Unprecedented Poaching in the Jura

For the court, there is no greater liar than a hunter.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 22 September 2010

In 2009, four hobby hunters from the Jura stood trial before the criminal court in Porrentruy on charges of poaching.

Between 2002 and 2006, they are alleged to have illegally killed over 200 animals. One of the accused was an auxiliary game warden; he denied the charges on the first day of the trial.

The affair was considered the largest poaching case in Switzerland and the biggest case ever recorded in the canton of Jura. The four men are accused of secretly shooting 138 roe deer, 36 hares, 12 wild boar, 1 owl, 1 wildcat and 11 chamois. They were charged with violations of federal law as well as the cantonal hunting act. During a search of one of the accused's homes, investigators discovered two rifles fitted with silencers, the carrying and use of which during hunting is prohibited in Switzerland.

The Jura has never seen an incident of this magnitude before.
Christophe Noël, cantonal wildlife manager

The poaching came to light in the summer of 2006, when a game warden saw his 36-year-old auxiliary warden and another person speeding past in a car. He investigated the matter and discovered a hidden roe deer. Police subsequently seized dozens of hunting trophies, weapons, documents and game meat stored in a chest freezer.

The canton of Jura, acting as plaintiff and civil party, is seeking damages of 142,458 francs. Compensation for an illegally killed roe deer ranges between 1’000 and 1’400 francs. The state had already initiated surveillance measures in 2005 after rumours of the poaching activities began to circulate. The investigation lasted more than two years.

During the trial, a dispute arose in which defence lawyers claimed that the canton had committed an administrative error by sending a representative from the environmental office to the hearing. They argued that only the finance ministry had the authority to bring civil claims. The court ruled that the canton of Jura's financial claims fell under administrative law. It is the responsibility of the environmental office, which oversees hunting supervision, to impose fines on poachers.

The presiding judge Damien Rérat and the two lay judges did not believe the quartet's accounts for a single moment. "Their versions changed constantly throughout the investigation." A flood of implausibilities that did not sit well with the court. Nor did the tactic: "Incriminate one to exonerate another...". Not to mention the half-brother who committed suicide in 2005 and was supposedly responsible, on his own, for nearly all of the 200 animals listed in the indictment.

Despite denying the acts, presenting themselves as defenders of the environment, leading people to believe they were victims of a conspiracy and of the investigators' inflexibility, they attempted to shift the blame onto the seemingly weakest member of their group — one who had no financial means and no hunting licence.

The trial, and in particular the hearings of certain witnesses, brought the rivalries within the Jura hunting world to light. The prosecutor had portrayed an organized gang that enforced its own law in the forests of the Franches-Montagnes.

Despite their denials, the four recreational hunters from the canton of Jura, accused of illegally shooting nearly 200 animals, were found guilty. Their sentences are suspended, with the exception of the hunting ban.

The two poachers from Saignelégier involved in this affair are brothers, one of whom is an auxiliary game warden. The auxiliary game warden's brother confessed to the facts after a night of interrogation. This poacher held a French hunting licence, which is not valid in the canton of Jura.

Three of the four defendants and the prosecution appealed against the verdict of the criminal court. The lawyers called for the acquittal of their clients.

The former auxiliary game warden was sentenced to 18 months in prison (the maximum sentence), suspended for five years. He therefore did not have to spend six months behind bars, as the prosecution had sought. The judge found him guilty of illegally shooting 87 roe deer, 26 hares, nine wild boar, one owl, one wildcat and eight chamois. The resident of Saignelégier also had to pay a fine of 5’000 francs, corresponding to the maximum amount. As well as a hunting ban in Switzerland for 10 years.

After the appeal: The auxiliary game warden received 18 months in prison with a four-year suspended sentence, compared to five years at the original verdict. The court also eased the ten-year hunting ban in Switzerland by suspending the hunting ban entirely.

The hobby hunter from Bourrignon was also sentenced in the first instance to 18 months suspended for five years, and his hunting licence was revoked for ten years. The court charged him with 32 roe deer, seven hares and as many wild boar, as well as three chamois.

After the appeal: This hobby hunter, who had been sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence in the first instance, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 240 days and a fine of 130 francs. The hunting ban in Switzerland was also suspended.

The third poacher, residing in Goumois, got off “relatively lightly” with five roe deer and a fine of 150 daily rates, suspended for three years. His hunting ban amounts to three years.

After the appeal, the third member of the gang received a fine of 120 daily rates and an equally suspended hunting ban.

The brother of the former auxiliary game warden was charged with one roe deer and one chamois. The verdict: 60 daily rates (10 francs) suspended for three years, plus a one-year hunting ban. This is a heavy blow for the man from Les Pommerats, as he has never held a hunting licence in Switzerland. Of the four, he was the only one who admitted his mistakes.

The court costs of 22’700 francs were divided among the quartet.

The so-called Franc-Montagnard poaching affair has finally found its epilogue, writes the Canton of Jura. On 11 February 2013, the Federal Court rejected the appeals filed by the two main protagonists the previous year and ruled in favor of the state. The four poachers must therefore ultimately pay, in addition to the procedural costs, the damages arising from the illegally killed animals, totalling around 115’000 francs.

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