Sample text: Lobby transparency in hunting policy
1. Motion
The cantonal government is mandated to submit to the cantonal parliament a proposal to amend the Law on Hunting and Wildlife Protection (… legal designation …) as well as cantonal parliamentary law, establishing transparency regarding the influence of hunting associations on cantonal legislation and administration in canton (…) and anchoring recusal obligations for hunting policy decisions. The legislative revision must ensure in particular that
- Members of the cantonal parliament, cantonal government and cantonal commissions are obligated to disclose all memberships, functions, mandate and advisory contracts with hunting associations and hunting-related interest groups
- a recusal obligation applies when parliamentary members deliberate or vote on matters directly concerning hobby hunting while simultaneously having personal hunting interests
- hunting associations must disclose their financing, membership numbers and personnel connections to cantonal offices
- a publicly accessible register is created that documents all lobby contacts between hunting associations and cantonal administration
In particular, it must be legally regulated that
- consultation responses from hunting associations are marked as statements from an interest group and not treated as independent expert contributions
- cantonal hunting planning may not be created by committees in which hunting associations hold the majority
- the government council submits a transparency report every three years
2. Brief justification
The hunter lobby in Switzerland belongs to the most effective interest groups in the field of nature policy – and to the least transparent ones. Hunting associations like JagdSchweiz have direct access to administrations, committees and parliaments. They provide experts in specialist committees and present themselves to the public as «nature conservation organizations».
The mechanisms of political influence are well documented. The result is a hunting policy that systematically favors the interests of recreational hunters.
While in other policy areas lobby transparency is increasingly demanded, the hunting lobby enjoys a de facto special status. This motion calls for a binding disclosure requirement, a recusal regulation and a public lobby register.