Toggenburg recreational hunter mistakes red deer for roe buck: 200-franc fine

In June, a 64-year-old recreational hunter from Toggenburg shot a red deer in Alt St. Johann, right in the middle of the closed season. He claimed to have mistaken the animal for a roe buck, according to the legally binding penalty order reported on by the «St. Galler Tagblatt» on 6 October 2026. The public prosecutor imposed a fine of 200 francs, plus 300 francs in procedural fees.

What happened on 15 June

On the evening of 15 June, the man was sitting together with a second recreational hunter on a high seat in the Churfirsten hunting ground. At a distance of around 100 to 120 metres, he spotted a non-human animal, identified it as a roe buck, and fired when it stood broadside, i.e. sideways on to him. Only when they went to retrieve it did the two men discover that a red deer lay on the ground. Three days later, the shooter reported himself to the authorities.

Under federal law, red deer are protected from 1 February to 31 July. The public prosecutor classified the kill as a negligent violation of the hunting act. If the man fails to pay the fine, it will be converted into a two-day substitute custodial sentence. The fine and procedural fees together amount to 500 francs.

The species must be confirmed before shooting

The confusion concerns two species that differ considerably. A fully grown roe deer reaches a shoulder height of around 60 to 80 centimetres and rarely weighs more than 30 kilograms. Even a one-year-old red deer is noticeably taller and many times heavier, and its build and head shape also differ.

Reliably identifying the species is the basic duty of every shooter: a shot may only be fired once it is certain which animal is in front of the weapon. Any uncertainty rules out the shot. Despite the high seat and a companion, the animal in Alt St. Johann was wrongly identified before the shot was fired. Why this mix-up occurred cannot be conclusively explained from the information reported.

Kill during the birthing season

The timing makes the case additionally delicate. Red deer give birth to their calves mainly between late May and late June, and the closed season covers exactly these months. The report states neither the sex nor the age of the killed animal. Whether it was a mother animal leaving behind a dependent calf is not evident from it.

Oversight through self-reporting

The shooter reported himself. The case thus also raises the question of how reliably unlawful kills are detected independently of the statements made by those involved. How many violations go undetected cannot be inferred from this case. The extent to which oversight of recreational hunting relies on the shooters' own statements has been examined by Wild beim Wild using rulings and hunting reports from Amden, Avers and Ticino.

Species mix-ups are not an isolated case. In September, a recreational hunter from Grisons shot a horse in Avers because he mistook it for a red deer (Horse shot dead, two deaths in Ticino). Other unlawful kills are also regularly recorded, as the report by the Grisons wildlife wardens shows. However, the «mistaken kill» category covers not only species mix-ups but also violations of rules regarding sex, age or permitted kills.

Red deer hunting in the canton of St. Gallen

The case falls into a period in which St. Gallen intends to reorganise red deer hunting. According to the cantonal government, kill numbers in the canton rose from 432 in 2006 to 944 in 2024. The consultation on the revision of the cantonal hunting act ended on 21 September 2026, and the amendment has not yet been decided. What the canton holds against the red deer management associations in this context has been summarised by Wild beim Wild here.

Comment: A minor fine for a fatal mistake

In the view of Wild beim Wild, a fine of 200 francs bears no relation whatsoever to the fatal consequence of this mix-up. This is not the first case in which an offence against a protected non-human animal ends with a trifling sum: in Valais, a shot female wolf cost 300 francs Whether the recreational hunter from Toggenburg additionally had his hunting licence revoked is not stated in the report. Anyone who cannot tell a roe deer from a red deer should not be allowed to point a weapon at a living creature.