Zurich Hunting Authority Files Complaint Against Mountain Biker
Obenabe is a quirky no-budget film about trail biking in the forests of Winterthur. In the laid-back Winterthur dialect, cartoonist Ruedi Widmer serves as host, introducing viewers to the nature of “bike people.”
Video Attracts Attention of Hunting Administration
The video “Obenabe” did not make big waves in the mountain biking world, but it did attract the attention of the Fisheries and Hunting Administration of the Canton of Zurich.
They reported the filmmakers to the public prosecutor's office for several violations, including the use of a Karabiner 11, a Swiss army rifle from the First World War.
Although it garnered 676 views in six months, it appears that the mountain biking community on YouTube is looking for different content. The Fisheries and Hunting Administration of the Canton of Zurich found the film inappropriate and identified several offences, such as unauthorised filming on public land by the IG Biketrails Winterthur.
Charges Dropped
Furthermore, a man in the film was observed carrying a loaded Karabiner 11, which led to a charge of possession of a weapon without a permit. Filmmaker Tom Meister successfully argued that it was not his intention to illegally hunt, and the charges were dropped.
Proceedings Formally Closed
The public prosecutor also determined that riding on the trails in the forests of Winterthur was not illegal, as it was recorded with helmet cameras.
The filming took place in May 2023; in June, the criminal complaint was filed with the Zurich cantonal police; in September, the Winterthur/Unterland public prosecutor's office decided to close the proceedings for several reasons. The decision has since become legally binding. Despite the legal success, Meister had to bear the costs of the proceedings.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier The Role and Criticism of Recreational Hunters we shed light on the training, power and self-image of recreational hunters. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
