Do the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) and hunting authorities operate responsibly?

Apparently, cantons no longer require proper identification methods such as DNA tests for their requests to shoot young wolves.

Christoph Jäggi, head of the hunting and fishing department in Glarus, has submitted a compensation request for the Kärpfrudel (a group of wild boar) regarding the damage on the Alp Gamperdun.

Now, however, the damage is also being attributed to the Calfeisen pack: " Based on the tracks found, it can be assumed that the damage was caused by the so-called Calfeisental pack. "

The Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) is apparently no longer capable of accurately verifying the facts and is simply rubber-stamping cantonal applications for permits to shoot wild animals. This constitutes abuse of office and fraud against voters and taxpayers.

In 2020, the Swiss population voted overwhelmingly to maintain wolf protection. Wolf protection measures are not to be weakened in Switzerland. However, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), responsible for this matter, seems to be paying as little attention to the will of the people as the Federal Council.

Furthermore, due to the inaccurate information provided by the cantons, it is questionable whether these shooting requests are also in accordance with the law.

Firstly, the canton of St. Gallen gives contradictory information about the number of young animals in the Calfeisen pack, and now two different packs are said to be responsible for the damage on the same alpine pasture from August 28th to 29th, 2023 in the canton of Glarus.

It is highly unlikely that both packs killed the few animals in the same area. It is absolutely incomprehensible and unacceptable that a protected wild animal like the wolf, which quite normally and in a species-typical manner preys on easily hunted game when the opportunity arises, is shot simply because livestock owners and politicians, driven by base motives, are unwilling to consistently protect farm animals.

Since the new hunting regulations (JSV) came into force on July 1st, the federal government and the cantons have been issuing one shooting permit after another. Wolf pups may be shot for the offenses of their older family members – a purely culling measure. Even wolves that kill completely unprotected sheep on the so-called "unreasonably unprotectable" alpine pastures may be killed for the protection (!) of the grazing animals – a completely paradoxical situation. These wolves have done nothing wrong; they have simply taken advantage of the opportunities presented to them, as is typical of their species, to catch easy prey, namely unprotected sheep and goats.

Every year, over ten thousand sheep , goats , and cattle die during the summer grazing season due to inadequate herding and the lack of animal welfare by hobby livestock owners without the necessary qualifications, and not because of wolves! The Federal Office for the Environment's (BAFU) inaction on the catastrophic conditions in the Alps, hidden behind stark but alarming statistics , is also a hallmark of the BAFU.

Media releases from the Canton of Glarus:

• Application submitted to the federal government for the regulation of the carp pack
• The Calfeisen wolf pack is also regulated in the canton of Glarus.
• Calf killed by wolves

Dossier: Wolves in Switzerland: Facts, politics and the limits of hunting

Further reading

• Swiss meadows are losing biodiversity massively
• When sheep, cattle, and other livestock occupy space belonging to wild animals
• Swiss animal protection criticizes planned wolf culls as a danger to pack structures and livestock protection.
• Wolf incompetence is rampant in Graubünden.
• Val Fex: When the livestock protection concept has more holes than the fence
• Shooting instead of protection – Switzerland on the path to silent wolf extermination
• Communication failure at the Office for Hunting and Fishing Graubünden
• Illegal wolf hunting in Switzerland
• Wolf pups in Switzerland under fire
• Switzerland sells wolf massacre as a success
• Sloppiness in Katrin Schneeberger's office
• Grazing by livestock alters the soil, plants, and insect populations.
• The insane hunt for wolves in Switzerland
• The truth about sheep mortality in Switzerland: causes and statistics
• Wolf culls in Switzerland: Concern about party politician Albert Rösti
• Let's stop the SVP's destructive fury
• Participatory campaign: An appeal for change in Switzerland
• 200 environmental organizations from 6 continents are calling on the Swiss government: Stop the wolf cull
• The Federal Council is being heavily criticized by wolf experts.
• The consequences of controversial wolf management in Switzerland
• Wolf: Federal Councillor Rösti (SVP) is circumventing law and order
• Es Burebüebli mahn i nit
• Are the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) and the hunting authorities still working responsibly?
• Federal Councillor Albert Rösti is trampling on the will of the people.
• The consequences of controversial wolf management in Switzerland
• Too many sheep harm biodiversity.
• Agricultural use destroys alpine meadows
• Cracks despite herd protection – how is that possible?
• The bad apple in the St. Gallen hunting administration
• Pro Natura calls for a comprehensive strategy for sheep summer grazing.
• According to an Agridea study, livestock guarding with dogs works well.
• Thanks to livestock protection measures, wolves are killing fewer farm animals in Switzerland.
• Farmers see fields as a dumping ground.
• Biomass of wild animals
• From sheep farmers and vague authorities
• The double standards of the wolf opponents

Interest Group Wild at Wild

The IG Wild beim Wild (Wild with Wild) is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to the sustainable and non-violent improvement of the human-animal relationship. The group also specializes in the legal aspects of wildlife protection. One of our main goals is to implement modern and responsible wildlife management in the cultural landscape, modeled on the system used in the Canton of Geneva – without recreational hunters, but with reputable game wardens who truly deserve the title and act according to a code of ethics. The monopoly on the use of force should remain with the state. The IG supports scientifically based methods of immunocontraception for wild animals.