The Federal Council Rejects the «Fireworks Initiative»
On 16 October 2024, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the popular initiative “For a restriction of fireworks (fireworks initiative)”.
It recommends that Parliament reject the initiative without a direct counter-draft or indirect counter-proposal, as cantons and municipalities already have the legal basis to restrict fireworks.
The popular initiative “For a restriction of fireworks (fireworks initiative)”, submitted on 3 November 2023, calls for greater protection of people, animals and the environment from fireworks noise and emissions. In particular, it aims to ban the sale and use of loud fireworks by private individuals. Fireworks that do not create noise, such as Bengal lights or fountains, could continue to be sold. In addition, cantons could grant exemptions for cross-regional events, such as 1 August celebrations. The protection of wild animals from noise pollution would therefore continue to be neglected.
The initiative goes too far for the Federal Council
The Federal Council is aware that noise-generating fireworks can have negative effects on the environment or on people and animals. However, these effects are limited in time and location. For many people, setting off fireworks is part of tradition. They are used, for example, during the 1 August celebrations or on New Year’s Eve. In addition, cantons and municipalities already have the legal basis to restrict the sale and use of fireworks if necessary. Many towns and municipalities already make use of this by restricting their use in terms of time and/or location, or by requiring a permit.
No counter-proposal planned
The Federal Council therefore takes the view that new restrictions on the distribution and use of fireworks are not necessary. It therefore recommends that Parliament reject the initiative without a direct counter-draft or indirect counter-proposal.
The initiative committee states that it does not understand this stance and regrets it: Link. The Environmental impact of fireworks remains an unresolved problem.
Addendum from 7 October 2026: After an indirect counter-proposal from parliament failed in June 2026, the initiative will go before the public on its own on 29 November 2026. You can read what's on the ballot and what it means for wild animals in our article Fireworks initiative on 29 November: what's at stake for wild animals.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: What the research says about this is shown by Hunting fact-checked: the state of research.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
All articles are written by IG Wild beim Wild as well as by external co-authors. Research, structuring and editorial processes may be supported by AI-assisted tools.
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