Zernez: Missing Recreational Hunter Found Lifeless
In Zernez, a missing recreational hunter was found lifeless in the night leading into Monday. The Cantonal Police of Graubünden is investigating the circumstances of the death together with the public prosecutor's office.
The 33-year-old had left the hunting cabin in the Alp Munt area at 10:30 p.m.
When he did not return after some time, his two companions alerted the operations centre of the Cantonal Police of Graubünden and began searching.
Shortly after 1 a.m., the missing recreational hunter was found lifeless on steep terrain.
Hunting is always a form of war against living beings, in which the negative traits of human nature come to the fore. Wildlife lives in a landscape of fear. Out of fear of recreational hunters, many wild animals have permanently abandoned their natural habitat. They avoid open fields and increasingly seek refuge in the protection of forests. This retreat into the forest intensifies during the hunting season. Hunting thus contributes significantly to restricting the freedom of movement of wild animals, leaving them with less habitat, and potentially causing excessive damage to crops.
It is now known that in Graubünden and elsewhere, the primary concern is — much like in a travel agency— the organisation of attractive hunts, planned by the Office for Hunting and Nonsense in Graubünden.
The number of violations of hunting legislation and the numerous reports filed with the district offices speak a clear language of criminal energy. Recreational hunting is simply criminal. It is just that our legal system has not yet progressed to the point of reflecting this in criminal law.
2023 – ff : Publications
2022: The number of on-the-spot fines issued and reports filed remained within the usual range.
2021: The number of fines issued and complaints filed was within the usual range.
2020: 1241 Complaints and fines
2019: 1104 Complaints and fines
2018: 1114 Complaints and fines
2017: 1384 Complaints and fines
2016: 1201 Complaints and fines
2015: 1298 Complaints and fines
2014: 1102 Complaints and fines
2013: 1122 Complaints and fines
2012: 1089 complaints and fines
Six mountain rescuers, a helicopter rescue specialist, an on-site incident commander from the SAC, a Rega crew, and several specialists from the Graubünden cantonal police were deployed in the search operation. The Care Team Grischun was called in to support the relatives.
According to IG Wild beim Wild, annual medical-psychological assessments for recreational hunters are needed, modelled on the Dutch system, as well as an upper age limit. The largest age group among recreational hunters is 65+, those with age-related, cognitive, visual, concentration and reaction impairments, as well as training and practice deficits. From the age of 45, the number of accidents rises dramatically. The alarming reports of hunting accidents and fatal crimes involving hunters' weapons make it clear: it is high time to abolish recreational hunting! Lethal firearms must not be placed in the hands of senile recreational hunters who can use them in a completely uncontrolled manner!
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier Poaching and hunting crime in Switzerland we document cases, legal questions and recurring patterns. 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.
