Ticino: Recreational Hunters Fear Each Other

The heavy snowfall of recent days in parts of Ticino is driving wildlife down to the valley floor.

This situation has prompted the Office for Hunting and Fishing to adjust the regulations governing the special hunt, in order to protect recreational hunters as well.

Altitude limits and area closures

"We felt it was important to close the areas with heavier snowfall," explains Giorgio Leoni on behalf of the Office for Hunting and Fishing. "The Bedretto valley and the upper part of the Leventina. And we decided to lower the maximum altitude, keeping recreational hunters at no more than 1,200 metres above sea level."

This also protects the safety of recreational hunters to some extent: "Avoiding dangerous areas, such as fresh snow, should be a matter of common sense for recreational hunters. But this new regulation can certainly help to increase safety even further," says Leoni.

It is also an ethical question, Leoni explains. While on one hand there is a need to cull these animals in order to prevent damage, on the other hand the protection from disturbance is given greater weight. Under these extreme conditions, Leoni emphasizes, wildlife tries to conserve energy by remaining as calm as possible. They lower their body temperature and are less active. When disturbed by recreational hunters, they flee and consume more energy. The decision to set a limit therefore arises from the need to strike a balance between the necessity of reducing animal numbers and the desire not to place too great a burden on these animals, given a winter that is already difficult for them and whose duration no one knows.

Recreational hunters fear each other

The Ticino Hunters' Association once again disagrees with the government's decision. "The restrictions are not appropriate and are counterproductive in terms of safety.» The recreational hunters are afraid of one another, because the hunting area is considerably reduced by the altitude restriction, and the canton's measures lead to a high concentration of trigger-happy recreational hunters in a smaller territory.

What this hunters' association apparently also has not properly understood is that the canton has closed areas with heavy snow to hunting — which is precisely what the association wanted. Nobody is forced to be a recreational hunter. Everything else is polemics. The 200-metre safety distance from residential areas is intended above all to protect the general public, notes IG Wild beim Wild.

Package of measures following hunting accidents

A few weeks ago there were several accidents in the canton. In one incident, a border guard shot and killed a chimney sweep wearing a high-visibility vest during recreational hunting.

Following the many amateurish incidents involving recreational hunters, the canton of Ticino promptly put together a package of measures.

Recreational hunters must henceforth always wear bright orange vests during the main hunting season.

On the plains north of Bellinzona as well as in the Riviera and Blenio Valley, shooting is now only permitted between 7 and 9 a.m., no longer until 2 p.m.

The minimum distance from houses, roads, campsites, nature trails, etc. is no longer 50 metres, but must now be 200 metres.

For the 2020 hunting season, the canton of Ticino also intends to implement a second package of measures, such as an alcohol ban or regular vision tests for older hunters, in line with regulations for drivers.

Regarding the areas and altitudes, recreational hunters must check the telephone number (+41 (0) 79 407 49 29) or the website of the Office for Hunting and Fishing the day before each hunting day.