Why hobby hunting does not protect the public, but endangers it
For generations, hobby hunting has been selling us a promise: that it regulates nature, keeps populations healthy and thereby protects the public from disease.
That sounds responsible.
Yet modern science paints a different picture. In several respects, this protective argument turns into its opposite. Anyone who genuinely wants to protect the public must preserve predators rather than shoot them.
1. Ticks: Killing foxes breeds the risk of Lyme disease
Foxes eat thousands of mice every year, and these very rodents are the most important hosts for ticks. A study by Dutch biologist Tim Hofmeester showed that where many predators live, significantly fewer ticks carry the Lyme disease pathogen, because mice hide more often and are less frequently infested by tick larvae. So where the fox disappears, not only does the mouse population grow, but the risk of infection for humans rises too. As a reminder: according to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people contract Lyme disease in Switzerland every year. More on this in the article «Foxes as allies in the fight against Lyme disease»Foxes as allies in the fight against Lyme disease».
2. Fox tapeworm: Hunting spreads what it claims to combat
The strongest example comes from a four-year study around the French city of Nancy. Despite hunting pressure being increased by 35 per cent and 776 foxes being killed, the population did not shrink, and fox tapeworm prevalence rose from 40 to 55 per cent, while it remained stable in the control area. The reason: young foxes, which excrete particularly large numbers of tapeworm eggs, migrate into hunting grounds that have been shot empty. Hobby hunting therefore exacerbates precisely the danger it claims to avert. Details in the «Fact check on the fox tapeworm»Fact check on the fox tapeworm».
3. Lead in game meat: Hunting poisons the food chain
While hobby hunting warns of parasites, it itself introduces a highly toxic heavy metal into our food. Lead-containing bullets break apart on impact; minute splinters penetrate deep into the meat and are barely detectable there. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment lists wild boar, roe deer and red deer among the foods most heavily contaminated with lead. There is no safe dose of lead. The authorities’ recommendation is correspondingly clear: children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age should not eat game killed with lead ammunition. Those particularly affected are, of all people, frequent consumers, namely hobby hunters and their families.
4. The regulation myth: Killing does not reduce populations
The supposed core argument of hobby hunting is biologically refuted. Heavily hunted fox populations compensate for losses through higher birth rates and immigration. A long-term French study shows that intensive hunting tends to cause populations to rise and increases the risk of infection by around 15 percent. Those who shoot ultimately harvest more foxes, not fewer. "Regulation" thus becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
5. There are bloodless and more effective alternatives
That public health protection works without a rifle has long been proven. Terrestrial rabies was defeated with vaccine baits, and Switzerland has been considered free of it for decades. Deworming baits work against the fox tapeworm: in treated areas, prevalence in spring fell from 13.3 to 2.2 percent. And the most effective mouse and tick control is provided by the fox itself, free of charge and around the clock.
Conclusion
The protective promise of hobby hunting breaks down at every single link. It does not reduce populations, it increases tapeworm infestation, it promotes ticks and Lyme disease, and it introduces lead into our food. Public protection looks different. It means: protecting predators, relying on proven bloodless methods, and ending hobby hunting where it causes more harm than good. More on our demands in the dossier on hunting criticism and on the hunting act.
Sources
- Comte, S., Umhang, G., Raton, V., Raoul, F., Giraudoux, P., Combes, B., Boué, F. (2017): Echinococcus multilocularis management by fox culling: an inappropriate paradigm. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 147, 178 to 185. View study
- Hofmeester, T. R., Jansen, P. A., Wijnen, H. J., Coipan, E. C., Fonville, M., Prins, H. H. T., Sprong, H., van Wieren, S. E. (2017): Cascading effects of predator activity on tick-borne disease risk. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284: 20170453. View study
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR): Lead contamination of game meat through the use of lead ammunition in hunting. View statement
