Valais Butchers Boycott Hobby Hunters

From the canton freed of hobby hunters Canton of Geneva it is known that game wardens are far better marksmen.

Shots are fired as soon as the target has been identified, with the guarantee that the animal is killed instantly — something that, according to the cantonal office for agriculture and nature in Geneva, is the case in 99% of shots fired.

Missed shots resulting in injuries to wildlife are most common in recreational hunting. Statistics from Graubünden as early as 2016 illustrate this: out of 5’440 deer killed, 564 deer were found with gunshot wounds. In other words, one in ten deer in Graubünden is merely wounded rather than killed. In the canton of Valais, the figure is evidently 30% of wildlife that are not shot cleanly.

There are no nationwide statistics on searches for wounded game. Graubünden is one of the few cantons that keeps records on tracking wounded animals. Other cantons include Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Fribourg, Glarus, Nidwalden, Ticino, Uri and Vaud. Searches for wounded animals are only conducted for a small number of species.

Hobby hunters accidentally shoot horses, cows, donkeys, llamas, dogs, lynxes and sometimes even people.

Inebriated hobby hunters brawl in hunting lodges. They hunt near football pitches, children's playgrounds and residential areas.

Valais butchers boycott game that has not been shot cleanly

In Valais, butchers are now refusing game meat because trigger-happy hunters frequently fail to aim properly.

Many butchers are refusing to accept shot game, as the workload involved is too great, reportssrf.ch. Hobby hunters often fail to deliver a lethal shot, resulting in contaminated meat.

The president of the Upper Valais butchers' association, Willy Stocker, explains that many animals are not killed outright and suffer, which contaminates the game meat. 70% of hunters are very competent. But: “The others ruin everything,” Stocker laments.

Hobby hunters sometimes pull the trigger even when they do not have the animal precisely in their sights. “Today there are simply too many hunters out there – and too little game,” says Stocker. Hobby hunters in Valais pay over 1’300 francs annually for their hunting licence in order to hunt deer, chamois and roe deer.

Too many shots miss the animals’ hearts. “Animals frequently suffer abdominal shots, and the stomach contents then spread throughout the body. It is not pleasant work,” says the president of the Upper Valais butchers’ association, Willy Stocker.

From the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild, the limit for handling firearms under the influence of alcohol for hobby-hunters must consistently be set at 0.0 per mille blood alcohol. The same applies to wildlife wardens as well as in military and police service, and for good reason. No one may handle or fire a weapon while under the influence of alcohol.

Hobby hunting serves the purpose of killing animals. Anyone who carries a weapon in doing so bears a particular responsibility towards both humans and animals. Alcohol or drugs are incompatible with this. Persons with alcohol or drug dependency must immediately lose their hunting– and firearms licence.

Mandatory alcohol testing must be introduced following hunting accidents. In addition, regular medical-psychological assessments for hobby hunters are needed, modelled on the example of the Netherlands, along with a binding upper age limit.

The largest age group among hobby hunters is 65+. It is precisely in this group that age-related limitations in vision, concentration, and reaction capacity increasingly occur, as well as deficiencies in training and practice. At the same time, it is known that alcohol is consumed in the belief that it steadies the trigger finger. Others abstain from alcohol yet are nonetheless no longer equal to the physical demands.

The numerous missed shots, searches for wounded game, and the associated massive animal suffering can hardly be explained otherwise.