Valais Society for Wildlife Biology rejects the hunting act

For the Valais Society for Wildlife Biology fauna•vs, the new Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds represents a step backwards compared with the current hunting act. With an information campaign, fauna•vs now wants to inform the public about the changes envisaged in the new act and their impact on wild animals.

On 27 September 2020 the Swiss population will vote on the revised hunting act. The new act is backward-looking in various respects, states fauna•vs in a press release. Instead of giving equal weight to the three pillars of protection, regulation and hunting, the new act places the regulation of wild animals in the foreground – with a focus on the wolf – while the protection of endangered species is completely neglected.

Today's hunting reserves, where hunting is currently generally banned, are to be renamed «wildlife protection areas». «Paradoxically, however, it is precisely in these areas that hunting of the wolf and the ibex is to be permitted», comments the Valais Society for Wildlife Biology. The planned change would mean that there would virtually no longer be any areas in our country without hunting, even though wildlife urgently needs such refuge areas, given the many environmental pressures and the disturbance caused by leisure activities.

«No sustainable management for endangered species»

Certain threatened species remain on the list of huntable species, such as the ptarmigan, the black grouse or the woodcock. Due to climate warming, the Valais ptarmigan population has halved over the last 20 to 30 years. In the same period, the number of ptarmigans shot has halved. «A hunter in Valais can still shoot up to eight ptarmigans per year! The revised hunting act does not correct this absurdity», says the Valais Society for Wildlife Biology. This is not sustainable management for a threatened species.

The new hunting act provides that the Federal Council can place protected species on the list of regulable species at any time and without any possibility of legal intervention. The discussions in parliament showed that this rule could affect, for example, the lynx, the beaver and even the mute swan. «One day, eagles, eagle owls or grey herons could also end up on this list…», warns fauna•vs.

Valais Society for Wildlife Biology: «Ethically unjustifiable»

The current federal hunting ordinance permits the shooting of individual wolves, lynx and bears in specific cases of damage. The cantons already have considerable leeway today in dealing with large predators. The new act aims to give the cantons even more powers. «This makes no sense for large predators with their vast territories. Overall supervision of the management of large predators must remain with the federal government to ensure uniform management», fauna•vs is convinced.

In dealing with the wolf, the principle «prevention before intervention» currently applies. Kills are possible when wolves attack protected livestock. In future, regulatory kills are also to be possible when damage to unprotected herds is threatened. Thus, in future, «behaviourally conspicuous» individual wolves are also to be shot and wolf families regulated, even before they cause any damage. «These provisions are ethically unjustifiable, open the door wide to wolf-free areas and massively weaken herd protection», notes fauna•vs, while at the same time questioning why herd protection measures should still make sense if wolves can be shot preventively because of threatened damage. The political and media pressure to shoot wolves when damage is threatened will rise massively in the cantons.

Negative points prevail

From fauna•vs's perspective, however, there are also positive aspects to the new hunting act: «Only three duck species may now be hunted, and the creation of wildlife corridors is to be more strongly promoted in future.» Nevertheless, for fauna•vs the negative points prevail, so they recommend casting a No vote against the hunting act on 27 September.

Rejected – and replaced by a new act