Farmers against greater herd protection
Following the failure of the new hunting law at the ballot box, a revision of the hunting ordinance is intended to allow wolves to be shot more easily.
Following the failure of the new hunting law at the ballot box, a revision of the hunting ordinance is intended to allow the shooting of wolves more easily.
SVP wants lower shooting thresholds
For the SVP, the damage threshold for shooting a wolf in the Federal Council's proposal is too high. The party wants to halve the threshold of ten livestock kills within one month. The SVP also opposes the new requirements for herd protection.
Farmers' Union against greater herd protection
The Swiss Farmers' Union echoes this position. Higher requirements for herd protection are unacceptable to them. The hunters' association Jagdschweiz welcomes the quick solution through the ordinance.
For the FDP, the provisional strengthening of herd protection is appropriate. The Centre Party welcomes the proposal, but questions whether the lowered shooting threshold will keep wolves sufficiently wary.
Herd protection provides a solution
The SP, Greens, Green Liberals, and nature conservation organisations are calling for greater herd protection. In a joint statement, Pro Natura, BirdLife Switzerland, Groupe Loup Suisse, and WWF Switzerland state that the proposal fulfils the will of the people. Conservation groups find the proposal lacking in its recognition of the wolf's importance to mountain and protective forests, where the predator promotes natural forest regeneration by preying on ungulates.
Swiss Animal Protection (STS) describes the ordinance as “inadequate window dressing.”
Greens call for more shepherds
The Greens largely support the proposal. In particular, the herding of livestock should be encouraged through higher direct payments. The Green Liberals are calling for an end to recreational hunting of endangered species such as woodcock, black grouse, ptarmigan, and brown hare. The changes to the hunting ordinance are set to come into force on 15 July 2021.
Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, politics, and the limits of hunting
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on the criticism of recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
