Shooting the seven Valais wolf packs is no easy task
Published: Monday, Nov 20th 2023, 18:40
Updated At: Monday, Nov 20th 2023, 18:43
Back to Live Feed
According to the cantonal authorities, the planned removal of seven of the thirteen wolf packs in Valais is no easy task. It would already be a great success if between 10 and 15 animals could be killed in the next two months.
Nicolas Bourquin, head of the Valais Office for Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife, said this to the media in Sion. The mountain canton presented its strategy for regulating the wolf population on Monday. "We must remain realistic with regard to human resources, the nature of the terrain and the weather conditions in winter," said Bourquin.
The canton has set its sights on the seven packs in the Nanztal, Augstbord, Hérens-Mandelon, Le Fou-Isérables, Les Toules, Les Hauts-Forts and Chablais. "That's a total of around 34 wolves and it will take some time," explained State Councillor Frédéric Favre (FDP), head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport.
He thus confirmed the figures on the planned shootings that he had already mentioned at a meeting of the Grand Council at the end of last week.
According to Bourquin, an estimated 90 to 120 wolves currently roam the Valais and neighboring areas. Four of the thirteen packs in Valais are often found across the border in France and Italy.
According to the Federal Council's plan, at least three wolf packs must be preserved in the Western Alps region (Valais, Vaud, Fribourg and part of the Bernese Oberland), Bourquin continued. The canton therefore applied to the Federal Office for the Environment in mid-November for permission to remove seven packs.
According to Bourquin, just under 360 farm animals have been killed by wolves in Valais this year. This is slightly less than the previous year's figure of 415 farm animals.
Reduce conflicts
The government is not for or against the wolf, Favre stated. The regulation of wolves is about managing the difficult conflict situation in relation to agriculture, coexistence with humans and nature.
In recent years, the pressure on livestock farmers in particular has increased. Some wolves have also increasingly lost their fear of humans, said the State Councillor.
The measures implemented over the next few weeks are primarily aimed at ensuring general safety, explained Favre. The number of attacks on livestock in protected situations is to be reduced and the pressure on livestock farmers reduced for the coming summering season.
Hunters help out
It is planned that hunters in Valais will support gamekeepers in wolf control. They must complete special training for this.
With the relaxation of wolf protection in Switzerland, wolves can now be shot before they have caused any damage. This affects not only individual animals, but entire packs. The Federal Council approved the amendment to the Hunting Ordinance at the beginning of November.
The revised federal law comes into force on December 1. Wolf culls are permitted until January 31. The canton of Graubünden announced two weeks ago that it intends to eliminate four wolf packs and decimate the wolf population by around a third.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic