Children and young people must be protected from all forms of violence. The passive and active participation of children and young people in hunting activities is therefore prohibited. The Convention on the Rights of the Child includes, among other things, the right of all minors to physical and mental integrity. At the same time, it stipulates the state’s duty to guarantee the protection of these rights. In the area of hunting, recreational hunters notoriously violate this duty.
November 12, 2023, 10:34 a.m., IG Wild editorial team at Wild
Seeing wild animals terrorized, shot, or otherwise slaughtered is undoubtedly traumatic for children. It can be psychologically devastating for young people, who often have a natural empathy for animals.
Witnessing animals being killed for human entertainment can deeply disturb young people and desensitize them to animal suffering. It teaches children that the lives of others are not valuable and that it is acceptable—even enjoyable—to inflict pain and torture on them.
There is a proven link between animal cruelty in childhood and antisocial behavior in adulthood. According to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, witnessing cruelty or neglect can lead children to abuse humans and other animals in the future.
Hunts are terrible for children and animals
Animals killed for sport by recreational hunters have the same capacity to suffer and feel pain as the dogs and cats with whom we share our homes—indeed, as humans do. Seeing wild animals terrorized, shot, or otherwise slaughtered is undeniably traumatic for children. For young people, most of whom have a natural empathy for animals, this can leave psychological scars. This is especially concerning given that sociological studies have found that violent and aggressive criminals invariably begin their abuse by abusing animals.
Join the campaign
To help young people develop properly, we must take measures to protect them from witnessing violence against animals.
Join the campaign and sign the petition addressed to decision-makers in the cantons.
Please also call on the government to ban children from participating in hunting!
As the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated, it is crucial for the development of young people that we take measures to protect them from witnessing acts of violence against animals. We urge you to follow the Committee’s recommendation and prohibit children from participating in hunting.
Call on the government to respect children’s rights.
You can also email the petition text to the politician or party of your choice yourself.
petition
Children must be protected from violence during hunting
Dear decision-makers
The appeal of the highest international body for the rights of minors calls on states to protect minors from the “harmful effects of violence”.
In a very welcome development, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted General Comment 26 on 23 August 2023.
Children and young people must be protected from all forms of violence. The passive and active participation of children and young people in hunting activities is therefore prohibited. The Convention on the Rights of the Child includes, among other things, the right of all minors to physical and mental integrity. At the same time, it stipulates the state’s duty to guarantee the protection of these rights. In the area of hunting, recreational hunters notoriously violate this duty.
When considering the impacts on children caused by various forms of animal abuse, it is implicitly acknowledged that children are affected by experiencing violence from a culture of abuse because they have an empathetic connection to an animal’s feelings. As the UN Committee confirmed, this is independent of the species. Studies show that children’s empathy is negatively affected by experiencing violence against animals and, over time, come to view this as normal.
“Children must be protected from all forms of physical and psychological violence and from exposure to violence, such as domestic violence or violence against animals” – UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Committee, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention, issues general comments on various child-related issues to which it believes States parties should pay more attention. With General Comment 26, the Committee aims to reassure States that protecting children from violence against animals is essential to upholding children’s rights.
Hobby hunters have no educational vocation, yet they proselytize even in elementary schools. Hobby hunters’ vision of nature has nothing to do with ethics, biology, ecology, or animal protection—quite the opposite!
There is no other association in Switzerland whose members are verifiably involved in four-figure annual violations of the law, such as violations of hunting laws, poaching, arms smuggling, environmental crimes, animal welfare violations, traffic offenses, corruption, and numerous other criminal activities, as is the case with the Swiss Hunting Association, to which hobby hunters belong. Practically everything that is cruel, unnecessary, and heartless is promoted by the Swiss Hunting Association , a court in Bellinzona .
The explicit mention by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is an important step in ensuring that animal cruelty such as hunting is considered unacceptable.
Switzerland has a human rights obligation to protect children from all forms of violence.
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