Federal Council: Report on the Management of Bears in Switzerland

The Federal Council adopts the implementation guide «Bear Concept Switzerland». It complies with pan-European guidelines and has proven its worth.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — 29 January 2021

The implementation guide «Bear Concept Switzerland» complies with pan-European guidelines and has proven its worth.

Federal Council evaluates bear management

These are the key findings of the report «Management of Bears in Switzerland», adopted by the Federal Council on 27 January 2021. In total, around twenty different bears are estimated to have visited our country over the past 15 years.

The current «Bear Concept Switzerland» provides sufficient room for manoeuvre to handle bears entering the country appropriately. There is, however, potential for improvement in damage prevention. The better beehives and livestock are protected, the lower the risk that bears will develop problematic behaviour.

CHF 120,000 in damage compensation over 15 years

To protect people, a bear had to be culled in 2008 and again in 2013. Damage compensation over the past 15 years amounts to around CHF 120,000 for livestock kills and CHF 30,000 for damaged beehives.

The bear has been protected since 1962 under the Federal Act on Hunting . An active reintroduction of bears is not planned in Switzerland.

More on the topic of recreational hunting: In our hunting dossier we compile fact checks, analyses, and background reports.