Protected forest: Hobby hunting creates problems instead of solutions

In Ticino, too, the protective forests are literally on the brink. They are meant to protect villages and roads from landslides. But because the forests can no longer regenerate, the risk of natural disasters is increasing.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — October 27, 2025

The deer are not solely to blame, but rather a misguided policy that has relied on the wrong "regulators" for decades: the hobby hunters.

Every year, around 3,000 deer and chamois are shot in Ticino. That's almost half of all the ungulates in the canton. If recreational hunting actually delivered on its promises, the forests would have long since recovered. But the opposite is true: young trees continue to be grazed, the soil erodes, and expensive fences have to be erected.

The truth is uncomfortable: recreational hunting doesn't work as a form of population control. It's a bloody ritual that artificially maintains high populations to ensure enough game is available for hunting again next year. Recreational hunting doesn't mean fewer deer, but rather more births. Social structures are manipulated and destroyed. The wild boar population explosion in the canton of Ticino is also man-made. Wild boar live in groups with a clear hierarchy. If experienced lead sows (predominant mothers) are shot, the structure collapses. What remains are many young sows, which reproduce more quickly and often simultaneously. Wild boar are extremely adaptable. If they are heavily hunted or disturbed, they react with increased fertility (a so-called compensation effect). Even very young sows can then become pregnant early. Heavy hunting pressure leads to groups becoming more unpredictable, shifting their activity to nighttime, and colonizing new habitats. If they are in the forest, they should be left alone.

The red deer, which we now almost routinely encounter in mountain forests, is not historically a classic forest animal and was not originally native to high altitudes. It only stays there for protection from recreational hunting. In Europe, the red deer was primarily an animal of open landscapes, steppes, and light-flooded forests. Intense hunting pressure has pushed the deer to the margins. The fact that red deer are now abundant in the forests of many Alpine cantons (e.g., Graubünden, Valais, Ticino) is not a natural phenomenon, but rather a result of recreational hunting.

The economic value of the protective function of forests is estimated at around 4 billion Swiss francs per year. According to the Federal Office for Forest Protection, the federal government allocates a total of approximately 58 million Swiss francs per year to this sector, according to its financial plan. Other sources indicate that the actual amounts disbursed by the federal government and cantons, for example in 2020, amounted to slightly more than 160 million Swiss francs.

While recreational hunting is often sold as a free service for population control, the public bears the subsequent costs (protective measures, fences, reforestation, natural hazard prevention).

In regions like Ticino, the image of unspoiled nature also plays a role in tourism. A forest that appears degraded due to browsing by wild animals weakens this image.

The wolf is undesirable because it has an effect

There's already a solution that doesn't cost a penny: the wolf. It hunts efficiently, year-round, and forces deer to change their behavior. This gives forests a chance to recover. The wolf does what amateur hunters have only claimed to do for years – it actually regulates the population.

Expert reports emphasize that the Swiss forest can benefit from the wolf because it reduces wild animal populations and browsing damage; NGOs such as IG Wild beim Wild have been pointing for years to positive effects on forest regeneration in the presence of high deer populations.

But instead of welcoming this natural helper, it is systematically persecuted. Politically, everything is being done to keep it in check because, among other things, it threatens the business model of recreational hunting. A wolf, after all, doesn't eat hunting licenses or trophies. Hunting associations have historically wielded considerable influence over legislation and permits. In many cantons, poorly trained recreational hunters with highly questionable ethical standards occupy key political and administrative positions, which hinders reforms.

Instead of allowing the natural cycle to take its course, fences are being erected on Monte Generoso and elsewhere at a cost of millions of francs. Taxpayer money is being used to cover up the consequences of a hunting policy that has failed for years.

Special hunts 2025: More culls instead of wolves

The paradox is grotesque: too many deer for the forests, and at the same time, wolves are being culled, which would alleviate precisely this problem. The wolf is highly symbolic (fairy tales, myths, fears). The rejection is often based more on emotion than on facts.

The hunting law in Switzerland is essentially based on a 19th-century model. In many places, wild animals are still considered a resource to be managed, not part of an ecosystem.

Recreational hunting creates the very problems it claims to solve. It artificially inflates animal populations, disrupts the natural balance, and devours public funds. As long as politicians and the hunting lobby perpetuate this cycle, the forests in Ticino will not become healthier, but rather sicker.

It's time to end the hypocrisy: it's not the deer that endanger our forests, but the hunting system that abuses them.

Further reading