When the Risk of Hobby Hunting Becomes the Norm

And this is only the tip of the iceberg: since the start of the hunting season in the region, five deaths have been recorded over five weekends, along with countless injuries.

In the neighbouring Trentino, the tragic death of 39-year-old Davide Verones also occurred at the beginning of October.

Against this backdrop, the national animal protection organisation ENPA in Italy is raising loud accusations against hobby hunting — not only as a dangerous leisure activity, but as a socially outdated practice with no genuine justification.

Risk in the Forest for People and Nature

"Roaming through forests armed and killing animals weighing up to 200 kilograms is dangerous," explains Ivana Sandri. "It carries risks in a natural environment that demands caution." In both current cases, carelessness or equipment failure was the cause: the 75-year-old fell approximately 30 metres while abseiling a killed deer; the rescue operation was hampered by radio and mobile network dead zones.

The organisation notes: even when hobby hunters claim to know their hunting grounds like the back of their hand, numerous — often fatal — accidents still occur every year. "We want calmer and safer forests," says Sandri — not only for hobby hunters, but also for hikers, mushroom pickers and mountain enthusiasts.

The Spirit of the Times and Purpose

ENPA no longer sees any justified function in hunting today: "Hunting is outdated. It no longer enables any family or community to make a living." Rather, it is a hobby in which hundreds of thousands of wild animals lose their lives each year, at a time when respect for life and the environment is demanded. While an ordinary citizen may nothunt a wild animalhobby hunters are privileged to kill inalienable state property and thus the property of all people.

This position targets not only the risk to humans, but also the ethical question: Does recreational hunting still have legitimacy today? In a society that is increasingly conservation-minded and acknowledges animal life, the deliberate killing of wild animals appears anachronistic.

Time for Consequences

The accumulation of serious accidents in the current season provokes a fundamental question: Is it time for a turning point in hunting policy and in the approach to hunting as a whole?

Some starting points:

• Reassessing the purpose of hunting: If hunting no longer serves the purpose of sustenance, its function must be redefined or called into question.
• Social contract: If nature belongs to everyone, how does the exclusive right to deliberately kill animals for pleasure fit in?
• Respect for life and nature: Is there a need for a cultural and values shift that moves away from “bloodshed” toward coexistence with forest and wildlife?

The recent deaths are far more than isolated incidents — they are warning signs. They illustrate that recreational hunting in its current form is not only a risky leisure activity, but that it finds itself in a conflict between tradition and modernity, between preservation and change.

For IG Wild beim Wild, this means: the debate over the role of recreational hunting in 2025 has long since been opened, with a clear tendency toward sharp criticism, as put forward by ENPA. The forests demand safety and peace, and the community demands purpose and legitimacy. Whether recreational hunting can still provide both to a sufficient degree has once again become a question in Italy as well.

In the view of IG Wild beim Wild, recreationalhunters annual medical-psychological fitness assessments modelled on the Netherlands, as well as a binding upper age limit. The largest age group among hobby hunters today is 65+. In this group, age-related limitations such as declining vision, slowed reaction times, lapses in concentration and cognitive deficits increase statistically and significantly. At the same time, accident analyses show that the number of serious hunting accidents involving injuries and fatalities rises markedly from middle age onwards.

The regular reports of hunting accidents, fatal errors of judgement and the misuse of hunting weapons highlight a structural problem. The private ownership and use of lethal firearms for recreational purposes largely eludes continuous oversight. From the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild, this is no longer justifiable. A practice based on voluntary killing that simultaneously generates considerable risks for humans and animals forfeits its social legitimacy.

Recreationalhunting is furthermore rooted in speciesism. Speciesism describes the systematic devaluation of non-human animals solely on the basis of their species membership. It is comparable to racism or sexism and cannot be justified on cultural or ethical grounds. Tradition is no substitute for moral scrutiny.

Critical scrutiny is indispensable, particularly in the field of hobby hunting. Few other areas are so thoroughly shaped by euphemistic narratives, half-truths and deliberate disinformation. Where violence is normalised, narratives frequently serve the purpose of justification. Transparency, verifiable facts and an open public debate are therefore essential.