The Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach advertises with the promise of conveying “sustainable lifestyles, ecological responsibility and future solutions”.
Their slogan: “Tradition meets future.” But what kind of tradition they meant became clear this weekend: AJV (Aargau Hunting Association), JagdZürich, and RevierJagd Luzern presented rifles, hunting tour operators, and the “latest innovations” related to killing wild animals. Who pays, who shoots, who collects trophies – all under the umbrella of an “environmental organization” that thereby undermines its own mission.
Protest with 850 emails and on-site demonstration
The objection did not go unchallenged. Weeks before the fair, a petition from the IG Wild beim Wild (a local interest group) in the municipality of Spreitenbach had already received 850 protest emails. The message was unequivocal: A fair that markets hobby hunting and trophy hunting as an attractive leisure activity is unacceptable in an institution that stands for environmental education.
On Saturday and Sunday, March 7th and 8th, animal rights activists demonstrated in Spreitenbach. The organization HUNT WATCH – Stop Hunting was not indoors, but outdoors: visible, loud, and disruptive.
“We are not a moral authority.”
Arena CEO Ivan Skender defended the decision to host the trade fair with a remarkable statement: The Umwelt Arena sees itself “not as a moral authority, but as a place for discourse and opinion formation.” Sounds open-minded. But it isn’t.
Because whoever gives a hunting fair a platform also gives it legitimacy. A “place of discourse” would be an event where animal welfare positions are given equal weight alongside hunters’ interests. What took place was a promotional and networking event for the hobby hunting lobby – paid for, advertised, and endorsed by the environmental organization Umwelt Arena. That’s not what discourse looks like.
Normalization through staging
What the “Swiss Hunting Fair” does is subtle yet effective: it normalizes the killing of wild animals as a socially accepted leisure activity. Hunting tour operators, workshops, and “expert lectures” transform the killing of living beings into a lifestyle offering – completely consumable, purchasable, and devoid of any ethical reflection.
The IG Wild beim Wild (Interest Group for Wildlife) has been pointing out for years that recreational hunters in Switzerland kill tens of thousands of healthy wild animals annually – deer, foxes, chamois – often causing suffering, often with ammunition that poisons birds of prey like golden eagles and bearded vultures with lead. No other country in Europe has such a high proportion of endangered species as Switzerland – a result of decades of “management and care” by recreational hunters.
What the arena owes
An institution calling itself the “Environmental Arena” bears responsibility. Not as a “moral authority,” but as a publicly visible symbol of what is considered “environmentally friendly.” Anyone who hosts a hunting fair while simultaneously promoting sustainability and species conservation undermines the credibility of one of these goals.
The IG Wild beim Wild (Wild with Wild) therefore demands: no future rental of premises for hunting or animal fair events that trivialize animal suffering. The Umwelt Arena (Environmental Arena) owes a clear answer not only to its brand, but also to the wildlife of this country.
Further information:
More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our dossier on hunting, we compile fact checks, analyses and background reports.