Wolf massacre in the canton of Valais and Graubünden stopped

Proactive massacre unexpectedly stopped

In the canton of Graubünden, the proactive massacre of wolves was unexpectedly stopped.

The recreational hunters in Graubünden received a notice on Friday evening, 8.12.2023, that they are immediately prohibited from shooting any more wolves. This also applies to the wildlife wardens.

Update 11.12.2023: Hobby hunting on two packs resumed

The canton of Graubünden is resuming hobby hunting on two wolf packs. The responsible Office for Hunting and Nonsense announced this on Monday evening.

The canton subsequently halted the massacre with immediate effect. It has since become clear that the complaint is directed only against part of the regulation of wolf packs, the office announced on Monday. “Until receiving the content of the complaint on Monday afternoon, the canton of Graubünden had only learned through media coverage on Monday which packs the nature conservation organizations WWF Switzerland, Pro Natura and BirdLife Switzerland had filed complaints against before the Administrative Court of the canton of Graubünden or the Federal Administrative Court,” the office further states.

The complaint to the Federal Administrative Court concerns the Stagias and Vorab packs regarding the culling of an entire pack, as well as Rügiul and Jatzhorn regarding the regulation of young animals, and thus the removal of 11 wolves. “The packs affected by the suspensive effect are therefore Jatzhorn near Davos, Rügiul near Poschiavo, as well as Stagias and Vorab in the Surselva,” it further states.

Complaints against culling orders

No complaints have been filed against the hobby hunting of the Lenzerhorn and Beverin packs. This means that the recreational hunters who registered for the animal-cruelty special hunt could also support the wildlife wardens in regulating these packs, the authority reports.

In Valais, the situation is even more opaque than feared. But there too, the massacre has been halted for the time being.

Nathalie Rutz from Pro Natura tells tagesanzeiger.ch that according to the law, wolves may only be proactively shot when there is a clear connection to significant damage or a threat to human safety and the animals had been afforded reasonable protection. “The shooting of entire packs may only be used as an absolute last resort when a pack has gotten out of control.” Furthermore, local wolf populations must not be endangered by the culling.

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