarian and violence-prone hunting associations.

Hobby hunters spread unspeakable suffering, terror and misery among both people and wildlife. Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless is promoted by hunting associations, as a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed.

Hobby hunters practice speciesism. Speciesism is comparable to racism and sexism, and this is not culture or tradition.

Hunting exacerbates the problem instead of solving it

The IG refers to numerous scientific studies that prove hunting is not suitable for permanently regulating wild animal populations. Particularly with wild boar, raccoons or foxes, high hunting pressure leads to the animals reaching sexual maturity earlier and reproducing faster. "Those who shoot more and more create not less, but more animal cruelty," states the IG.

Added to this are the massive animal welfare problems: During driven hunts, according to the Veterinary Association for Animal Protection, up to two-thirds of the animals hit do not die immediately. They flee with shattered bones or open wounds and often die agonizingly after days.

Distorted Hubertus legend

The Hubertus mass refers to the legend of Saint Hubertus, but misses its core. After the encounter with the cross-bearing stag, Hubertus ended hunting and turned to Christ."The actual message is to live in peace with animals – not to chase, injure and kill them," states the IG.

Christianity is a religion of mercy and respect for life. Nowhere in the Bible is there any indication that Christ hunted animals. On the contrary: "Thou shalt not kill" applies universally.

Appeal to the Church

IG Wild beim Wild urgently calls on church representatives to distance themselves from violence-glorifying Hubertus masses and to acknowledge their responsibility for preserving creation. "Those who bless animals in the name of God only to have them senselessly killed afterward mock the Gospel and become complicit in senseless animal suffering."

As a hunting horn player, one particularly engages in public relations work at the Hubertus mass. "We are essentially the mouthpiece of hunting, the communication tool between hunters and the population," explains hobby hunter Buri-Frank.