Valais: Ibex Shoots for Foreign Recreational Hunters
Starting next year, foreign and out-of-canton recreational hunters will once again be permitted to shoot ibex in Valais. The reason is the growing population of ibex. This year, wildlife wardens counted over 7,000 ibex — a new record.
The shooting of ibex had attracted foreign recreational hunters to Valais for many years.
In 2021, however, the canton had discontinued this practice after a report by the French-speaking Swiss television broadcaster RTS triggered a public outcry.
It was reported, among other things, that foreign recreational hunters pay up to 12’000 francs to shoot a male ibex — measured by the length of its horns. This trophy hunting was subsequently banned.
Grand Council Demanded Review of the Ban
Since then, voices calling for the return of foreign recreational hunters have grown louder. Last year, the Grand Council had adopted, among other things, a postulate demanding a review of the ban.
On 12 December 2024, the canton announced that shoots will once again be made available to foreign and out-of-canton recreational hunters starting next year. The same guidelines apply to Valais residents, foreign, and out-of-canton clients alike.
For example, all recreational hunters must hold a recognised hunting licence and are accompanied by a wildlife warden who ultimately decides which animal is to be shot. Foreign and out-of-canton recreational hunters are only permitted to shoot male animals older than eleven years.
Price Based on Age
The fees are determined by age category and no longer by the length of the ibex horns. Valais recreational hunters will benefit from lower fees than out-of-canton and foreign clients.
The canton points out that populations would need to continue to be regulated in order to minimize competition between ibex populations and other species, such as the chamois. In addition, the damage caused by ibex to forests and crops would need to be reduced. The IG Wild beim Wild criticizes this decision: The argument of the hunting lobby, that culls are necessary for “regulation”, does not hold up to scientific scrutiny.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on the criticism of recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. 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.
