Podcast Episode: Hunting, Wild Animals and Nature Conservation

Faido: Femicide, Silencer, Silence
On 9 July 2026, a woman in Faido died from a gunshot to the head. The perpetrator, her ex-husband, was a hobby hunter with legal firearm ownership. RSI confirmed this in writing. Because no one heard the shot, investigators assume a silencer was used, which is generally banned in Switzerland except for holders of a hunting licence. Already the second Ticino case within a short period involving a silencer.

The Great Hunting Lie
In Swiss media coverage, the word «hobby hunter» was almost consistently absent, even though the police mentioned it repeatedly. The perpetrator became the ex-husband, the entrepreneur, the 59-year-old. Not an isolated case, but a method.

Europe's Doctored Accident Figures
Germany reported zero deaths in 460 hunting accidents for 2025, while in November a hobby hunter shot four family members and in December another shot his neighbour. Italy: 8 deaths according to the association, 12 according to an independent victims' organisation over the same period. Spain keeps no national statistics at all.

Bow Hunting Panel in Utzenstorf
Four participants with hunting connections, one critic. The JagdSchweiz survey on bow hunting from 2025 remains unpublished more than a year after the deadline. On the substance: 24 North American studies find an average wounding rate of 54 per cent.

Italy: «Gaslighting» in the Draft Law
CNR biologist Michelangelo Morganti criticises the planned overhaul of hobby hunting. The most serious point: the obligation to obtain a scientific assessment before hunting decisions is being scrapped.

The Swedish Model
In Skåne, 53 hobby hunters signed up within three hours for the protective hunt of a single wolf. Council of States member Fabio Regazzi would like to see this model adopted for Switzerland. David Gerke of the Gruppe Wolf Schweiz points to the non-viable populations in these countries.

Aargau: Steel hunting stands without procedure
Two hunting stands outside the building zone in Schwaderloch and Mettauertal, with no permit procedure to be found in the building publications. Reply deadline until 7 August 2026.

Portugal: Julie in the Pangea sanctuary
After more than forty years in captivity, the cow elephant Julie now lives in Europe's first large-scale elephant sanctuary, 400 hectares in the Alentejo. Not a triumph, but damage limitation.

Conclusion: whoever defines what is counted determines what remains visible.