Wed, Oct 18th 2023
In Switzerland, livestock killings by wolves have decreased by 29 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the programme “Schweiz Aktuell” on Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) on Tuesday evening.
In 2022, 1200 farm animals were killed by wolves in Switzerland by the end of September. In 2023, the figure was 850 altogether. According to SRF, which relied on “exclusively available figures”, the strongest decline was recorded in the canton of Glarus. There, 80 per cent fewer farm animals were killed compared to the previous year.
In Graubünden, around 50 per cent fewer killings were recorded. And in the cantons of Valais and Ticino, the numbers are also declining. In contrast, the number of kills in the cantons of Vaud and St. Gallen remained stable.
According to the environmental organisation Pro Natura, this decline is due to the expansion of herd protection, as a spokeswoman for the organisation said in the television programme. The president of the Swiss Sheep Breeders’ Association countered that the decline was due to the fact that fewer alpine pastures were being hunted because of the predator.
Alpacas killed in the Glarus region
Only last Sunday, seven alpacas were killed and two injured by wolves in Elm in the canton of Glarus. According to the cantonal authorities, the Kärpf pack is responsible. On Tuesday it became known that the Federal Office for the Environment (Bafu) had given the canton permission to shoot two of five young animals of the Kärpf pack and one of three young wolves of the Schilt pack.
©Keystone/SDA
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