350 organisations demand: Stop the wolf cull
158 environmental and animal protection organisations from 37 countries call on Federal Councillor Rösti to stop the planned culling of 70 percent of the wolf population.
Open letter to Federal Councillor Rösti
This morning, on 28.11.2023, an open letter signed by 158 environmental and animal protection organisations from 37 countries was sent to Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, calling on him to stop the planned culling of up to 70% of the wolf population in Switzerland.
The culling of wolves is being authorised on the basis of a recent legislative amendment that undermines the protection of wolves, a “strictly protected species” under the Bern Convention. Furthermore, the decision to proceed with the cull contradicts the outcome of a national referendum in 2020.
Most extreme killing since the species' recovery
The cull planned by the Swiss government will be the most extreme carried out in Europe since the species' recovery. In some cantons, entire packs are being wiped out; in others, young wolves are being specifically targeted.
Opponents of the plan, drawing on technical and scientific expert assessments, argue that a healthy predator population is essential to control and prevent the spread of disease among herbivores, greatly benefiting forest and mountain ecosystems, livestock, and human society as a whole.
Voices of the signatories
“These radical, one-sided measures not only threaten the fragile wolf population in Switzerland, but also have a negative impact on the entire wolf population of the western and central Alps and the Jura. Preventive measures such as electric fences and livestock guardian dogs are effective in reducing attacks on farm animals and should be deployed on a larger scale.”
The chairs of the IUCN SSC Canid Specialist Group state:
«The current wolf management plan of the Swiss government is unscientific and contradicts the latest scientific findings on contemporary predator management andconservation.»
FERUS: «Coexistence of wolves and livestock is the only way forward. Not a single study has proven that shooting or hunting wolves is effective in protecting livestock. Only livestock protection measures work. NO tohobby huntingof wolves, YES to cohabitation.»
Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting
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