What qualifications does a hunting association president need in Switzerland?

The role of hunting association presidents is increasingly controversial in today's world.

More and more people are questioning the ethical, ecological and social aspects of hobby hunting.

One does not become a hunting association president by being a particularly ecological or honorable hobby hunter. On the contrary, Claudio Zali is a Swiss lawyer, politician and State Councillor in Bellinzona. Years ago, he summed it up quite well. He described the former hunting association president in Ticino and current board member of JagdSchweiz in the newspaper as an embodiment of arrogance, lack of legal awareness and egotism. The new Ticino hunting association president appears to be a fan of trophy hunting, as a glance at his desk reveals.

Criminal complaints have already been filed against the hunting association president in Graubünden, who is also a board member of JagdSchweiz. He himself describes hobby hunting as a disease from which he cannot be cured. The hunting association president of the Graubünden hobby hunters always acts as though the Graubünden hobby hunters are incapable of anything – except violence. And that is supposed to be ethical? In the canton of Zurich, there is among other things an alcohol ban during hobby hunting. Passion for hunting is not a mandate from society or a right, nor can it ever be. The risk group of hobby hunters promotes a culture of senseless violence all the way down to primary schools. The canton of Graubünden sees the highest number of accidents during hobby hunting, followed by hunting accidents abroad. The cantons of Ticino, Aargau, Valais, St. Gallen and Bern follow. Both the marksmanship of hobby hunters, alcohol consumption and the many hunting accidents themselves give cause for serious concern.

Not only the hunting association president from Scuol presents trophy photos with wildlife on the association's website and images of children on its Facebook page. Police and specialist agencies have been running information campaigns for years under the slogan ‘Children's photos do not belong on the internet’. This information campaign has also reached the common sense of the general public. The canton of Graubünden has prohibited the publication of trophy photos of wolves. On an increasing number of websites, the publication of any kind of trophy photos by hobby hunters is prohibited, as this violates the standards of morality and decency. Any soldier or police officer would be dishonourably discharged and referred to a psychiatric clinic if they posed in front of their victim the way hunting presidents do. The hunting president himself is the greatest enemy of the hunting community.

Switzerland is obligated under human rights law to protect children and young people from all forms of violence, including in the context of hunting.Poland has long since implemented this. But no hunting president in Switzerland seems to care. On the contrary, the Bernese hunting president even presents children with dangerous firearms or makes notoriously confused statements. The fox-beater without legal mandate – hunting animals means respecting animals – has repeatedly attracted negative attention in the past, which has been documented by various media outlets and caused outrage. Hunting presidents deliberately and systematically mislead and deceive the public.

According to the hunting president in the canton of Jura, the Jura mountain range is not suitable for the presence of the wolf. According to feedback from his circles in Valais, Vaud and Neuchâtel, coexistence with the wolf is not possible. There are also allegations that personal political entanglements and interests influence the hunting president's decisions. Critics believe that he does not exercise his role as hunting president independently, but is heavily involved in the local political agenda, which calls his objectivity into question.

The hunting president of Uri has opposed the initiative ‘Let ptarmigan and mountain hares live!’. The canton of Uri is, alongside Graubünden and Valais, the only canton in which hunting of these species is still permitted. Climate change is also causing the habitat of the ptarmigan and the mountain hare to shrink ever further. No negative consequences of abandoning hunting can be identified. Hobby hunters hunt in order to inflict suffering and to take prey, even when wildlife species are endangered in their existence. Has a capercaillie plague broken out there since the abolition 24 years ago? What insights does a hunting association president gain from hunting an endangered species? Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless is promoted by Swiss hunting association presidents. Hunting associations are not animal welfare organisations; this was recently confirmed by a court in Bellinzona confirmed. Hunting association presidents embody speciesism. Speciesism is comparable to racism and sexism, and that is neither a culture nor a tradition.

In an internal email it is communicated in no uncertain terms that the board members and hunting association presidents of JagdSchweiz are attempting to silence IG Wild beim Wild and make them disappear from the scene, because the IG documents plain facts instead of hunters’ tall tales.

Even though people who hunt may have different character traits, what ultimately unites hunting association presidents is the same conduct: a violent treatment of peaceable animals, often merely for fun, leisure enjoyment or sport. Psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts speak, in the context of hobby hunting, of serious psychological disorders in such individuals, who, for example, take out their aggression on the vulnerable and do not stop short of targeting people either.

Hunting clubs, upon close analysis, cultivate above all disrespect and a culture of violence – precisely the opposite of what a cultivated person in our society should aspire to. Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless is promoted by hunting associations. – IG Wild beim Wild

In Switzerland there is no association whose members are demonstrably responsible, year after year, for four-digit numbers of legal violations such as breaches of hunting law, poaching, arms smuggling, environmental offences, animal welfare violations, traffic offences, corruption and many other criminal activities are involved. According to the Office of Hunting and Fishing, every year in the canton of Graubünden alone there are over 1,000 reports and/or fines during the regular hunting season, not counting poaching.

Hunting associations are also always a pool for criminals and mentally ill individuals who should be the last people to hold a weapons and hunting licence. Studies repeatedly show that hobby hunters are not motivated by nature or animal protection, but that they take pleasure in a culture of violence. The exercise of violence against animals and animal cruelty are perceived as normal as cycling or Hornussen.

Main points of criticism

1. Animal welfare and ethics

A central point of criticism directed at hunting presidents is the question of animal welfare. Many people are convinced that hobby hunting of wild animals is incompatible with modern ethical standards and has nothing to do with animal protection. The idea of hunting animals for pleasure or to collect trophies is regarded as immoral by numerous animal welfare organisations and the general public. In this context, hunting presidents are often under pressure to justify their practices and to promote transparent alternatives.

2. Loss of biodiversity

Another significant point of criticism is the influence of hunting on biodiversity. Critics argue that certain hunting practices, such as hunting species that are already in decline, can lead to further threats to those species. Hunting presidents are often responsible for shaping the rules. When these decisions are not scientifically grounded or do not meet ecological standards, this has devastating consequences for entire ecosystems. Hunting presidents demonstrably contribute to the reduction of biodiversity. In the disarray in which nature finds itself after decades of management and stewardship by Swiss hobby hunters, the proportion of threatened species is, according to the United Nations, higher in Switzerland than in any other country in the world. Who repeatedly opposes national parks or biodiversity initiatives at the forefront? The hunting presidents!

3. Social tensions

Hunting frequently divides society. While some view hobby hunting as a tradition and cultural heritage, others find it outdated and cruel. Hunting presidents often face the challenge of maintaining the reputation of hobby hunting while simultaneously having to take critics' opinions into account. The entirely unscientific propaganda outcry from hunting presidents about wildlife stewardship is inversely proportional to their actions and results.

4. Commercialization of Hunting

The commercialization of hobby hunting is another point that brings hunting presidents under criticism. In many regions, hobby hunting is increasingly viewed as a business, with fees charged for hunting rights, hunting licenses, or trophies. This development fuels concerns that economic interests are being placed above ethical and ecological considerations.

Natural Disaster: Hobby Hunters

In the chaos in which nature finds itself after decades of stewardship and care by hobby hunters , the proportion of endangered species in no country in the world is as high as in Switzerland. The contract killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultural landscape for decades, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, diseases, agricultural damage, and much more). Over a third of plant,wildlife and fungal species are considered endangered. Switzerland also ranks last in Europe when it comes to designating protected areas for biodiversity. It is precisely these circles of hobby hunters, with their lobbying efforts through politics, media, and legislation, who have been responsible for this for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious animal and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly oppose more national parks in Switzerland because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species protection, or animal welfare , but rather the pursuit of their perverted, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

• that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are being killed?
• that hobby hunters lie about assessing game meat quality and that processed wild meat is carcinogenic according to the WHO, like cigarettes, asbestos, or arsenic?
• that according to a study, nowhere is the lead contamination of golden eagles and bearded vultures higher than in the Swiss Alps, due to the ammunition used by hobby hunters?
• that the Fair chase ethics of hobby hunters is diametrically opposed to the Animal Welfare Act, a mere illusion?
• that Hunting is war where animal competitors are simply eliminated?
• that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting stands in our natural landscape, some of which are so rotten that they pose a danger to children and can cause people to die?
• that year after year countless people are killed or injured by hunters' weapons, in some cases so severely that they are confined to wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
• that in Switzerland approximately 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed every year, mostly without purpose?
• that because of hobby hunters it is today barely possible to live in harmony with wildlife or to observe wild animals at all?
• that shotgun blasts cause hares to scream like small children and tear apart the entrails of “shot” roe deer and red deer so that they leave a blood trail for tracking during the follow-up search?
• that the hobby hunters' claim that the cruel wildlife massacres are necessary to regulate animal populations has been scientifically refuted?
• that hobby hunters openly admit that hunting is about the “pleasure of killing” and “the joy of making a kill” — a pathological obsession?
• that hobby hunters have no sixth sense and yet regularly claim they only shoot sick and weak animals, which is of course not borne out in practice?
• that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far removed from any species protection or hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel agencies catering to such depraved hunting pleasures?
• that the vast majority are not legitimate professional hunters, but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure activity, which is ethically indefensible and in fact contradicts the Animal Welfare Act?
• that 99.07% of civilised people in Switzerland are not hobby hunters, meaning only 0.3% of hobby hunters take pleasure in these bloody activities?
• that these wildlife killers do not hunt on the basis of scientific justification?
• that protected species do not actually belong under hunting law, because hobby hunters are unable to cope with the demands of species protection and repeatedly shoot animals listed on the Red List — such as lynx, wolf, brown hare, grey partridge, quail, and others — purely for sport?
• that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species to eliminate competition, due to their unnatural behavior (fox, lynx, wolf, birds of prey, etc.)?
• that wildlife dies before the hobby hunter can even fire a single shot, that this must be prevented, and that this is arguably the central idea behind wildlife management and hunting planning?
• that with wild boar (and foxes), normally only the lead sow produces young, but due to their being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and that this is also a reason we have a wild boar surplus?
• that grazing animals — deer, roe deer, etc. — originally lived mainly as diurnal animals in fields and meadows, like goats, sheep, cows, etc., and not in forests?
• that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because, for example, it preys on sick or weak animals with incredible precision and is therefore vastly superior to hobby hunters?
• that foxes, after being senselessly hunted, usually end up in the trash?
• that foxes are hunted today mainly so that there are more hares, etc. for hobby hunters’ frying pans? That the fox, however, feeds on hares in fewer than 10% of cases and would never catch a healthy hare?
• that in animal protection, one cannot deal with hobby hunters through gentleness alone, street festivals, prayer chains, etc. (you need a tough wedge for a tough block)?
• that hobby hunters with their hunters’ tall tales engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
• that it is frowned upon to shoot game at feeding stations or during mating season, yet the hobby hunter has no scruples doing exactly this with their competitor the fox?
• that in some cantons, hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
• that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother animals in front of their young, or only target young animals during the rearing season (post-special hunt)?
• that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans and animals with their ammunition?
• that bestiality, barbarity, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless suffering cannot be considered cultural heritage in a civilized society?
• that hobby hunters shoot approximately 10’000 roe deer fawns every year?
• that in harsh winters, hobby hunters lure starving animals with food only to shoot them in a treacherous and cowardly manner?
• that hobby hunters send attack-trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (earth hunting)?
• that hobby hunters lure peaceful living beings into box traps, where they may suffer for days awaiting their killer, or often subject the animals to an agonizing death struggle lasting hours (trap hunting)?
• that hobby hunters cowardly ambush peaceful wild animals while they sleep or sunbathe, shooting or wounding them with state-of-the-art precision weapons?
• that hobby hunters support awards, fur markets, prize ceremonies for trophy culture, trophy shows, the fur trade, etc.?
• that hobby hunters place firearms into the hands of underage schoolchildren and practice killing with them?
• that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in isolation, which encourages animal cruelty?
• that hobby hunters seriously wound many wild animals, and the victims often suffer for hours in enormous pain and fear until a tracking dog finds them and they are shot?
• that hobby hunters (apart from vivisection) inflict the most suffering and abuse on animals, including through the manner of killing?
• that the hunter's so-called love of animals and nature takes no pleasure in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved creature body and soul, culminating in making it prey through the act of killing?
• that hobby hunters actively promote browsing damage through hunting pressure, particularly on predators such as fox, lynx and wolf?
• that hobby hunters open the door to antisocial, unethical and unchristian behaviour?
• that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observation and interaction?
• that there is no greater product of cruelty — and one contaminated with ammunition — than venison?
• that there is no uniform regulation across Switzerland regarding vision tests, shooting practice, etc. for hobby hunters?
• that there is no psychological character assessment for hobby hunters?
• that there is no alcohol ban for hobby hunters when they shoot at animals with their weapons?
• that hobby hunters infiltrate educational institutions in order to impose their hunters' jargon and their culture of violence on children?
• that a court in Bellinzona recently confirmed that hunting associations promote virtually everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
• that the association «Jagd Schweiz» cultivates above all a culture of disrespect and violence – the exact opposite of what a civilised person in our society should aspire to.
• that in the canton of Graubünden alone, more than 1’000 complaints and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?