Chairman of the Green Party of Valais on the shooting of wolves in Valais: “The fronts are hardening again”

With good reason: this week, Federal Councilor Albert Rösti (56) presented a draft of the new hunting regulations. According to the wishes of the Minister of the Environment, the wolf population should be reduced by up to 70 percent – ​​from about 30 to twelve packs across Switzerland. The intention is for the regulation to enter into force at the beginning of December.

The wolf population has grown significantly in recent years. Within three years, the number has tripled: while there were around 100 wolves in Switzerland in 2020, there are now around 300.

The mountain cantons in particular are affected by this development. This also applies to the canton of Valais. The first pack was discovered there in 2016, last year there were already eight. As the number of wolves has increased, the number of reported attacks on livestock has also increased: in 2019 there were 205, last year more than twice as many.

Opinions made in Valais

The wolf has spread again in Switzerland. And nowhere else is the situation as polarizing as in Valais. While the electorate rejected the revised 2020 hunting law by 51.9 percent, the canton’s citizens said yes by 68.9 percent. In 2021, Valais launched an initiative calling for a relaxation of shooting rules for large carnivores. This was also clearly accepted by 62.5 percent.

It is therefore not surprising that the responsible State Councilor Frédéric Favre (44) “explicitly welcomes” the decision of the Federal Council. When asked by SonntagsBlick, the head of the Ministry of Security, Institutions and Sports explains: “It is urgent to quickly and efficiently reduce the security burden for citizens, tourists and especially for breeders, farm animals and wild animals. “

Valais wolves have been repeatedly acquitted of shooting in the past. But not without causing damage first. Wolves should now be allowed to be shot preventively – which Brigitte Wolf finds completely incomprehensible: “The Green Valais has always been in favor of shooting wolves that cause damage, but certainly not entire packs without them being noticeable.”

The Greens co-chair points out that despite the new arrangement, there will still be wolves in Valais. “Fewer wolves do not necessarily mean less damage,” Wolf says. Solitary wolves were more likely to wander and hunt livestock. “Packs are easier to judge and have their territory,” says the Green Party. “We have more problems with lone wolves than with packs.”

Adjustments overdue

Georges Schnydrig, co-chairman of the Swiss Association for the Protection of Rural Habitats from Large Carnivores, sees this very differently. He has been advocating for a tougher approach when it comes to large carnivores, including wolves, for years. He is positive about the decision of the Federal Office for the Environment.

The wolf population has grown unabated recently and damage has increased enormously in recent years, says Schnydrig: “It is high time that adjustments were made to the hunting law.”

The former CSPO councilor breeds sheep himself – he knows from his own experience what damage a wolf can cause. “It’s terrible,” says Schnydrig. “You live in daily tension and never know what to expect.” He does not want to accept the argument of the co-chair of the Green Party, because the law states that wolves that cause damage can be shot. “I have a complete lack of understanding when something is interpreted into what the law clearly defines.” It should be in everyone’s interest to regulate wolves that cause harm.

The new hunting regulations will be discussed next year. Schnydrig’s association will campaign for zero tolerance towards large animals in residential areas. In addition, it should be made possible for wolves that cause damage to be killed specifically when they attack herds of livestock. “We will also demand agricultural zones free of wolves,” Schnydrig said.

Wolf was worried

The Valais Greens now hope that the canton will implement the new arrangement moderately. “Right now it doesn’t look like it,” Wolf said. She is referring to a form from the Department of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife that is already circulating among hunters. On the form you can check which pack the hunters want to shoot.

Wolf fears that previous successes will be undone by the new process. In the past, environmental groups would have objected to almost every wolf shooting. “In recent years, farmers and environmental associations have become closer.”

Wolf suspects that objections will increase again due to the revised regulations. “With this regulation, the fronts are hardening again.”