Toilets for Hobby Hunters in the Forest: Federal Law Says No

SVP Cantonal Councillor Demands Toilets in the Forest

The installation and operation of temporary toilets in the forest at the gathering point of hunting parties is impermissible under federal law.

This is clarified by the Aargau cantonal government in response to a demand by an SVP cantonal councillor for such toilets. Composting toilets at shelters may be permissible in certain cases.

In a motion, SVP Cantonal Councillor Manuel Kaspar called for an amendment to the cantonal ordinance. Temporary toilets should be able to be installed and operated without bureaucratic hurdles for four months per year.

The sanitary facilities of many hunting huts no longer come close to meeting common hygiene standards. “Toilets are often entirely absent, which poses a particular problem for the increasingly female recreational hunters,” wrote Kaspar.

The cantonal government sees no room for a temporary toilet in the forest. Under the Federal Spatial Planning Act, structures and installations may only be erected or modified with official permits, the cantonal government wrote in its statement.

Federal Law versus Cantonal Regulation

The installation of temporary toilets in the forest for four months must be classified as subject to building permit requirements in light of Federal Supreme Court case law, as the cantonal government noted. A cantonal regulation declaring such facilities exempt from building permit requirements would therefore be contrary to federal law.

The installation of a temporary toilet for a single hunting day would be possible without a building permit, but would hardly be practical for financial and logistical reasons.

The issue of sanitary facilities in forests is growing in significance, the cantonal government acknowledged. Alongside hobby hunting, the number of requests for the permanent as well as temporary installation of toilet facilities is increasing.

Forest use is increasing

«This is a direct consequence of the increased use of the forest as a recreational and leisure space», the cantonal government wrote: Around publicly accessible rest areas, at scenic spots in the forest, and at locations used for forest kindergartens, the need for orderly hygienic conditions is significant.

An adapted building permit practice takes into account the needs «regarding toilets for forest users». Building permits for additions or installations would be granted primarily at shelters, provided no overriding interests speak against it, as the cantonal government noted.

The focus is on small composting toilets designed for forest conditions. These are also available to hobby hunters as part of driven hunts and other forms of hunting.