FOEN wants to continue massacring wolves

FOEN wants to lift suspensive effect

The Federal Office for the Environment, Division for Hunting and Nonsense, wants to lift the suspensive effect in the context of the appeals against the wolf culls in Graubünden and Valais.

It has submitted a corresponding request to the Federal Administrative Court.

Culling of twelve packs approved

Following an appeal by nature conservation organisations, the Federal Administrative Court had suspended the culling permits for the duration of the proceedings.

Originally, after reviewing the requests from Graubünden and Valais, the FOEN had approved the culling of twelve complete packs. Only the request from the canton of Ticino to shoot the entire pack in the Onsernone Valley had been rejected.

Appeals by Pro Natura, WWF and BirdLife

Since then, according to an initial count, eight of the 44 wolves cleared for culling have been killed in Graubünden. In Valais, according to the latest figures, 14 wolves of the approximately 34 that had been targeted were killed.

The appealing organisations Pro Natura, WWF, BirdLife and the group Wolf Schweiz are of the opinion that the federal and cantonal authorities are disregarding the «principle of proportionality and the important role that the predator plays in the forest ecosystem». They had filed two appeals with the Federal Administrative Court against some of the permits issued by the FOEN.

Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting