The blacklist of JagdSchweiz

Excerpt – tip of the iceberg – criminally relevant activities of hobby hunters in Switzerland, represented by the militant association «JagdSchweiz».

Evidently these hobby hunters are neither well trained nor do they possess sound moral hygiene. Particularly when it comes to hunting, it is essential that the public looks very closely. Nowhere else is there so much manipulation with untruths and fake news. Violence and lies are two sides of the same coin.

For decades, hobby hunting has been nothing other than a permanently cost-intensive building site, a patchwork and bone of contention for politics, forestry and agriculture, administrations, the judiciary, health insurers, insurance companies, animal welfare, environmental and nature conservation organisations, the police, the federal government, the media and many more.

Any other association with so much criminal energy would long since have been targeted by the Office of the Attorney General.

🔴 New: Current offences by hobby hunters in Switzerland are listed here and continually updated: → Crime & Hunting

2025

Toggenburg SG: Poaching with night vision devices and animal cruelty – The St. Gallen cantonal police concluded an extensive investigation against four men in November 2025. Allegations: killing wild animals with prohibited night vision sighting devices outside the hunting season, violations of the hunting act (JSG), the Weapons Act and the Animal Welfare Act (TSchG). The starting point was a complaint by the St. Gallen Office for Nature, Hunting and Fishing (ANJF) in spring 2023. POACHING / ANIMAL CRUELTY / WEAPONS VIOLATION
Grisons: Penalty order against hunting critic – judiciary in a questionable light – In spring 2024 the Grisons public prosecutor issued a penalty order for defamation against wildbeimwild.com – for an article whose alleged offence had been time-barred for years. Despite the obvious statute of limitations, the proceedings were not dropped. This case illustrates the structural closeness between the hunting establishment and the cantonal judiciary. CORRUPTION / BIAS
and much more.

2024

Mels SG: Illegal lynx taxidermy – conviction – On 25 April 2024, the Werdenberg-Sarganserland district court convicted a 58-year-old hunter of poaching, breach of the hunting act (JSG) and the firearms act. Sentence: suspended custodial sentence of 8 months, fine of CHF 7’000, withdrawal of hunting licence for 4 years. The man had taxidermied a protected lynx without authorisation. POACHING / SPECIES PROTECTION OFFENCE
Canton of St. Gallen: badger dug out with an excavator – On 13 January 2024 – three days before the start of the closed season – a 39-year-old hobby hunter had a badger sett excavated two to three metres deep with an excavator and shot the animals with four shots from a 12-gauge over-and-under shotgun. Conviction: suspended fine of 40 daily penalty units of 130 francs plus procedural costs of CHF 325; the excavator operator (33) likewise received 40 daily penalty units of 100 francs. Digging out badgers with machinery is expressly prohibited under the JSG. HUNTING OFFENCE / CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Pfäffikon SZ: six wire snares in the forest – In December 2024, two men set up six wire snares as wild animal traps in a wooded area near Pfäffikon SZ. Penalty order from the Schwyz public prosecutor: 90 daily penalty units of CHF 80 (CHF 7’120) plus procedural costs of CHF 5’369, totalling CHF 13’039. POACHING / CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Stadel ZH / Winterthur: injured wild boars left behind – On Halloween night 2024, a 40-year-old instructor and his 20-year-old hunting student shot at wild boars in Stadel (Oberwinterthur), failed to make a fatal hit and left the injured animals to their fate. Penalty order from the Winterthur-Unterland public prosecutor is legally binding. HUNTING OFFENCE / CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Weinland ZH: 21 wild animals killed without a valid hunting pass – Between April and November 2024, a 29-year-old man killed 21 wild animals (12 roe deer, 5 badgers, 2 foxes, 1 wild boar, 1 wild bird) in the Zurich Weinland without a valid hunting pass. Penalty order is legally binding. POACHING / MULTIPLE HUNTING OFFENCES
and much more

2020

2019

70 firearms seized from hobby hunter gang (The public prosecutor has launched an investigation into violations of the hunting legislation and the Federal Weapons Act.)
Dog flushes roe deer and bites cat to death (The dog owner was convicted by summary penalty order for violating the dog law, but did not accept it.)
Hobby hunter drama in the canton of Jura (The culture of violence in the hobby hunter milieu has once again claimed 2 human lives. This morning two bodies were found in Courfaivre JU. The 47-year-old hobby hunter and falconer is said to have first shot his wife, then himself.)
Illegal dumping of hunting waste causes outrage (The game warden, meanwhile, is demanding that a complaint be filed.)
Valais hut owner drives off researcher with rifle (In the course of the police investigation a veritable arsenal of weapons was found at the hut owner’s. Among them are nine hunting rifles, several revolvers and pistols as well as the carbine in question. The weapons were seized.)
Hunter shoots at a hind near a football pitch during training. (The Grisons cantonal police and the Grisons Office for Hunting and Fishing are investigating whether the hunter’s firing endangered the football players and their coaches.)
12 hunters had to surrender their licence for serious breaches of the hunting regulations. (One hunter was reported to the public prosecutor for having shot animals without a hunting licence.)
Hunter shoots roe deer from the pavement (The Grisons cantonal police have launched an investigation.)
Border official shoots dead a chimney sweep (The emergency services that were alerted could only confirm the death of the man who had been hit at the scene. The two hunters, the shooter being 50 years old, are Swiss citizens resident in southern Ticino, as the Ticino cantonal police reported. An investigation is intended to bring to light the exact course of the hunting accident.)
Falsehood, lies, violence and hobby hunters (IG Wild beim Wild prevailed fully with its appeal.)
Over an unpaid bill after a hunting safari: feud among Thurgau hunters. (Thereupon the arranger of the trip resorted to a measure that would now earn him a conviction before the district court.)
Lucerne hunter shot the “wrong” animal and is convicted in Obwalden. (He was convicted of hunting in a manner contrary to good hunting practice.)
Hobby hunters walk into a customs trap (The customs officers thereupon seized the weapon and initiated criminal proceedings.)
Christian Mathis is fighting against the Grisons special hunt. And receives death threats. (“I received dozens of threats, some even death threats: ‘Mathis should be shot into the sky’ and the like.”)
Valais hunter convicted of killing a chamois buck
(The public prosecutor of Upper Valais has found a hunter guilty. He had shot a chamois buck in a protected area.)
Swiss hobby hunters torment wild animals during a driven hunt in Austria (Eyewitnesses are utterly appalled at the treatment of the wild animals and the brutality of the hunt.)
Dog of board member of the militant association Jagd Schweiz goes poaching (Terrible scenes in Davos-Clavadel: a dog chases a roe deer through the streets before killing it. Residents are also shocked by the reaction of its owner, Tarzisius Caviezel. He is said to have badly beaten his dog. Caviezel vehemently denies this. Thereupon the arranger of the trip resorted to a measure that would now earn him a conviction before the district court. Over an unpaid bill after a hunting safari: feud among Thurgau hunters.
Lucerne hunter shot the “wrong” animal and is convicted in Obwalden. (He was convicted of hunting in a manner contrary to good hunting practice.)
Christian Mathis is fighting against the Grisons special hunt. And receives death threats. (“I received dozens of threats, some even death threats: ‘Mathis should be shot into the sky’ and the like.”)
Valais hunter convicted of killing a chamois buck
(The public prosecutor of Upper Valais has found a hunter guilty. He had shot a chamois buck in a protected area.)
and much more.

2018

Thurgau: hobby hunter shoots dead four sheep (He believes that harsh consequences await the hunters. “It is forbidden to shoot at livestock. In extreme cases they lose their licence.”) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
St. Gallen: hobby hunter shoots at a beehouse (The projectiles, which were found on site by the police, penetrated among other things the shutters fitted to the east side of the house.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunting accident must be reassessed (Initially, the Rheinfelden-Laufenburg public prosecutor sentenced the hunter to a fine of 300 francs for disregarding animal husbandry regulations.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hobby hunter convicted of meat fraud (He must, however, pay a fine of CHF 8,000.00 and the procedural costs. The penalty order is legally binding.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Valais hunter shoots female wolf (After the mistaken shooting of the wolf, the Valais Service for Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife (DJFW) informed the public prosecutor. The latter has meanwhile opened proceedings.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
On Friday, Danilo N. shot his wife Irene F. in front of the UBS in Zurich (His passion for hunting and weapons.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
German hobby hunter not a wolf poacher after all? (However, the man was found guilty of the unauthorised export of a military carbine to a Schengen state and of the unlawful possession of two silencers. He is also said to have carried a prohibited weapon during the wild boar hunt, to have used a laser lamp, a motion detector and a wildlife camera without authorisation during the 2016 high hunt, and to have carried the loaded weapon on his person outside of hunting.) CRIMINAL OFFENCES
Last September, the Swiss hunter José R.* (40) shot four donkeys (The animals did not survive. He has now been convicted of his negligent conduct.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hobby hunting association paid court costs for offender (The editor Walter Candreia of the notorious propaganda outlet “Bündner Jäger” had struck the wrong tone. Regional courts in Grisons found the journalist guilty of breach of privacy and defamation respectively.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
and much more

Past years

Hunter lets her dog bite a fox to death A holder of a hunting lease was supposed to shoot a fox that had been hit by a car. Instead, she let her dog kill the animal. She has now been convicted for this. CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hobby hunter aims at child – father withdraws complaint (The public prosecutor who was brought in pressed charges of making threats and demanded for the hunter a high but suspended financial penalty of 60 daily rates at 280 francs as well as a fine of 3,400 francs.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunter fights against two licence revocations at once (Before the administrative court he demands that the two licence revocations be dealt with and penalised in a single proceeding. He is, however, rebuffed.) CRIMINAL OFFENCES
German customs officers catch Swiss hunter smuggling weapons (German customs officers caught a 62-year-old Swiss hunter who was trying to smuggle illegal weapons and ammunition into Germany.) WEAPONS SMUGGLING
German customs nab Swiss hunter smuggling weapons (A Swiss hunter attempted to smuggle ammunition and weapons into Germany at the German border crossing of Laufenburg on the Rhine border with Aargau.) WEAPONS SMUGGLING
Valais poachers hoarded weapons and trophies (Ten further persons, including eight hunters, could be proven to have committed offences against the Swiss Weapons Act in connection with this case. In most cases this involved illegal weapons trading.) WEAPONS TRADING
«My colleague was attacked» («It cannot be that we have to fear for our lives because of our criticism of the cruel hunting methods!») CRIMINAL OFFENCE
How does one become an opponent of hunting (Never in my whole life had I felt so much adrenaline and fear of death.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE/POACHING
«They beat and spat on me» (An enraged hunter even attacked the animal welfare activist, spat on her and threw her to the ground.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunter shoots at marten – and hits window (The hunter not only hit the marten, the shotgun pellets also riddled the blinds and the living-room window of Mirco Metger's flat.) THREAT
Roe deer without lynx, is that possible? (In concert with influential figures in politics, the authorities and the judiciary, despite scientifically proven poaching there was hardly ever a prosecution for the killing of lynx and wolves.) CORRUPTION
Hunter clearing protective forest rebuffed in court (That the hunter is also a police officer in the neighbouring village of Felsberg made the case even more piquant.) ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES
Hunters at forbidden posts (Hundreds of unauthorised high seats stand in Swiss forests.) ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES
Poachers wreak havoc in Switzerland (The illegal hunters are also keeping the canton of Valais on tenterhooks.) POACHING
The poachers have armed up (These are not explicitly labelled as such, it says there, but appear under the designation «violation of the hunting act». Yet many minor offences connected with hunting also fall under this heading.) POACHING
Swiss hunter shoots donkeys instead of game (Fanfan, Ulule, Moustique and Mistral died or were put down after being shot in the legs with several bullets by a hunter) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
The most wretched marksmen are the hunters (Despite reference to the Freedom of Information Act, the hunting administrations of nine cantons failed to provide the STS with an answer.) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Grisons: criminal complaint against the Office for Hunting and Fishing (This for failure to prevent offences against the hunting act as well as aiding and abetting the endangerment of life and limb.) CORRUPTION
Dubious Swiss hunting administrations (That is, roughly half of the animals wounded during the hunt cannot be released from their suffering despite a follow-up search.) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Hunter shoots cat and contests the fine (The public prosecutor sentenced him to a suspended financial penalty of 20 daily units and a fine of 600 francs for negligent cruelty to animals and violation of the hunting act.) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Grisons hunter shoots wolf instead of fox (The marksman has confessed, but according to the Grisons hunting inspector must expect to be «punished with the utmost severity».) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Hunter shoots dog instead of fox (Explosive: back in 2001 the same hunter shot a dog – a one-year-old miniature collie.) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Who is killing the lynx? (Facts, background and evidence on illegal lynx killings in Switzerland by hunters) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS/POACHING
Hunter in the Jura on trial for large-scale poaching (Four Jura hunters are on trial before the criminal court in Porrentruy for poaching.) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS/POACHING
Animal welfare activists report Valais poacher (90) (WWF and Pro Natura have reported the Valais hunter and self-confessed poacher Lini Paccolat (90).) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS/POACHING
Illegal parking in a no-driving zone (In Lausanne, a 100-franc fine was confirmed for a hunter who, with a day permit in Valais, had driven on a power-station road and left his car at the turning area at the end of it for more than a week.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
After two offences, disarmament looms (Together with his lawyer, the hunter fought all the way to the Federal Supreme Court.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
SVP cantonal councillor convicted of animal cruelty (Roger Schuwey, SVP politician and hunter, had to answer for the agonising death of a chamois.) ANIMAL CRUELTY
Animal rights advocates demand a blood-alcohol limit – hunters think it a hare-brained idea (Hunters who, instead of fox and roe deer, shoot a pet: several such cases came to light over the past few months.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Swiss poacher on a driven hunt in Austria (Within the hunting community, strong displeasure is now also stirring against the Swiss hunters and the hunting supervisor.) POACHING
Monitoring of lynx and wolf is to be banned in Valais (VIDEO) (Hundreds of wild animals poached by hunters in the canton of Valais.) CORRUPTION/POACHING
Game warden complains (VIDEO) (Hobby hunters drink too much and shoot badly) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Cantonal councillor Roger Schuwey convicted as a poacher (The public prosecutor therefore convicted him of offences against the Animal Welfare Act and the Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds.) CRIMINAL OFFENCES
House search at Fribourg cantonal councillor (Hunter and cantonal councillor Roger Schuwey from Jaun (FR) is alleged to have laid out poisoned bait.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Complaint against Valais government president (Tornay told the regional television station canal 9 in his exact words: «see, shoot, dig, keep quiet».) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunter (80) shoots dog dead (The game warden filed a complaint for a hunting offence.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Grisons high hunt: fixed-penalty fines of over 700,000 francs (Just under 10 per cent of the kills, however, were carried out unlawfully.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Wild boars die because of a hunter's error (The cantonal police have also been informed and are launching investigations; according to Philipp, the hunter can expect a fine.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Who poached? Hunters must face interrogation (Because a poacher unlawfully killed a mother lynx last winter, several hunters have now been summoned for questioning by the Oberland public prosecutor.) POACHING
A roe deer is not a red deer (The hunter drags the animal across the cantonal border. It does not help: the public prosecutor charges him with unlawful hunting.) POACHING
Hunter convicted in the canton of Fribourg (The Fribourg public prosecutor convicted him anyway.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Because he thought it was a fox: hunter shoots tomcat dead «Mingo» (Cat owner Johann F. Dobler announced to Tele M1 that they intended to report the hunter.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Death of pony «Skippy» becomes a court case (A Swiss hunter mistakes the Icelandic pony «Skippy» for a wild boar in the dark and shoots it dead. Now the case is going before the judge.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunter hits girl instead of fox (The public prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation against the hunter) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hunting president beats fox to death (Hunting experts and animal welfare advocates are shocked by the breach of the law and of fair-chase principles.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Fatal error: domestic duck beheaded by gamekeeper (She also wants to file a report against the gamekeeper, she told Tele M1.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Wild boars die because of a hunter's mistake (The cantonal police have also been informed and are launching investigations; according to Philipp, the hunter can expect a fine.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
A hunter must hand over his weapons (Because a hunter had entries in his criminal record, he had to hand over his weapons.) CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Hobby hunting: a bottomless pit of criminal energy (IG Wild beim Wild sets out in plain terms a brief overview of the hunting misconduct of recent weeks in German-speaking Switzerland.) CRIMINAL OFFENCES
and many more

This list is an excerpt and makes no claim to completeness. All the cases mentioned are based on media reports, court rulings, penal orders or official announcements.

→ Continuously updated cases: Crime & Hunting category