Wolf Hunting in Switzerland: Arbitrary Policy Instead of Herd Protection

Wolf hunting in Switzerland consumes millions while herd protection is neglected. Why the culling of entire packs serves neither animals nor people.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 8 November 2023

Wolves save more sheep than they kill

In Switzerland, wolf hunting has long been a hotly debated topic.

The wolf is a predator that preferentially hunts wild-living ungulates. Its main prey in Switzerland are red deer, chamois, and roe deer. Wild boar, some rodents, and small mammals also feature in its prey spectrum.

In 2020, there were a total of 11 wolf packs and just over 100 wolves in Switzerland. Currently, 32 packs and around 300 wolves have been documented in Switzerland. In 2019, wolves killed 446 livestock animals in Switzerland. In 2022, there were 1’480 kills.

Animal welfare organisations and conservationists oppose hobby hunting of wolves. The number of kills does not depend on the wolf population, but on herd protection measures. The majority of livestock killed are taken from unprotected alpine pastures.

In numerical terms, the wolf plays a minor role in the mortality of sheep kept on Swiss alpine pastures. Only 6% of all deaths during the alpine summer are caused by the predator. Before the wolf appeared, 10’000 sheep perished annually on alpine pastures due to falls, getting lost, freezing in harsh weather, or starvation — all consequences of unattended herding. Since the wolf's reappearance and the traditionally necessary use of shepherds, only 3’000 sheep now die during the alpine season. On balance, wolves therefore save more sheep than they kill in insufficiently protected herds.

Wolf hunting in Switzerland is arbitrary

The Standing Committee of the Berne Convention met on 29 November 2022 in Strasbourg, at Switzerland's request, to deliberate whether the wolf's status should be downgraded from its current classification of “strictly protected” to “protected”. This request was rejected. The wolf therefore retains its international protection status of “strictly protected”.

Neither the FOEN nor Federal Councillor Albert Rösti can respect this. The will of the people, which clearly opposed this approach via popular referendum, is also being trampled underfoot.

What does hobby hunting for wolves cost?

The Uri Department of Security has already issued shooting orders for a “damage-causing wolf” twice this year, without success. The hobby hunt has so far cost 50’000 francs, compared to the 45’000 francs consumed by the last culling in 2016. Now, two thirds of the population in Switzerland are to be arbitrarily massacred. This could incur costs of well over 10 million francs.

Resources are thus being channelled into the time-consuming and costly wolf hunt rather than into meaningful herd protection.

Role model Italy and the Geneva Model

Anyone looking for role models should look to Italy. Nearly 2’000 wolves live there. The Italian government adopted a 22-point management plan centred on herd protection measures. “It is not necessary to kill wolves,” emphasised the then Environment Minister Sergio Costa when presenting the plan, “coexistence with the wolf is possible.”

The Geneva Model has demonstrated since 1974 that coexistence between humans and wildlife without hobby hunting is possible.

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

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