Neozoa in Switzerland: Hunting, Ecology and the Principle of Hypocrisy
Humans create the problem, hobby hunters sell themselves as the solution.
Neozoa are portrayed by hunting associations as a threat to native species and instrumentalised as justification for culling, even though the problem was caused by humans themselves and hobby hunting demonstrably fails to solve it.
What are neozoa?
The term «neozoa» refers to animal species that arrived in a given area through human influence after 1492 (the year of European expansion into the Americas, which serves as the reference date). This includes both deliberately introduced species such as the coypu, originally imported for the fur industry, and animals introduced unintentionally.
The Dossier Neozoa and Hobby Hunting in Switzerland analyses which species are considered neozoa in Switzerland, how they arrived, and what ecological impacts they actually have.
Which neozoa are found in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, the raccoon, coypu, raccoon dog and, in certain bodies of water, the American crayfish are among the species classified as neozoa. The raccoon is the most prominent example in media coverage: it was released into the wild in Germany during the first half of the 20th century and has since spread southward.
The Dossier Raccoon Switzerland shows how this omnivore came to be approved for culling in Switzerland — not on the basis of clear scientific evidence of its harmfulness, but because of its “wrong origins.”
The hobby hunting lobby’s argument
The hobby hunting lobby uses neozoa as a dual justification: on the one hand, as proof that nature has “gone out of control” and requires active intervention; on the other, as a rationale for expanding hunting practices and opening up new hunting quotas. Both lines of argument obscure the root cause of the problem: human intervention itself.
The Dossier Hunting Myths deconstructs this rhetoric and shows how scientifically dubious claims become the norm in the hobby hunting debate.
Does hobby hunting solve the neozoa problem?
The research answer is largely clear: hobby hunting alone cannot sustainably control invasive animal species. Populations of neozoa adapt to hunting pressure through higher reproduction rates, shifts in activity patterns, and retreat into inaccessible habitats. Lasting reduction requires habitat management, prevention, and in individual cases intensive, coordinated measures — not recreational hunting.
The Dossier Hunting and Biodiversity shows how hobby hunting in practice tends to endanger rather than protect biodiversity, including in the context of neozoa management.
Humans as the original cause
Almost all neozoa problems in Switzerland can be traced back to human action: fur farms from which nutrias escaped; zoological gardens that released animals; the aquarium trade that introduced invasive crustacean species into waterways. To then seek the solution in hobby hunting serves a perverse logic: the recreational interests of hobby hunters are staged as a response to a problem that other forms of human leisure activity caused in the first place.
The Dossier Hunting and Animal Welfare contextualises how animal welfare and wildlife management diverge in the context of neozoa.
Selective outrage: Why is not every introduced species hunted?
Not all neozoa are subjected to hunting pressure. The selection of hunted species follows no consistent ecological logic, but rather hunting preferences: raccoon, nutria, and raccoon dog are shot; other introduced species that could be problematic for native ecosystems are spared because they are of no interest to hobby hunters. This demonstrates that the ecological argument is a pretext.
International perspective and state of research
The international state of research on invasive animal species is unambiguous: purely hunting-based measures are rarely successful. Effective measures are complex, long-term, and require state coordination. In Switzerland, such a national strategy on invasive animal species is largely absent — a vacuum that the hobby hunting lobby exploits to fill with its own offerings.
Conclusion
Neozoa are a real ecological phenomenon, but not a problem that can be solved by recreational hunting. The instrumentalization of neozoa by hunting associations primarily serves to legitimize kills and expand hunting quotas, not to protect native ecosystems. An honest debate about invasive species would have to begin with the human contribution to the causes and rely on scientifically sound measures.
Sources
- JSG (SR 922.0): Federal Act on Hunting
- JSV (SR 922.01): Hunting Ordinance
- TSchG (SR 455): Animal Protection Act
- FOEN: Invasive Non-Native Species in Switzerland
- IUCN: Guidelines for the Prevention of Biodiversity Loss Caused by Alien Invasive Species (2000)
- Cantonal release orders for raccoon and raccoon dog
