Cantonal people's initiative – Canton Thurgau

«For professional wildlife protection»

Constitutional initiative in the form of an elaborated draft

Based on § 24 of the Constitution of Canton Thurgau of 16 March 1987 and the Law on Voting and Electoral Rights

Submitted by the initiative committee [Date of submission]

Initiative text

The undersigned persons entitled to vote in Canton Thurgau submit the following constitutional initiative:

The Constitution of Canton Thurgau of 16 March 1987 shall be supplemented by the following paragraphs:

§ [new] Professional wildlife protection

1 The practice of hunting by private persons (territorial hunting, recreational hunting) is prohibited throughout the entire territory of Canton Thurgau. Existing hunting lease contracts will not be renewed.

2 The protection, care and, where necessary, regulation of wild animals shall be the exclusive responsibility of professionally trained wildlife managers in the service of the canton.

3 The shooting of wild animals is only permitted as a last resort when all other suitable measures for damage prevention or danger control have been exhausted or are insufficient. It requires prior approval from the wildlife commission.

4 The canton shall establish an independent wildlife commission composed of representatives from animal and nature protection organizations, science, and the relevant authorities. The commission supervises wildlife management and decides on regulatory measures.

5 The canton promotes the natural regulation of wildlife populations, the networking of habitats, and the coexistence of humans and wildlife.

6 The canton compensates affected municipalities appropriately for the loss of hunting lease revenue during a transition period of five years.

7 Details are regulated by law.

§ [new] Protection of threatened and protected wildlife species

1 The canton refrains from applications for preventive population regulation of protected wildlife species under the Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds, particularly wolf, lynx, bear, beaver, otter, golden jackal, golden eagle, goosander and other species protected under federal law.

2 It focuses on promoting coexistence between humans and wildlife, passive damage prevention, ecological enhancement of habitats and scientific monitoring of wildlife presence.

3 Measures against individual wild animals that pose an immediate and significant danger to humans remain reserved. They must be limited to the minimum and carried out by the responsible cantonal specialist office.

4 The canton actively advocates for the protection and conservation of threatened wildlife species within the framework of intercantonal cooperation and vis-à-vis the federal government.

Transitional provision

1 The government council issues the necessary implementing provisions within two years of the adoption of this constitutional amendment.

2 Existing hunting lease contracts expire at the latest five years after the implementing legislation comes into force. Municipalities that lose hunting lease revenue will be appropriately compensated during the transition period.

3 The government council ensures continuity of wildlife management during the transition phase.

Explanations

1. Initial situation

In the canton of Thurgau, a rural canton with approximately 280,000 inhabitants across 991 km² of area, today's recreational hunting is a system that serves neither species protection nor contemporary wildlife management. It is the practice of a bloody leisure activity at the expense of sentient beings, legitimized through outdated narratives that cannot withstand scientific scrutiny. The claim that ecological balance would collapse without recreational hunting has been empirically refuted by the Geneva model for over 50 years (see the comprehensive dossier on the Geneva hunting ban on wildbeimwild.com).

Thurgau is a hunting concession canton. Hunting concessions are leased by municipalities to private hunting associations. The lessees pay a lease fee and hunt for their own account as a recreational activity. Contrary to widespread claims, the lessees do not assume concession responsibility in an ecological sense, but act within the framework of cantonal culling plans that are primarily oriented toward the interests of forestry and agriculture (see the psychology of recreational hunting in canton Thurgau as well as the critical analysis of hunting education on wildbeimwild.com).

At the same time, more and more protected wildlife species are coming under pressure at the federal level. Since February 2025, beavers may be shot upon cantonal application. The goosander is under increasing pressure. Thurgau is a Lake Constance canton: Lake Constance and the Thur valley are waterfowl areas of international importance. The species protection paragraph has particular relevance here (see the analysis of hunting policy on wildbeimwild.com and the wolf policy on wildbeimwild.com).

Canton Thurgau has the opportunity to set a clear signal here: not only for professional wildlife protection instead of recreational hunting, but also for consistent protection of threatened wildlife species at the cantonal level.

2. The model: Canton Geneva

On May 19, 1974, approximately two-thirds of voters in the canton of Geneva voted for the abolition of militia-based recreational hunting. Before the ban, large game in the canton was practically extinct: deer and wild boar had disappeared for decades, and only a few dozen roe deer remained. Around 300 hobby hunters extensively released pheasants, partridges, and hares for recreational hunting.

The experience since the recreational hunting ban is unequivocal:

– Biodiversity has markedly increased. The number of overwintering waterfowl has multiplied from a few hundred to around 30,000. This is the central argument for Thurgau: If the abolition of recreational hunting at Lake Geneva multiplied waterfowl from hundreds to 30,000, what potential does Lake Constance have? Lake Constance is already one of Europe's most important waterfowl areas. Without recreational hunting, it could become even more significant.

– Geneva today hosts Switzerland's largest brown hare population and one of the last partridge populations. The roe deer population has stabilized at a healthy level, with an annual specialized culling by professional game wardens of only 20 to 36 animals.

– In 2005, in a renewed referendum, 90 percent of Geneva's electorate voted to maintain the recreational hunting ban. In 2009, a motion for reintroduction was rejected in the cantonal parliament by 70 to 7 votes.

– The total costs of professional wildlife management in Geneva amount to around 1.2 million francs annually, divided into approximately 600,000 francs for personnel (about three full-time positions, distributed among around a dozen environmental officers), 250,000 francs for prevention, and 350,000 francs for damage compensation. This corresponds to around 2.40 francs per resident per year.

Geneva's fauna inspector Gottlieb Dandliker, responsible for wildlife management since 2001, describes the recreational hunting ban as the most financially viable alternative for the canton. A detailed presentation can be found in the dossier 'Geneva and the Hunting Ban' on wildbeimwild.com.

The efficiency of the Geneva model is evident in direct comparison: A professional game warden in Geneva needs an average of 8 hours and a maximum of 2 cartridges for the sanitary culling of a wild boar. A hobby hunter in the canton of Zurich needs 60 to 80 hours and up to 15 cartridges for the same task. The brown hare density in Geneva is 17.7 animals per 100 hectares (highest in Switzerland), in the canton of Zurich only 1.0 per 100 hectares (cf. Fact-check Government Council Zurich).

3. The Concept: Professional Game Management Instead of Recreational Hunting

The initiative does not replace recreational hunting with a vacuum, but with professional wildlife management based on the game warden model. This model is based on the following principles:

Professional competence instead of recreational activity. Professional wildlife managers act on scientific foundations, with biological training and within the framework of a cantonal service mandate. Their goal is the preservation of healthy wildlife populations, not the maximization of culling numbers. In contrast, recreational hunting systematically pursues the interest of securing its own raison d'être through high populations of huntable species (cf. the critical analysis of hunting education on wildbeimwild.com).

Ultima ratio principle. Culling is only permissible when all non-lethal measures have been exhausted. These include electric fences, deterrence, habitat management, relocation, taste repellents, and structural protective measures. In Geneva, fruit trees are protected with nets so that roe deer and hares do not gnaw bark. For wild boar, the canton provides farmers with electric fences. This practice demonstrates: coexistence is a matter of will, not technical possibility.

Democratic oversight through a wildlife commission. The independent commission, composed of animal and nature protection organizations, scientists and authorities, prevents political pressure from individual interest groups from watering down wildlife management. The initiative consistently anchors this protective mechanism by constitutionally enshrining the wildlife commission's approval requirement.

Natural self-regulation as guiding principle. Experience from Geneva, from national parks and from numerous scientific studies demonstrates: Wildlife populations regulate themselves independently in most cases. Recreational hunting disrupts this natural process by destroying social structures, artificially increasing reproduction rates and altering migration patterns.

4. Why Thurgau?

Canton Thurgau is particularly suitable for introducing professional wildlife protection for several reasons:

Lake Constance as a waterfowl habitat of international importance. Lake Constance is one of Europe's most important resting areas for migratory birds. At Lake Geneva, the abolition of recreational hunting multiplied the number of wintering waterfowl from a few hundred to around 30,000. Lake Constance has the same potential. The species protection paragraph of the initiative particularly protects the common merganser, which is under increasing pressure, and other waterfowl species.

Mittelland topography. Thurgau is predominantly flat to hilly (Mittelland) with the Hörnli as its highest point (1,133 m). It has no high-alpine areas. The topography is directly comparable to Geneva. The argument that the Geneva model only works in an urban canton does not apply in Thurgau: Thurgau is rural and has a similar landscape structure to Geneva, including lakeshores, river courses and fruit cultivation.

Fruit cultivation canton. Thurgau is Switzerland's largest fruit cultivation canton. The coexistence of wildlife and fruit cultivation is one of the central challenges. Geneva has shown that this coexistence works better with professional wildlife management than with recreational hunting: Fruit trees are protected with nets and protective grids, not through mass shooting.

4,000 signatures in 6 months. The collection period is 6 months, shorter than in other cantons. With 280,000 inhabitants, 4,000 signatures represent only 1.4 percent of the population. In Frauenfeld, Kreuzlingen, Amriswil, Weinfelden and Romanshorn, collection can be efficient (cf. wildbeimwild.com on wildlife in residential areas).

Beaver along Thur and Sitter. The beaver is documented along the Thur and its tributaries. Since February 2025, it may be shot throughout Switzerland upon cantonal request. The initiative protects the beaver in the canton (cf. wildbeimwild.com on predators).

Lake Geneva-Lake Constance parallel as communicative leitmotif. The parallel between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance is the strongest communicative argument for Thurgau: Two large lakes, similar ecological importance, and at Lake Geneva the hunting ban has multiplied biodiversity. What works at Lake Geneva also works at Lake Constance.

5. On the first paragraph: Professional wildlife protection

Section 1 – Ban on recreational hunting and expiration of lease contracts

The ban on territory hunting by private individuals is the core of the initiative. It corresponds to the Geneva model. The cantonal competence for this is undisputed: The federal hunting law (JSG) expressly leaves the organization of hunting operations to the cantons (Art. 3 Para. 1 JSG). The three hunting systems of Switzerland – patent hunting, territory hunting and state or government hunting – are equivalent. Canton Geneva has practiced government hunting in compliance with federal law since 1974. The addition 'Existing hunting lease contracts will not be renewed' is specific to territory hunting cantons: It ensures that the system change proceeds in an orderly manner and that existing contractual obligations are respected.

Paragraph 2 – Professional Wildlife Management

Instead of hobby hunters, professionally trained wildlife managers in cantonal service take over all tasks of wildlife care and, where necessary, population regulation. These specialists possess comprehensive biological or wildlife ecological training and act on scientific grounds and in the public interest. This system has proven successful in Geneva for over 50 years.

Paragraph 3 – Culling as Last Resort

The central innovation compared to the current system: Culling is not the rule, but the exception. Passive measures take priority. In Geneva, an average of around 250 wild boar are culled annually by game wardens (according to FOEN hunting statistics), mainly young animals, whereby lead animals are explicitly spared for ethical reasons and to preserve the social stability of the sounders.

Paragraph 4 – Wildlife Commission

The independent wildlife commission is modeled after the Geneva system's constitutional fauna commission. It ensures that animal and nature protection organizations have a voice in regulation decisions and prevents the government from independently approving exceptions under pressure from interest groups. The integration of science ensures that decisions are evidence-based and not founded on the hunting-ideological myths with which the recreational hunting lobby has legitimized its practice for decades.

Paragraph 5 – Natural Regulation and Coexistence

This paragraph anchors the guiding principle of professional wildlife protection in the constitution: Nature largely regulates itself when humans do not interfere with population dynamics through mass culling. Promoting coexistence includes in Thurgau particularly securing and networking wildlife corridors along the Thur and Lake Constance shore, ecological enhancement of wetlands and orchards, and educating the population about behavior toward wildlife (cf. wildbeimwild.com on wildlife in residential areas).

Paragraph 6 – Compensation for Municipalities

This paragraph is specific to hunting concession cantons. Thurgau municipalities that currently lease hunting grounds receive lease income. The loss of this income will be appropriately compensated during a transition period of five years. Lease income per municipality is typically modest, usually amounting to a few thousand francs annually. In relation to municipal budgets, the amount is marginal.

Transitional Provisions

The two-year deadline gives the government council sufficient time to develop implementing legislation, hire professional wildlife managers, and establish the wildlife commission. The five-year phase-out clause for existing hunting lease contracts is constitutionally required to preserve the property guarantee of municipalities and lessees. The existing hunting and fisheries office can serve as an institutional foundation.

6. On the Second Paragraph: Protection of Threatened and Protected Wildlife Species

The second paragraph is particularly relevant for Thurgau. Lake Constance and the Thur valley are waterfowl areas of international importance. The goosander, a federally protected species, is under increasing political pressure. The beaver is documented along the Thur and its tributaries and may be culled as of February 2025. The species protection paragraph enshrines the renunciation of regulation applications in the constitution.

The 'in particular' formulation is designed as a dynamic reference to federal law. It ensures that cantonal protection automatically applies to species that the federal legislature places under protection or on a regulation list in the future, without requiring a constitutional amendment (cf. the Analysis of wolf policy on wildbeimwild.com).

7. Cost implications: Concrete budget for Thurgau

The Geneva reference budget

In Geneva, which at 282 km² is around three and a half times smaller than Thurgau and has around 500,000 inhabitants, the total costs of professional wildlife management amount to around 1.2 million francs annually: around 600,000 francs for personnel, around 250,000 francs for prevention and around 350,000 francs for damage compensation.

Projection for Thurgau

For Thurgau with 991 km² area and around 280,000 inhabitants, the following realistic cost estimate emerges:

Personnel costs: 480,000 to 700,000 francs annually. Required are 4 to 5 full-time positions for professional wildlife managers. A full-time position in cantonal service costs around 120,000 to 140,000 francs annually including social contributions and employer overhead costs. Thurgau is around three and a half times larger than Geneva, but topographically simpler (Mittelland, no Alps).

Material costs: 100,000 to 150,000 francs annually. This includes equipment, vehicles, deterrent devices, monitoring infrastructure (camera traps, GPS transmitters), structural protective measures, electric fences and public relations work.

Damage compensation: 80,000 to 150,000 francs annually. Mainly wild boar damage in agriculture, browsing damage in fruit growing and beaver damage to watercourses.

Total costs: 660,000 to 1,000,000 francs annually (gross). This corresponds to around 2.35 to 3.55 francs per inhabitant per year.

Savings

These are offset by savings: The canton no longer has to manage hunting lease contracts, conduct hunting examinations, create shooting plans or organize hunting supervision. The resources currently assigned to these tasks within the hunting and fisheries office can be partially reallocated.

Lost revenues

With the abolition of hobby hunting, the lease revenues from territory hunting of an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 francs annually, which currently flow to Thurgau municipalities, will be eliminated. This amount is marginal in the cantonal overall budget (cf. Dossier on the Geneva hunting ban on wildbeimwild.com).

8. On the initiative process in Canton Thurgau

In Canton Thurgau, a popular initiative at constitutional level requires the collection of 4,000 signatures within 6 months (§ 24 para. 2 KV TG). The initiative committee must be registered with the Government Council (§ 24 para. 3 KV TG). Upon submission, the Government Council examines the initiative for admissibility (§ 24 para. 4 KV TG). If approved, it is submitted to the Grand Council and subsequently to the people for voting.

The 4,000 signatures can be collected in Frauenfeld, Kreuzlingen, Amriswil, Weinfelden and Romanshorn. These are the five largest cities in Canton Thurgau. With a professional collection system, this is achievable.

9. Strategic embedding

The Thurgau initiative is part of a national strategy: In several cantons, popular initiatives for professional wildlife protection are being launched in coordination. Coordinated measures at national level create synergies in argumentation, media work and political positioning. Thurgau is suitable as a pilot canton for the Lake Constance region.

10. Further procedure

This document is a template text from IG Wild beim Wild. It can be freely used by activists, organizations or initiative committees and adapted to conditions in Canton Thurgau.

The next step is the formation of an initiative committee in Canton Thurgau, consisting of people from various municipalities in the canton, with voting-eligible persons from Thurgau. The committee ensures the sponsorship of the initiative and gives it political legitimacy.

The legal foundation, political argumentation, communicative framework and budget are established with this document. The initiative committee can begin implementation directly.

Cantonal Popular Initiatives – Additional Cantons

This document is a template text from IG Wild beim Wild. It can be freely used by activists, organizations or initiative committees and adapted to the circumstances in Canton Thurgau.

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