In Morbio Inferiore, the community is outraged. The death of the 50-year-old hunter, who fell victim to “friendly fire” on Saturday, is difficult to accept.
Ticino: Hobby hunter shoots chimney sweep
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The Ticino high hunting season runs from 31 August to 14 September and from 16 to 22 September 2019.
This year, the maximum shooting distance was reduced from 300 to 250 metres. The ptarmigan was removed by thecanton from the list of huntable species, much to the displeasure of hobby hunters (Wild beim Wild reported), as it is on the Red List of threatened breeding birds.
After one of these supposedly highly qualified precision marksmen had already departed for the eternal hunting grounds in Valle Maggia during the first week of the season, another followed last Saturday. In the days in between, a wildlife killer in Cabbio, a hamlet near Breggia, shot a colleague in the hand, seriously injuring the victim.
Monte Penz in Pedrinate
In the forests of Penz near Pedrinate, close to Mendrisio, the second fatal hunting accident occurred on Saturday just before midday. A 51-year-old hobby hunter was killed by a shot fired by another hobby hunter who believed he had spotted a wild boar. The two men were close friends and had been hunting together. The chimney sweep leaves behind his wife, two daughters (aged 12 and 17), and a son (aged 16).
The emergency services who were alerted could only confirm the death of the victim on the scene. The two hobby hunters — the shooter is 50 years old — are Swiss residents living in southern Ticino, as the Ticino cantonal police announced. An investigation is expected to shed light on the exact sequence of events leading to the hunting accident.
«“I was with the children at the Splash & Spa in Rivera when the accident happened”, the widow Geneviève G.* (44) told blick.ch. “Around 2 p.m. I received the call with the devastating news. I simply couldn’t believe it.» At first they wanted to deny her the sight of her dead husband, «but then I was allowed to see him and say goodbye».
The woman from Ticino is fighting back tears. «He was my twin soul. I don’t know how life is supposed to go on without him», says the widow. «Stefano was such a joyful man. Everyone liked him.»
How the accident happened, Geneviève cannot explain. «Stefano was always very careful. On Saturday he wanted to drive the wild boar toward his colleagues», recounts Geneviève G., «and he was wearing his bright orange vest so that he could be easily spotted.»
Pedrinate is the third incident in the context of recreational hunting in Ticino since the beginning of September 2019, and the second with a fatal outcome. These morbid hunts for amateur hunters are orchestrated by the cantonal Office for Hunting and Fishing to finance itself with blood money.
An area where little hunting takes place
The mayor of Chiasso, Bruno Arrigoni, is deeply affected by what happened in Pedrinate: «It is a tragedy. I can only express my condolences and solidarity to the family. I am truly sorry — until now it was not clear to us that this area could be dangerous for hobby hunters. This is indeed not an area where hunting is common».
The hunting season in Ticino has only been open for a few weeks, but 2019 will certainly go down in the hunting world as an “annus horribilis.”
More on the topic of recreational hunting: In our hunting dossier we bring together fact-checks, analyses, and background reports.
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