What is trap hunting and why is it problematic?

Hours of agony: Trap hunting and its victims

Wild beim Wild Editorial Team — April 5, 2026

Trap hunting ranks among the most controversial hunting methods: Animals are caught in mechanical devices, often waiting for hours or days to be killed, frequently sustaining injuries in the process.

Kill traps have been banned at federal level in Switzerland since the JSV revision of 2012. Only box traps for live capture remain permitted, yet even these are highly problematic from an animal welfare perspective.

What is trap hunting?

In trap hunting, wild animals are caught or killed using mechanical devices without the presence of the hunting person. Historically, a distinction was made between live traps, which are supposed to catch the animal unharmed, and kill traps, which kill the animal immediately. In Switzerland, the Federal Council banned all kill traps with the JSV revision of July 15, 2012 (Art. 2 Para. 1 Let. a JSV). Since then, only box traps for live capture are permitted at federal level, provided they are checked daily.

The Trap Hunting Dossier provides a detailed overview of the various trap types, their legal basis and their prevalence in Switzerland.

Which animal species are caught in box traps?

Trap hunting with box traps primarily targets so-called «small game species»: Fox, badger, marten, polecat and mink are frequently in focus. Nutria and muskrat are also hunted with box traps. The indiscriminate nature of even these live traps is problematic: They do not distinguish between target species and bycatch. Cats, hedgehogs, birds of prey and other protected animals can equally fall into the trap.

The badger in Switzerland is a particularly telling example: As an ecosystem engineer, it fulfills important functions in forest soil, yet is systematically hunted with box traps in many cantons.

The problem of inadequate monitoring

The federal hunting ordinance requires that box traps must be checked daily (Art. 2 Para. 1 lit. a JSV). In practice, compliance with this inspection interval is hardly verifiable. For a trapped animal, even one day of waiting means enormous stress, dehydration, risk of injury from panic, and psychological suffering. If the trap is not checked in time, capture can lead to death.

The Hunting and Animal Welfare Dossier analyzes how far animal welfare law (TSchG) actually applies to wildlife in practice, and where hunting legislation is de facto placed above animal welfare law.

Animal welfare legal contradictions

Swiss animal welfare law prohibits causing pain, suffering or fear to animals without reasonable cause (Art. 4 Para. 2 TSchG). This is strictly interpreted for domestic and farm animals. For wild animals caught in box traps, the same law applies, but the enforcement gap is glaring. The 'reasonable cause' is blanket equated with hunting practice, without this needing to be factually justified.

The Dossier 'Why Animal Welfare Law Ends at the Forest Edge' systematically demonstrates this contradiction: wild animals enjoy significantly weaker protection in practice than other animals, although the law provides for no such distinction.

What has been banned since 2012 and what remains permitted?

With the JSV revision of July 15, 2012, all kill traps, gin traps, snares, nets, wire snares, lime sticks and hooks were banned for hunting (Art. 2 Para. 1 JSV). Previously, kill traps for small rodents, muskrats and nutria had still been exceptionally permitted. The ban was issued among other reasons to protect beavers, as kill traps can kill young beavers up to 10 kg and seriously injure adult animals.

Only box traps for live capture remain permitted. Additionally, according to Art. 3 Para. 1 JSV, cantons can authorize the use of otherwise prohibited aids in justified exceptional cases. This exception clause creates a legal grey area whose use is hardly transparently documented at cantonal level.

The Hunting Laws and Control Dossier shows how cantonal supervision is organized in this area, and why existing control mechanisms are inadequate.

Box traps and bycatch: the principle of indiscriminacy

No box trap can ensure that only the target species is caught. 'Bycatch', i.e. the unintentional capture of other animal species, is structurally unavoidable. This applies particularly to traps set up on paths or near settlements. Domestic animals are regularly affected, and it is not uncommon for found animals or dead animals to indicate the presence of set traps.

The principle of indiscrimination fundamentally distinguishes trap hunting from other hunting methods and makes it particularly problematic from an animal welfare perspective.

Legal situation in cantonal comparison

The regulation of box trap hunting in Switzerland is a cantonal matter. Federal law sets the framework with the prohibition of kill traps and the obligation for daily inspection. Within this framework, cantonal regulations vary considerably. In the canton of Zurich, for example, trap hunting with box traps is permitted in residential areas as well as in and around residential and commercial buildings (§ 24 Cantonal Hunting Ordinance Zurich). A uniform national regulation that additionally establishes minimum standards for animal welfare in box trap hunting is lacking.

The Swiss Hunting Law Dossier provides an overview of the cantonal legal situation and the federal structure of the Swiss hunting system.

The trap industry: an underestimated market segment

Box traps for recreational hunting are a commercial product. In Switzerland and neighboring countries, they are sold freely, partly through specialized hunting retailers, partly through general mail-order companies. A registration requirement for box traps or an obligation to prove hunting authorization when purchasing does not exist in many cantons. This creates low-threshold access even for persons who do not possess hunting authorization.

Conclusion

The ban on kill traps since 2012 was an overdue step, but the still permitted box trap hunting remains barely justifiable under animal welfare law. Box traps catch indiscriminately, cause considerable suffering to trapped animals and are inadequately controlled in practice. That this method continues to be widely practiced in Switzerland is an expression of hunting legislation that places recreational interests above animal welfare. Effective controls and national minimum regulation would be the least the legislature owes here.

Sources

Ordinance on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (Hunting Ordinance, JSV; SR 922.01), Art. 2 Para. 1 Lett. a (Prohibition of all traps except box traps for live capture with daily inspection obligation), in force since July 15, 2012, confirmed in the version of February 1, 2025

Ordinance on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (Hunting Ordinance, JSV; SR 922.01), Art. 2 Para. 1 Lett. b (Prohibition of snares, nets, wire strings, lime twigs and hooks), Art. 3 Para. 1 (Cantonal exceptional permits for otherwise prohibited aids)

Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (Hunting Act, JSG; SR 922.0), Art. 17 Para. 1 Lett. i (Penalty provision for use of prohibited aids)

Federal Act on Animal Protection (Animal Protection Act, TSchG; SR 455), Art. 4 Para. 2 (Prohibition to inflict unjustified pain, suffering or harm on animals)

Explanatory report by FOEN on the partial revision of the Hunting Ordinance, 2011 (Justification for the prohibition of kill traps for beaver protection)

Bern Convention (Convention on the Conservation of European Wild Flora and Fauna and their Natural Habitats; SR 0.455), Annex IV (Prohibited means and methods of killing, capturing and other exploitation)

Cantonal Hunting Ordinance Zurich, § 24 (Regulation of trap hunting in settlement areas)