Graubünden: Stop the fox and badger massacre

Conditions like the deepest Middle Ages in Graubünden! To justify the ruthless persecution of one of our most interesting predators, they simply claim that fox and badger hunting during the low hunting season is necessary because their populations would otherwise get out of hand – a long outdated view!

Fundamentally, lightly hunted fox populations also produce fewer offspring. Humans always create conflicts with wildlife that share the same habitat. Humans cause, particularly in wildlife habitats, extremely more damage than the few grapes that a badger can enjoy.

In Switzerland, the cantons of Bern, Aargau, Graubünden, St.Gallen, Valais, Lucerne and Zurich stand out particularly negatively with disproportionate hunting of fox and badger.

Given the stress and pathological hunting pressure of hobby hunters in the sometimes densely populated habitat it is no wonder that wildlife becomes sick.

It is known, according to the Swiss Rabies Centre, that the activities of hobby hunters have only spread the disease further and with fox mange etc. it is no different.

It is precisely this mentality of senseless exploitation out of greed or misguided nature experience, which results in Switzerland having the longest red list of endangered species in all of Europe. Senseless killing takes place at national, regional and local levels. It is obvious that biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems in Switzerland are not adequately protected by hobby hunters. Paradoxically, it is always these same circles of hobby hunters and livestock farming representatives who, through their lobbying work via politics, media and laws, have been responsible for this for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical animal welfare improvements and sabotage serious animal and species protection.

For foxes, there is no legal shooting plan and population assessment. Fox hunting resembles short-circuit ecology for insufficiently trained hunters.

For the IG Wild beim Wild, it is not productive to give the cantons more powers in the hunting law – quite the opposite. They cannot handle the responsibility, are overwhelmed, are insufficiently trained as hobby hunters and decision-makers, and they lie. Moreover, they already have enough carte blanche.

Violence begins in Graubünden, where knowledge ends

Laax shows the mentality of the Graubünden people – unchristian, striking down on the weaker and vulnerable with brutal and lethal violence. For this reason, this canton hosts Switzerland's most ignominious hunting events.

Adrian Arquint, head of the Office for Hunting and Fishing, also embodies this principle and mentality, for example with the shooting of innocent young wolves (Wild beim Wild informed).

We praise the Canton of Geneva with professional wildlife management without hobby hunters, but with upright game wardens. On Lake Geneva there are vineyards and other crops, just as in the rest of Switzerland. Apparently, however, they have humane and more ethical approaches in dealing with wildlife and intelligent measures to protect crops. In Geneva, no foxes, martens or badgers are regulated just because it's hunting season. This is also reflected in the federal hunting statistics (2). Instead, practical deterrent measures (12) and sensible education and assistance as well as continuing education among the population with game wardens take place. Safety, animal welfare and ethics are the watchwords.

Accordingly, every fox or badger hunt in Graubünden with stupidly grinning hobby hunters on selfies is a clear violation of the Animal Welfare Act, because it lacks reasonable cause. Fox and badger hunting in Graubünden is thus organized animal cruelty, for which the municipal council of Laax now also pays a bounty of 40 francs per head.

Wild animals also have feelings and emotions. They can suffer, mourn and feel joy. Like us humans, they live in family units and social structures, which hobby hunters usually terrorize and desecrate for fun.

For a full 6 months per hunting season, foxes in Graubünden are pursued – with the badger are 4 1/2 months. With this stress, one need not wonder why these animals become sick. Across all of Europe, the epicenter of fox tapeworm reports lies in Switzerland, precisely in the region of Switzerland where hunting-affiliated hobby hunters have entrenched themselves with cantonal authorities. These senseless disturbances and noise emissions caused by hobby hunters' night hunting in wildlife habitats always disrupt entire wildlife populations and residents as well.

Master Grimbart – as the badger is called in fables – is not frequently observed: The largest member of the marten family is shy and only active at night. Badgers spend the day mainly in badger setts, which are usually located at settlement edges and often used for generations. Badgers too are harmless to humans and pose no danger to agriculture, forestry, or wild and domestic animals. Badgers do not attack cats and are mainly active at night. When they must defend themselves against dogs, the dog usually loses. Badgers spend winter or periods of low temperatures predominantly sleeping – they maintain winter dormancy.

Science versus hunters' tales

For more than 30 years, there have been at least 18 wildlife biology studies proving: Fox hunting does not regulate and is also useless for disease control. On the contrary!

Scientific studies (5) have shown that even when three-quarters of a population is shot, the same number of foxes are present again the next year. The more intensively they are hunted, the more offspring there are – any kind of "regulation" of these populations is neither necessary nor possible through hunting methods.

Fox populations are regulated through a complex social system. Foxes live in family groups where only the highest-ranking vixen produces offspring (like the lead sow among wild boar). Birth control instead of mass misery, as biologist Erik Zimen commented on this phenomenon. However, when humans intervene in fox populations with traps and guns, these family communities (3) are destroyed. As a result, nearly all vixens become ready to mate, and the number of cubs per litter also increases significantly.

«Even without hunting, there would not suddenly be too many foxes, hares or birds. Experience shows that nature can be left to itself. From a purely pragmatic perspective, small game hunting is not necessary.»

Heinrich Haller, former National Park Director Graubünden and wildlife biologist

Studies in various countries and at different times have also documented the red fox's influence not only on roe deer populations: For the Bernese Mittelland, it is estimated that one fox can capture an average of eleven fawns in the months from May to July. This also reduces browsing damage (1).

Many case examples such as national parks, Luxembourg (10) or for example the Canton of Geneva have shown that there are no valid arguments for these massacres. Vacated habitat is immediately reoccupied by these animals. It is scientifically well documented that fox populations develop largely independently of hunting influence attempts, because hunting conversely causes reproduction rates to skyrocket.

In Switzerland, however, hobby hunters shoot around 20,000 healthy foxes annually for the garbage dump or incineration (2). Exactly the number needed so that the risk group of hobby hunters can later spread their sectarian hunters' tales as indispensable regulators. The senseless mountain of carcasses at taxpayers' expense must be ended. Recreational hunters cause more problems than they allegedly solve. This perverse behavior does nothing to help the forests either.

These hunts repeatedly result in fatal cases of mistaken identity, with hobby hunters shooting protected species such as golden jackals or wolves (8).

Publication dated 25.10.2019 in the Official Gazette of Laax / GR

FOX AND BADGER BOUNTIES

According to a decision by the municipal board of Laax, a bounty of CHF 40.– will be paid for each fox and each badger killed by local hunters on the municipal territory of Laax during the next low hunt.

To claim this credit, foxes and badgers must now be inspected by Mr. Peter Truog, mobile 076 307 71 11. Please contact him directly.

The bounties will be paid out from 9 March 2020 by the municipal office of Laax based on the reported inspections by Mr. Peter Truog.

Laax, 25.10.2019

Can enlightened female taxpayers and responsible male taxpayers still reconcile with their conscience supporting such holiday destinations in Switzerland that care not one bit about ethics, science or animal welfare?

End the animal cruelty and tax money waste in the Canton of Graubünden.

Fox hunting is ecologically, economically and epidemiologically senseless – indeed even counterproductive! – and must therefore be banned in the interests of humans, nature and wildlife as well as from the perspective of ethics, morality and animal welfare. Blind activism and violence help no one.

Food intake by wildlife in shared habitats is not damage, but a natural process for the survival of these creatures. Here tolerance and fairness are required. We humans build over and destroy the habitat of wildlife at all levels many times more extensively. Wildlife has just as much right to exist as humans. These disrespectful killing campaigns and bounty rewards are completely disproportionate to a healthy and heart-forming sense of justice. Against hail and bird damage, for example, one also protects oneself with nets or deterrence.

With this direct submission of the petition to decision-makers, we demand that the killing of these wonderful creatures be prohibited as quickly as possible and published in the Official Gazette.

• Municipal Authority Laax
• Adrian Arquint, Office for Hunting and Fisheries

Voice your opinion to decision-makers in Graubünden by telephone:

• Peter Truog, hobby hunter, +41 76 307 71 11
• Franz Gschwend, Municipal President, +41 79 432 32 06
• Christian Capaul, Municipal Board, +41 79 658 96 41
• Beat Camathias, Municipal Board, +41 79 337 84 76
• Marita Buchli, Municipal Board, +41 79 324 94 55
• Ralf Seelig, Vice President, +41 79 401 44 73
• Rest Giacun Coray, Municipal Secretary, +41 81 921 51 51
• Adrian Arquint, Office for Hunting and Fisheries, +41 81 257 38 91

In addition to this, we demand:

• The recognition of scientific studies and expert opinions (not from the hobby hunter milieu), which question or refute the necessity of hunting.
• No dissemination of sectarian or refuted hunter lies, such as the alleged necessity of regulating fox populations, as well as fear-mongering about rabies, fox tapeworm and mange, or that the fox is to blame for the decline of small game, etc.
• The killing of animals as part of a leisure activity has no place in the 21st century and should also be prosecuted under criminal law.

Justification:

In Graubünden, 3,412 foxes were killed in the 2017 hunting season without scientific basis or wildlife biology expertise by militant hobby hunters. In 1984, it was only 950. Numerically, they form the largest group of murdered predators. For badgers, it was 47 specimens in 1984 and now 247.

The alleged threat to meadow birds, i.e. ground-nesting birds, can be relegated to the realm of hunters' tales, as there are research studies that classify the influence on bird populations as insignificant (3). This becomes all the more understandable when one considers the main diet of foxes: mice and earthworms. Foxes are pronounced beneficial animals for agriculture. And that foxes are pronounced forest beneficiaries and protect humans from diseases through their diligent destruction of mice (which are considered the main carriers of Lyme disease, for example) is known to only few people.

The false arguments of alleged control of rabies, fox tapeworm or mange through merciless hunting are scientifically refuted. Mange is much rarer than assumed and foxes with good constitution can heal from mange. These fox populations are then resistant to new infections. Furthermore, mange in foxes poses no danger to humans or domestic animals.

Fox tapeworm

Fewer foxes, less fox tapeworm, thus also less infection risk for humans. At first glance a plausible conclusion, but upon precise analysis just hunters' tales after all, as several international studies (6) demonstrate.

Throughout Europe, the epicenter of fox tapeworm reports lies in Switzerland, precisely in that area of Switzerland where hunting-affiliated hobby hunters have entrenched themselves with cantonal authorities. These senseless disruptions and noise emissions during the hunting of hobby hunters in the habitat always disturb the entire wildlife populations and residents as well.

There are far more zoonoses in domestic and farm animals. As a rule, only hobby hunters contract a zoonosis like fox tapeworm. About 20 – 30 people in Switzerland become infected with this liver disease (Echinococcus multilocularis) per year. This is no more than before, when fewer foxes were found in cities. The immune system of most people is strong enough to fight off an infection. As a rule, the larvae of the fox tapeworm develop in the liver of mice and some rats. If a fox eats the infected mouse, a tapeworm develops again in its intestine. Cats and dogs that eat mice can also spread the parasite in this way, but do not become ill themselves. The fact that the frequency of disease in Switzerland is very low, that direct transmission from fox to dogs is not possible, and that neutered animals do not get fox tapeworm can be seen as somewhat reassuring.

Urban foxes generally have an infestation rate below 20%, as their diet consists mainly of food scraps. Rural foxes, on the other hand, have a higher infestation rate because they feed abundantly on field mice.

The infection risk for normal forest visitors is minimal. Contrary to many rumors, no fox tapeworm patient is known to have become infected through forest berries. Berries that hang high on the bush are ruled out as an infection pathway. It is hard to imagine how fox feces should reach berries hanging high up.

"We have observed that fox mothers give birth to more young where the animals are hunted. One can indeed create relief through culling at specific points, but the free territories are soon reoccupied. Nature regulates this itself."

 Game warden Fabian Kern

Culling of foxes can even have the effect that the freed habitat is newly inhabited by foxes with a much larger proportion of fox tapeworm carriers.

Fox mange

Not every scruffy-looking fox has mange, and dogs are not at high risk of infection either. The parasitic mange mite can indeed affect dogs or humans – but this infestation is very treatable in both cases. The apparently increased local occurrence of said mites is not the result of overpopulation density among foxes. Therefore, increased hunting would not prevent the spread of mange either. Scientific evidence shows that hunting foxes is actually counterproductive for controlling wildlife diseases. Generally, it has been shown that in intensively hunted areas, the fox population does not decline but actually increases through enhanced reproduction and immigration of animals.

The main reasons for the spread of fox mange are considered to be intensive hunting. Hunting leads to an artificially rejuvenated and increasing population with weak immune systems, resulting in an autumn increase of migrating young foxes that spread pathogens they carry.

"Unfortunately, we cannot provide health data for the culled foxes, as this is not recorded in the harvest control. This applies to both hunting and special culls, which are carried out from June 15 to August 31. Carrion also includes mange cases, but we cannot quantify the number from the 23% due to age, disease or weakness. Generally, we can assume that in the last 20 years between 5-10% of foxes were affected by mange. Distemper is very rare."

Rolf Schneeberger, LANAT Office for Agriculture and Nature

In the past, mange and distemper also flared up locally from time to time and then died out again on their own. Especially where mange has spread particularly strongly, foxes appear to develop increasing resistance to new infections. However, since hunting negates the actual survival advantage for mange-resistant foxes (a hobby hunter cannot tell by looking at a fox whether it has mange resistance), killing foxes is likely counterproductive in this respect as well. Incidentally, it has been found with distemper that wild animals have already formed antibodies and the danger is therefore marginal.

Foxes protect us

A new study (7) suggests that the extinction of mouse-hunting predators, particularly foxes, is the cause of the increasing number of tick-borne diseases in humans.

Foxes also have a positive influence in protecting humans and animals from hantavirus, botulism or, for example, leptospirosis (11).

"If not so many foxes were killed, farmers would not have to spread so much poison on the fields against mouse plagues – which in turn burdens the entire ecosystem."

IG Wild beim Wild

Foresters must combat mice with chemicals, mechanics and traps, which damage seedlings and trees, while hobby hunters hunt foxes that would actually keep the mice under control. Millions of francs in damage and additional costs for forest management due to hunting are the consequences. Farmers and fruit growers must hire mouse hunters because foxes and other predators are missing.

Barbaric folklore or normal hunting method?

Fox hunting employs practices (9) that are actually prohibited by animal welfare law. The cruelty is particularly severe in den hunting and training hunting dogs on live foxes.

At least among the Swiss population, den hunting enjoys little acceptance; this is shown by a representative survey in September 2017 of 1015 people, conducted by the market research company Demoscope on behalf of Swiss Animal Protection (STS). 64 percent support a ban, only 21 percent want to maintain den hunting. The rejection is somewhat more pronounced among women and 15- to 34-year-olds. A Röstigraben does not exist.

The fox is a very vivid (and sad) example of how the hobby hunter, with his ignorance and compulsive need to control nature, creates problems himself and worsens natural regulatory mechanisms. If one engages with foxes without prejudice, one quickly recognizes that they are fascinating animals with impressive abilities. They are very caring parents and possess extraordinary capabilities, such as incorporating the earth's magnetic field in food procurement. Moreover, as mouse hunters they are very important for both agriculture and forestry and have a significant share in containing "rodent-transmitted pathogens" such as hantaviruses or Borrelia. For these reasons, we should see the fox for what it is – namely as an important component of the ecosystem and an enrichment of native fauna.

Actually, the entire small game hunting should be banned. Those who kill senselessly do not protect, and it serves no purpose for civilized society. Hobby hunters thus also do not ensure healthy or natural wildlife populations.

Particularly with hobby hunters, it is extremely essential that one looks very carefully. Nowhere is there so much manipulation with untruths, hunters' tales, and fake news. Violence and lies belong to the same coin!

Sources:

Further articles

• Fred Kurt: The Roe Deer in the Cultural Landscape. Ecology, Social Behavior, Hunting and Management. Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, p. 83.
• Federal Hunting Statistics Link
• Explanations and Source References Link
• Scientific Literature: Red Fox Studies
• Hunters spread diseases: Study
• Hunting promotes diseases: Study
• Hobby hunters in criminality: The List
• Ban on senseless fox hunting is overdue: Article
• Luxembourg extends fox hunting ban: Article
• Small game hunting and wildlife diseases: Article
• Deterrence of wildlife: Article

Interest Group Wild beim Wild

The IG Wild beim Wild is a non-profit interest group that advocates for the sustainable and non-violent improvement of human-animal relationships, whereby the IG has also specialized in the legal aspects of wildlife protection. One of our main concerns is to introduce contemporary and serious wildlife management in the cultural landscape following the model of the Canton of Geneva – without hobby hunters but with integral game wardens who deserve the title and act according to a code of honor. The monopoly on violence belongs in the hands of the state. The IG supports scientific methods of immunocontraception for wildlife.