Capricorn hunters now fill the coffers in Austria instead of in Valais
Capricorn
Big game hunters move on from Switzerland to Austria
Rich foreigners are no longer allowed to hunt ibexes in Valais. Now trophy hunters in Austria are filling the coffers – the matter has a historical aftertaste.
Ibex hunting in Valais is reserved for local hunters.
This story served pretty much everything that experience has shown to generate a lot of clicks. In 2019, the French-speaking Swiss television RTS revealed how wealthy big game hunters from abroad prey on ibexes in Switzerland. Among other things, former Miss Nebraska contestant Olivia Opre, an icon of the trophy hunting scene, was born on a safari to Valais. Anyone who wanted to hang up the horns of an ibex in their home had to fork out up to CHF 20,000. This was interesting not least for those who wanted to achieve the World Capra Slam: twelve species of bovids are needed in the palmarès.
Outrage quickly followed. Sometimes a petition with over 70,000 signatures ensures that the canton of Valais bans the sale of hunting permits to powerful trophy collectors in 2020. Only people residing in Valais or in possession of a Valais patent may ambush ibex.
650,000 francs for the state treasury
The story flared up again a year later. Nicolas Bourquin, head of the cantonal department for hunting, fishing and wildlife (DJFW), fueled speculation on SRF that Valais could relax the rules a little again. After all, a few hundred of the 6000 ibexes would have to be shot every year for the regulation anyway – why not cash in too? After all, 650,000 Swiss francs flowed into the public coffers every year from the ibex hunt. Bourquin could not be reached for comment this week.
The ban also affects the population of the Valais ibex. The hunting statistics for the past year state: “As in all age and sex categories, the number of old bucks was below the planned number. Compared to the previous year, the shooting of old bucks has halved.” This is related to the fact that “the sale of customer shots for the old bucks was limited to hunters living in Valais or hunters with a Valais hunting license.”
Advertisements are still circulating on the internet promoting ibex hunting in Switzerland. CH Media has contacted several tour operators, but they immediately dismiss it. Unfortunately, this is no longer possible in Switzerland due to a ban, write several agencies from the USA or Spain, which used to organize Valais tours.
Instead, they refer to Austria. There it is still possible today to shoot an “Alpine ibex”, as the ibex is called in English. But the patents are very limited. It is quite possible that not least the Swiss ban drove up the already impressive prices. 18,000 euros is the minimum for the coveted horns. The upper limit is almost 30,000 euros, with the lion’s share of the costs going to the patent. Not a bad addition to the treasury.
The Austrian ibex – a Swiss breeding success
From a historical perspective, there is a certain irony in the fact that the big game hunters are now moving on to an Alpine nation. In Austria – as in almost the entire Alpine region – the ibex was extinct a long time ago. Only by fighting Switzerland, which had once stolen some specimens from Italy, was it possible to tentatively resettle the animal in Austria from 1925 and finally after the Second World War.
Switzerland, for example with the St. Gallen wildlife park, ran breeding farms for export at the time. Hunting interests also play a role early on. Hermann Göring, Reichsjägermeister and Minister of Economics of the Nazis, ordered a few specimens in St. Gallen, which he had shipped across Lake Constance – in order to hunt them one day.