Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) won the hearts of farmers in parliament with the photo. It shows the newly elected federal councilor, who was still a candidate at the time, on the pasture behind her house – with her black-nose sheep next to her.
The photo that Blick published ten days before the election not only revealed the alderman from the Jura, many of whom hardly knew anything. The black nose sheep also receive an awareness boost thanks to the Federal Council. This went so far that the day before the elections, a report appeared in various newspapers about the Valais sheep breed.
“That is of course very nice!”
The black nose sheep breeders are happy with the sudden interest in the fluffy animals, of which there are about 11,000 in Switzerland. “That is of course very nice,” says Rolf Kalbermatten (55) of Törbel VS, chairman of the black nose sheep breeding in Upper Valais.
“In recent weeks, a number of people have approached me about Baume-Schneider and their sheep,” he says. The president of the association hopes for a Baume-Schneider effect: “I would be happy if more people devoted themselves to the Obervalais breed.”
He would also like political support from the now most famous black-nose sheep owner in Switzerland. “We have huge problems with large carnivores, despite extensive herd protection measures,” says Kalbermatten. A lot of hard work has gone into this in recent years – “but the success has been modest”. However, it seems unlikely that the left-wing Baume-Schneider will campaign for relaxation of protection rules for lynxes, wolves and bears.