Why Swiss hunting has an aftercare problem
Swiss hunting likes to present itself as a responsible, professionally regulated form of wildlife management. In practice, however, a different picture emerges: the number of tracking operations and missed shots remains high, and many animals die slowly from gunshot wounds that could have been avoided.
Research conducted across several cantons, along with conversations with game wardens, veterinarians and dog handlers, reveals a structural problem that has so far received almost no public attention.
Every hunting year sees several thousand tracking operations — cases in which wounded game must be pursued over often great distances and ultimately killed. Official statistics are incomplete, but cantonal hunting authorities confirm that a significant proportion of game that is taken is not immediately hit fatally. Dog handlers report rising numbers of call-outs and a consistently high rate of missed or partial shots, occurring above all with roe deer and wild boar.
Particularly in the idyllic Alpine landscape of Switzerland, where hunting tradition runs deep, the self-image of many hobby hunters lags behind reality — at least when one looks more closely. The mandate of hunting — stewardship, population regulation and a clean kill — is a lottery. Too often animals are wounded rather than killed outright, and must later be tracked down in agony.
Lack of routine despite a hunting licence
A hunting licence does not guarantee consistent marksmanship. Many hobby hunters practise only for the mandatory shooting tests, and not under realistic conditions. Moving targets, poor visibility, steep angles or high-stress situations are rarely trained for. While game wardens undergo structured training, many recreational hunters are active for only a few days per year — too few to develop the necessary routine.
Numerous missed shots can be attributed to misjudgements: distance, wind, vegetation, and terrain angle significantly affect the bullet's trajectory. Modern optics can conceal technical deficiencies, but they do not replace experience. Even high-quality equipment does not guarantee a clean kill if the user lacks the skill to operate it — particularly in the Mittelland following a driven hunt.
Animal suffering as a systemic by-product
Animal protection organisations have been criticising for years that the tracking rate is a warning signal for structural problems. Every injury that does not cause immediate death means hours or days of severe suffering for the affected animal — an aspect that is frequently marginalised in official hunting communications. Wildlife veterinarians regularly confirm serious, non-immediately fatal hits in animals found during the hunting season.
A core problem is transparency. Missed shots are recorded only incompletely; sanctions are rare. Responsibility is frequently individualised rather than examined systemically. Mandatory training programmes, regular performance assessments, or uniform, publicly accessible statistics do not exist. Only a few cantons maintain comprehensive records of tracking searches for wounded animals. In Graubünden, for example, such statistics exist, whereas in many other cantons they do not. In Graubünden hunting, every tenth deer is merely wounded rather than killed outright. Thousands of animals are never found during tracking searches. Nor are tracking searches conducted for all species.
The high number of tracking searches in Switzerland is no coincidence, but rather a symptom of a hunting practice that relies heavily on recreational hunters without enforcing adequate controls or quality standards. As long as shooting proficiency, training scope, and error rates are not systematically reviewed, the claim of “ethical and humane hunting” remains a promise that many animals pay for dearly.
Dossier: Hunting and animal welfare
In the view of IG Wild beim Wild, hobby-hunters annual medical-psychological fitness assessments modelled on the Dutch system, 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, reduced concentration and cognitive deficits increase statistically. At the same time, accident analyses show that the number of serious hunting accidents involving injuries and fatalities rises significantly from middle age onwards.
The regular reports of hunting accidents, fatal errors 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.
Hobby-hunting 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 can be justified neither culturally nor ethically. Tradition is no substitute for moral scrutiny.
Critical scrutiny is especially indispensable in the field of hobby hunting. Scarcely any other domain is so profoundly shaped by sanitising narratives, half-truths and deliberate disinformation. Where violence is normalised, narratives frequently serve as justification. Transparency, verifiable facts and open public debate are therefore essential.
