Camera traps (wildlife cameras)

Wildlife cameras, or camera traps, are increasingly being used to monitor wildlife populations. Besides recording the presence of animals, these cameras may also photograph joggers, mushroom pickers and walkers. The use such of cameras may therefore breach a person’s privacy.

Camera traps are set up in the forest by private individuals, the authorities or research institutes to observe wild animals. Article 699 of the Swiss Civil Code grants a basic right of access to the forest. Operators of wildlife cameras must therefore assume that people may enter the area recorded by the camera trap. If people are recorded by the camera – even accidentally and unintentionally – data protection regulations apply.

The use of cameras by cantonal authorities or universities is subject to cantonal data protection law and oversight. The use of camera traps by private individuals, meanwhile, is subject to the Federal Data Protection Act (FADP).

When using a camera trap, a private individual must comply with the principles of transparency, purpose limitation and proportionality (Art.  6 FADP). Grounds for justification can be found in Article 31 paragraph 2 letter e FADP, i.e. the processing of (any collected) personal data for non-personal purposes – i.e. as happens in research surveys or wildlife monitoring.

There are valid grounds for justification provided that the following are observed:

  • Where possible, the camera trap should be set up near the ground and in a spot that is little frequented by people. This minimises the risk of making recordings of identifiable persons.
  • The storage, forwarding and publication of photos and videos of persons from camera traps is not permitted, nor is the dissemination of information about a person obtained from such photos. Recordings on which persons can be recognised must be destroyed or anonymised immediately. Research results may only be published in such a way that the persons caught on camera cannot be identified.
  • In compliance with the duty to provide information in accordance with Article 19 FADP, the camera operator must draw attention to the cameras and their purpose in a suitable way (monitoring wildlife populations, researching the habits of wild animals, etc.) and provide details of who they are and how they can be contacted.

If a person is photographed or filmed by a camera trap, they can take civil action under Article 32 FADP or Article 28a of the Swiss Civil Code. They may demand that the photos or recordings be destroyed or not passed on to third parties.

It should be noted that in addition to the data protection regulations, special cantonal regulations may also apply. For example, the cantons of Valais and Graubünden have issued regulations that prohibit the use of camera traps for hunting (Art. 32 para. 7 of the implementing regulations on the Hunting Act in the canton of Valais and Art. 6 of the Hunting Ordinance in the canton of Graubünden).

The Federal Council has responded to questions in Parliament on this issue: