الجمعة، نوفمبر 24 نوفمبر 2023
In the wolf hunt starting on December 1, the cantons want to wipe out twelve entire packs. Valais wants to eliminate over half of its packs, Graubünden a third. Exactly how many wolves will be shot is still open.
The cantons’ applications for regulation are still being examined, as the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) informed the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an inquiry. The Office intends to provide information in the coming week.
According to the amended Hunting Ordinance, wolves may be shot preventively from December 1 to January 31, i.e. before they have caused any damage. The hope is that the wolves will become more timid.
According to the federal government, 32 wolf packs with a total of around 300 wolves currently roam Switzerland. In 2020, there were still eleven packs with a good 100 wolves.
The number of livestock killed by them rose from 446 in 2019 to 1480 last year. This is a particular problem for alpine farming with sheep and goats. But the wolves also killed cattle, alpacas and once a donkey.
In its regulation application, the canton of Valais is calling for the culling of seven of its 13 packs with around 34 animals. It is true that fewer farm animals were killed there this year than in the previous year. However, regulation is also about dealing with the difficult conflict situation in agriculture and the coexistence of humans and nature.
The plan is for hunters in Valais to support gamekeepers in wolf control. They must complete special training for this.
The canton of Graubünden wants to cull around a third of the population of roughly 130 wolves. Four of the twelve wolf packs living in Graubünden are to be wiped out completely. In addition, pups are to be shot in various packs. Graubünden has applied to the federal government for a total of 27 culls.
A further 17 culls of young wolves have already been approved under current legislation. A total of 44 wolves are to be shot in Graubünden. The main players in the hunt are the canton’s two gamekeepers and 57 game wardens.
They will be supported by hunters who have registered for the annual special hunt in December and attend an instruction evening. As the instructions are still ongoing, the number of future wolf hunters is still unknown.
St. Gallen submitted an application to shoot the entire Calfeisental pack. In August 2023, the authorities authorized the killing of three pups of the wolf pack due to sheep kills. This year, the pack killed 14 sheep in protected flocks. The canton only wants to tolerate those wolves that behave unproblematically and accept herd protection measures, the canton wrote.
The removal of individual wolves and entire packs is no easy task. Nicolas Bourquin, head of the Valais Office for Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife, would consider it a success if ten to 15 animals were killed by the end of January. The terrain, winter weather and the animals’ large roaming area speak against easy hunting successes.
“It will be very difficult to find him. Wolves are very intelligent and discreet,” said Pascal Vuignier, President of the Valais Hunters’ Association.
“Shooting a wolf means staying out at night in winter at minus 15 degrees, not turning on your cell phone and not making any noise,” said the hunter, illustrating the hunting method. He warned against exaggerated expectations and, like Bourquin, expects “perhaps” 15 wolves to be shot in Valais.
The Federal Council’s plan is incompatible with the Bern Convention, the wolf conservation organizations CHWolf and Avenir Loup Lynx Jura (German: Zukunft Wolf Luchs Jura) announced on Friday. The Bern Convention is a convention on the conservation of European wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Switzerland has signed this convention.
The animal welfare organization Avenir Loup Lynx Jura has filed a complaint with the Council of Europe, as it believes that the Bern Convention is not being complied with. The Strasbourg authorities found this to be admissible, it added.
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