https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news...s-again-2767357.html


Foreigners are allowed to hunt ibex in Valais again.

Bild: KEYSTONE/ARNO BALZARINI

Following protests, the canton of Valais stopped allowing foreigners to hunt ibex in 2021. This ban has been lifted again and brings the canton high revenues.

02.07.2025, 18:23

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The shooting of ibex has been reopened to foreign hunters in the canton of Valais.
After years of a ban, the conditions have now been tightened.
Shooting ibex costs 25,000 francs and is a good source of income for the canton.

For many years, the shooting of ibex had attracted foreign hunters to Valais, a lucrative business for the canton. In 2021, the Valais State Council banned this practice after a report by French-speaking Swiss television station RTS sparked a public outcry. Wealthy tourists from abroad were said not to have adhered to the hunting rules and bucks were allegedly left lying around with their heads cut off.

This ban has now been lifted, however, and foreign and out-of-canton hunters are now allowed to shoot. However, the conditions are stricter, as the "Aargauer Zeitung" writes. Interested parties must present a hunting license, a gamekeeper is always present and determines the animal to be shot. In addition, only male ibex over the age of eleven may be shot.

The fees are based on the age category and no longer on the length of the ibex horns. CHF 25,000 is payable for foreign clients and half as much for domestic clients.

However, only a limited number of the protected species may be shot. Across all age categories, the number is limited to 624 ibex and ibex goats in 2025, including 34 bucks that are over 11 years old. Of these 34, 11 are released for foreign customers.

When questioned by the "Aargauer Zeitung", the canton of Valais explained that these culls bring in 460,000 francs. For the canton, however, it is not just the income that is important; hunting is an important part of the regulation of ibex - a record number of 7,000 animals were counted at the end of 2024. An overpopulation would cause damage to forests and crops.