Hunting is often portrayed as a controlled activity. “Safety” is an integral part of the hunters’ self-image. At the same time, one issue remains surprisingly quiet: hunting accidents. This isn’t just about tragic isolated incidents, but about a structural risk arising from a simple fact: hunting means firearms in public spaces.

The typical accident patterns are well-known: mistaken identity, poor visibility, unclear firing lines, distraction, hunting pressure, and miscommunication. The risks are particularly high during driven hunts because several people shoot simultaneously, wild animals move quickly across the terrain, and orientation can be lost in seconds. There is also a social factor: group dynamics in hunting parties can reduce caution. Those who don’t want to “contribute” are more likely to act impulsively.

Another risk is ricochets and stray bullets. Bullets can be deflected by branches, rocks, or frozen ground. Even with a “safe” shot, the projectile can unexpectedly cross paths. Hiking trails, forest roads, and recreational use in the woods are commonplace in Switzerland. Hunting in Switzerland, therefore, does not take place in an enclosed space, but rather where people are active.

The question of transparency is also crucial. How consistently are accidents recorded? How open is communication? How independently are investigations conducted? In many debates, it seems as if the same actors who hunt are simultaneously involved in setting the rules and enforcement. This is a classic conflict of interest. However, safety must be independently verified, not within a system that legitimizes itself.

Hunting accidents don’t just affect people. Pets can also be involved. Dogs running free are mistaken for other animals or get caught in the crossfire. Those affected are often left with a feeling of powerlessness because hunting is considered normal in society and criticism is quickly dismissed as “emotional.” But safety isn’t a matter of feeling. Safety is the minimum requirement.

If hunting is marketed as a “service to the public,” the public must be able to rely on risks being minimized and made transparent. This means clear closures, unambiguous signage, consistent information, and above all, independent oversight. It also means questioning hunting methods that systematically increase the risk.

The societal debate therefore needs a change of perspective. Not just: “Was it a mistake?”, but: “Why do we accept a system of gun ownership in which such mistakes are even regularly possible?” The more technology, the more night hunting, the more efficiency, the more important the question becomes: who sets the limits?

Call to Action:
We are collecting information about hunting accidents, dangerous situations, and missing information. Write to us with the date, location, and source.

• Pauline Kerr, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Walkerton Herald Times
• Dec 19, 2025
• https://www.pentictonherald.ca/spare_news/article_ef7188d1-16bd-59f5-a0bc-3ab65697d186.html

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WALKERTON – Bobbi Sharpe, a local animal rights activist, addressed Brockton Council on Dec. 9 about an ongoing issue – trapping beavers along the Saugeen River in Walkerton.

Not only are these creatures harming no one, but they are a delight to observe in their natural habitat for those fortunate enough to see them, she told council. 

Two years ago, she protested the use of kill traps along a section of river that’s popular with fishermen, hikers and their animal companions. The traps were removed. “Now they [the kill traps] are back,” said Sharpe. They’re located in an area where fishermen continue to be seen in the river. She said she doesn’t know who put the traps there, or if any beavers have been killed.

She told council that trapping along the Saugeen harms not only adult beavers, but their kits. The kits remain with the parents for two years, and without them, the babies die from starvation and exposure. She noted that is animal cruelty.

‘Painful death’

The traps can harm deer, turtles, geese and people. Although designed to kill the trapped beaver quickly, they don’t necessarily do so, meaning the animal suffers a long and painful death.

Trapping is unnecessary, she said, saying that nature regulates numbers. When numbers are reduced, for example, by trapping, the numbers actually increase. If left alone, the numbers remain in balance.

She noted there are a number of organizations that offer solutions to “nuisance” beavers, and asked council for a resolution banning the use of kill traps along the Saugeen River trail. 

“We are not the only species,” she said, adding that beaver are “living, sentient beings.”

Mayor Chris Peabody said staff will prepare a report on the situation. He also said, “I don’t feel comfortable with trapping in the park, as a user of the trail.”

Although Sharpe declined to answer questions from council, she provided printed information and asked council members to consider what she’d said.

SAN ANTONIO— In response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the USDA’s federal animal-killing program known as Wildlife Services today agreed to significantly restrict wildlife trapping and other killing in western and southern Texas. The agreement covers more than 40 counties in the Fort Stockton, Uvalde and Corpus Christi districts.

“This victory provides much-needed relief to the fragile mountain lion and black bear populations that call Texas home,” said Tala DiBenedetto, a carnivore conservation attorney at the Center. “The government shouldn’t be throwing away money to slaughter Texas’s iconic carnivores, especially without knowing what kind of damage its actions may be causing.”

Under today’s court order Wildlife Services must provide, within one year, an environmental assessment that analyzes the effects and risks of its wildlife-killing program in Texas. New information shows that mountain lion numbers are declining in the state, that the southern population is at risk of local extinction and that indiscriminate trapping of mountain lions poses threats to black bears, which are protected as threatened under state law.

Pending completion of the Wildlife Services’ study, the court order imposes several measures to protect wildlife across the three districts. For example, it largely bans Wildlife Services from chasing mountain lions with packs of hounds. It also restricts most uses of indiscriminate body-gripping traps and foot snares, as well as any wildlife killing activites by the program on federal public lands. It further limits the use of neck snares and leghold traps to prevent the accidental trapping of mountain lions and black bears.

The order also places a moratorium on Wildlife Service’s killing of mountain lions in the Corpus Christi and Fort Stockton districts, where too-small mountain lion populations are at risk due to declining genetic diversity and habitat fragmentation. These populations face high levels of explotiation because Texas allows unlimited numbers of mountain lions to be killed year-round.

“I’m hopeful that this win will protect vulnerable mountain lions, black bears and other wildlife from painful injuries and brutal deaths,” said DiBenedetto. “Texans deserve to see their native wildlife continue to live and thrive, not needlessly suffer and die by the hands of paid government killers.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.8 million members 

 FE Team | Published:  December 21, 2025 00:30:17

Seven elephants killed by train accident in India

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 (AFP): A passenger train smashed into a herd of elephants in India’s northeast, killing seven animals on the spot, officials said Saturday.
No travellers were injured in the accident in Assam state, home to more than 4,000 of the roughly 22,000 wild elephants in India.
Senior Assam police official V.V. Rakesh Reddy told AFP that seven jumbos were killed, and one elephant sustained an injury.
Five coaches of the train, which was headed to New Delhi from remote Mizoram state, were derailed.
Authorities have introduced speed restrictions along routes designated elephant corridors, but the latest accident occurred outside of these zones, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, an Indian Railways spokesman said.
“The loco pilot, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes. However, elephants dashed with the train,” he said.
Deforestation and construction activity near their habitats force elephants to stray further afield for food, often bringing them into conflict with humans.
According to parliamentary figures, 629 people were killed by elephants across India in 2023-2024.