Where can European hares still be found in Switzerland?
The European hare does not have an easy time in Switzerland. Hunting, intensive agriculture, and habitats lacking sufficient structures such as hedgerows or unmown meadows make life difficult for it. Its populations are under pressure in many parts of the country, which is why it appears on the red list of endangered species.
Highest density in hunt-free Geneva
The European hare is becoming increasingly rare in Switzerland. The highest density was recorded in 2016 in the canton of Geneva, which is free of recreational hunting: 17.7 hares per 100 ha. In grassland areas, populations stand at an extremely low level of 1.3 hares per 100 ha.
1’475 hares killed for sport
In the 2021/22 hunting year, 1’475 European hares were killed by recreational hunters, most of them in Graubünden (971) and Valais (304). The once ubiquitous European hare is listed on the Red List of endangered mammals. More on the topics of Wildlife, Biodiversity and Population Control.
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More on the subject of recreational hunting: The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
