Sample text: Curbing recreational hunting tourism
1. Motion
The government council is instructed to submit to the cantonal parliament a draft amendment to the Hunting and Wildlife Protection Act (… law designation …) as well as the hunting ordinance (… ordinance designation …), which effectively curbs recreational hunting tourism in the canton (…), strictly regulates the allocation of shooting licenses to foreign hunting guests and prohibits public advertising of trophy hunting trips on cantonal territory. The legislative revision must ensure in particular that
- the allocation of hunting permits and shooting licenses to persons without residence in the canton (…) is restricted to narrowly defined exceptional cases conclusively regulated by law, which must be exclusively ecologically justified
- the commercial allocation of shooting rights for coveted wildlife species (particularly ibex, chamois, black grouse) to affluent hunting guests from home and abroad is inadmissible, unless there is demonstrable wildlife ecological regulatory need
- public advertising, mediation and conduct of trophy recreational hunting trips on cantonal territory requires cantonal authorization
- cantonal practice is expressly based on the principle that wild animals are not commercially exploitable trophy goods, but are protected as sentient beings with intrinsic value according to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the constitutionally enshrined dignity of creation (Art. 120 Para. 2 Federal Constitution)
In particular, it must be legally regulated that
- revenue from hunting licenses may not be used as an argument for granting shooting licenses to visiting hunters from outside the region
- the canton annually provides public reports on the number, type, and proceeds from licenses and shooting permits issued to foreign and out-of-canton hunting guests
- hunting events on cantonal territory that promote international hunting tourism are subject to permit requirements
- the canton actively advocates at the federal level for a national import ban on hunting trophies
Furthermore, it must be ensured that
- the canton provides funding for non-lethal nature tourism alternatives
- the new regulation complies with federal law and international species protection agreements (CITES)
The government council considers the necessary transitional provisions in its proposal.
2. Brief Justification
Recreational hunting tourism is not a marginal phenomenon. In several Swiss patent hunting cantons, shooting licenses for coveted wildlife species such as ibex are issued to foreign hunting guests – sometimes including helicopter transport to high mountains, for amounts in the five-digit Swiss franc range. An objective regulatory need is not proven: these animals do not die because their population is problematically large, but because someone is willing to pay for it.
That it can be done differently is shown by the canton of Graubünden. There, patent fees for foreign hunting guests were raised to a deterrent level. This example proves that recreational hunting tourism is politically controllable.
From an animal ethics perspective, recreational hunting tourism is particularly problematic. It links the value of a wild animal to its utility as a trophy. Studies indicate that the selective removal of the strongest specimens permanently alters the genetic structures of populations. This is not species conservation.
A clear majority of the Swiss population rejects trophy recreational hunting. The Foundation for Animal Law describes recreational hunting tourism as 'questionable and highly problematic'.
The cantons have considerable discretionary scope in issuing hunting licenses. The present motion instructs the government council to use this scope consistently.