30 Years of the Ticino Hunting Association: Self-Congratulation

But anyone who listens carefully to the interview on Ticino Libero will quickly recognise: this is not a conversation about nature, but about ownership.

About control. About the eternal right to keep the rifle as a tool of order.

Lawyer Davide Corti praises the allegedly “good relationship” with departmental director Claudio Zali and the Office for Hunting and Fishing. All based on “mutual respect” and “trust.” Sounds pleasant. But what does this mean in practice? That the recreational hunters continue to sell their own interests as nature conservation while the department nods along gratefully?

The phrase about the “common goal” of “managing the territory” is merely a polite paraphrase for the fact that wildlife in Ticino is still regarded as stock to be regulated. Nature as an administrative act. Life as an object to be counted.

Success stories from the firing line

Corti describes the high hunt of 2025 as “positive.” More deer killed, less forest damage. Mission accomplished. The world looks simple when viewed through a rifle scope. But where are the ecological facts? What happens to forest and wildlife when hobby hunters manipulate natural cycles? How much longer does one wish to uphold the myth of “regulation,” while simultaneously fighting the hobby hunting that would take on this task far more efficiently — and the predators who could do so far more effectively?

The slight decline in chamois and roe deer kills is immediately relativised: hobby hunters simply preferred to focus on “easier to bag” species. This is called wildlife management; in reality, it is convenience hunting.

Small game hunting: Romanticism at the expense of animals

Corti defends the lowland hunt as a “cultural treasure,” above all because of hunting with dogs. “An ancient cultural aspect,” he says. This may look romantic in old hunting paintings, but in reality it means: chase hunts, stress, flight, fear,animal cruelty. Animals startled, chased, or injured during mating or rearing seasons. And all of this in the name of “tradition.”

If culture means justifying suffering simply because it has always been done this way, then it is high time to reconsider this culture.

The wolf: the natural enemy of hunting ideology

The wolf lays bare the full extent of the double standard. Corti presents himself as moderate, speaks of “legal limits” and “reports by hobby hunters.” Yet between the lines it is clear: thewolfremains the unwelcome competitor.

For the wolf regulates what hobby hunters claim as their own domain: wildlife populations. Free of charge, efficiently, ecologically. And that is precisely the problem — not the wolf itself, but its existence as proof that nature functions without hobby hunters.

The fact that some of the wolves recently killed were located thanks to reports from hobby hunters is even being sold as a contribution to management. That is like an arsonist proudly pointing to the call he made to the fire brigade.

Farmers and hobby hunters: the alliance against the wild

Corti speaks of “affinities” between hobby hunters and farmers. Both “live off the fruits of the land.” It would be hard to describe the exploitation of nature more elegantly than that.

In this logic,wild animalsare either pests or trophies. Forests are timber suppliers, meadows are fodder areas, and everything that crosses their path becomes a number in the hunting plan. There is no trace of genuine ecological balance,biodiversityor animal ethics.

30 years of the association, 30 years of self-justification

Corti presents the association as a modern, dialogue-oriented actor. Awareness projects, school visits, media work: the PR machine is running. Yet the goal is clear: to polish the image of recreational hunting, not to change its nature.

“We want to show that hobby hunters are part of the solution,” says Corti. But: a solution to which problem? For nature? Or for the dwindling social standing of the recreational hunting community?

The interview with Davide Corti is a prime example of the rhetorical self-exoneration practiced by hunting associations. Responsibility is invoked, while the senseless killing continues. “Management” is cited, while natural regulation is systematically prevented. “Culture” is proclaimed, while animals are chased, tormented, wounded, and shot.

Hobby hunting, not only in Ticino but far beyond, remains a system of control. A system that legitimizes itself by declaring nature to be a problem that only humans can solve.

But the truth is simpler: nature does not need hobby hunters. It needs protection from them.

Natural disaster: hobby hunters

In the disorder in which nature finds itself after decades of stewardship and management by hobby hunters, the proportion of endangered species is greater in no other country in the world than in Switzerland. For decades, these hired killers have been creating an ecological imbalance in the cultivated landscape, with sometimes dramatic consequences (protective forests, disease, 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, through their lobbying via politics, media, and legislation, who have been responsible for this state of affairs for decades. They are the ones who notoriously block contemporary, ethical improvements in animal welfare and sabotage serious wildlife and species protection. Hobby hunters regularly oppose more Schweiz ist europaweit beim Ausscheiden von Schutzflächen für die Biodiversität ebenfalls Schlusslicht. Es sind genau immer auch diese Kreise aus Hobby-Jägern mit ihrer Lobbyarbeit, die über die Politik, Medien und Gesetze seit Jahrzehnten dafür verantwortlich zu machen sind. Sie sind es, die zeitgemässe, ethische Tierschutzverbesserungen notorisch blockieren und den seriösen Tier- und Artenschutz sabotieren. Hobby-Jäger wehren sich regelmässig gegen mehr national parks in Switzerland because their concern is not nature, biodiversity, species conservation, or animal welfare, but rather the pursuit of their perverse, bloody hobby.

Did you know …

• that in Switzerland innocent young wolves are being liquidated?
• that hobby hunters lie when it comes to assessing game meat quality, and that processed game meat is classified as carcinogenic by the WHO — alongside cigarettes, asbestos, and 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 ammunition used by hobby hunters?
• that the hunting ethics of hobby hunters are diametrically at odds with animal welfare legislation and amount to nothing more than a mirage?
• that hunting is war, in which animal competitors are simply eliminated?
• that there are countless illegal and unmarked hunting blinds in our natural environment, 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 end up in wheelchairs or have limbs amputated?
• that in Switzerland around 120,000 perfectly healthy roe deer, red deer, foxes, marmots and chamois are killed each year, mostly without purpose?
• that because of hobby hunters it is now barely possible to live in harmony with wildlife or to see wild animals?
• that shotgun blasts make hares scream like small children and tear apart the entrails of “shot” roe deer and red deer so that they leave a trail of blood during their escape for tracking purposes?
• 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 taking prey,” 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 true in practice?
• that hobby hunters travel abroad for trophy hunting, far beyond any species protection or hunting regulations, and that there are even Swiss hobby hunter travel operators offering such mindless hunting pleasures?
• that the vast majority are not licensed professional hunters, but pursue hunting as a hobby, sport and leisure activity, which is not morally justifiable and essentially contradicts animal protection law?
• that 99.07% of civilized 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 justifications?
• that protected species do not actually belong under hunting law, because hobby hunters are overwhelmed by species conservation responsibilities and repeatedly shoot animals listed on the Red List — such as lynx, wolf, brown hare, partridge, quail, etc. — for fun?
• that hobby hunters deliberately decimate certain animal species in order to eliminate competition for 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 game management and care as well as hunting plans?
• that with wild boar (and foxes) normally only the lead sow has young, but due to her being shot, all female animals within the sounder reproduce, and that this is also why 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 the forest?
• that the wolf is vitally important for the long-term health of wild ungulates, because it hunts sick or weak animals with incredible precision, for example, and is therefore vastly superior to hobby hunters?
• that foxes usually end up in the rubbish after being senselessly hunted?
• that foxes are hunted today primarily 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 have to fight fire with fire)?
• that hobby hunters, with their hunting jargon engage in a disrespectful mockery of living beings?
• that it is frowned upon to shoot large game at feeding stations or during mating season, yet the hobby hunter has no scruples about doing exactly this to the fox, their competitor for prey?
• that in some cantons hobby hunters go hunting solely for the tender meat of a young animal?
• that hobby hunters shoot pregnant mother deer in front of their young, or hunt only young animals during the rearing period (special post-season hunt)?
• that hobby hunters poison the environment, nature, humans and animals with their ammunition?
• that bestiality, barbarism, cruelty, bloodshed and senseless suffering cannot be considered cultural heritage in a civilised society?
• that hobby hunters shoot around 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 trained dogs into burrows to eliminate foxes and badgers (den hunting)?
• that hobby hunters lure peaceful living creatures 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, fur trading, etc.?
• that hobby hunters placefirearms into the hands of underage schoolchildrenand practice killing with them?
• that hobby hunters often carry out their cruel acts in isolation, which encourages animal cruelty?
• that hobby huntersseriously wound many wild animals, and the victimsoften suffer for hours in tremendous agony 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 supposed love of animals and nature does not delight in the existence of the beloved object, but rather aims to possess the beloved creature body and soul, culminating in turning it into 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 doorto antisocial, unethical andunchristian behaviour?
• that hobby hunters deprive the public of normal, natural wildlife observations and interactions?
• that there is no greater product of suffering — and one contaminated with ammunition — than game meat?
• 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 isno alcohol prohibitionfor hobby hunters when they are shooting at animals with their weapons?
• that hobby hunters intrude into educationalinstitutionsin order to impose their hunters' jargon and their violence on children?
• that acourt in Bellinzonarecently confirmed that hunting associations promote virtually everything that is cruel, unnecessary and heartless?
• that the association «Jagd Schweiz» primarily cultivates disrespect and a culture of violence – the exact opposite of what a civilized person in our society should aspire to.
• that in the canton of Graubünden alone, over 1’000 complaints and fines are issued against hobby hunters every year?