Graubünden kills wolf pups: scandal at nature's expense

The government in Graubünden speaks of increasing wolf pressure, while critics point to declining kill figures. The question is whether preventive culls are legally and ecologically defensible.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — 12 September 2025

In Graubünden the cantonal government's announcement to preventively kill a large proportion of wolf pups has drawn sharp criticism from environmental organisations and animal protection advocates.

The debate touches on fundamental questions of nature and animal protection – and of the law.

The decline in wolf kills clearly shows that livestock protection works – and calls into question the assumption that larger populations inevitably lead to greater damage.

Legal framework in Graubünden and Switzerland

Federal Constitution: obliges the Confederation and the cantons to protect the natural foundations of life and to promote biodiversity.
Hunting Act: Wolves are fundamentally protected; exceptions are possible in cases of damage or for regulatory purposes, provided the population remains secure.
Berne Convention: The wolf was classified as “strictly protected” until March 2025, but is now only “protected”. This lowers the threshold for interventions, but it is not a blanket exemption – proportionality remains mandatory.

Legally, this means: the Graubünden government may regulate wolves, but must ensure that interventions are justified, proportionate, and compatible with the protection of the overall population.

Critics point to the declining kill figures and call for more consistent livestock protection instead of preventive culls. In their view, the credibility of the rule of law and international species protection are at stake.

Whether preventive culls in the context of hunting are perceived as necessary protection or as a breach of the law remains to be seen. The wolf is not listed among huntable species. All wild animals not belonging to the huntable species are protected. Hobby hunters are not permitted to hunt the wolf through regular hunting, as it is not a huntable species.

The response of the Graubünden government to the petition signed by 17’000 people against the involvement of hobby hunters in the planned massacre of two-thirds of wolf pups is not only a slap in the face of all nature and animal protection advocates, but an open attack on law, the constitution, and international obligations.

«Given the sustained pressure from wolves and the rapid rise in the population, there is little room for restraint in regulatory measures.»

A look at the facts: bite and kill figures are declining. Yet the Graubünden government appears uninterested in reality. Instead, the fairy tale of a “rapid increase” is repeated – as if constant repetition could make it true.

The arbitrary nature of this becomes even clearer here:

«A course of action relying solely on non-lethal measures does not constitute a satisfactory solution … Rather, what is needed is a combination of herd protection, reactive regulation, and proactive regulation..»

“Proactive regulation” means nothing other than: culling without cause. No kills, no damage – the mere assumption of a possible threat is sufficient to kill wolf pups during their protected age.

Kommunikationsversagen beim Amt für Jagd und Fischerei Graubünden

Lawbreaking by government mandate

In doing so, the Graubünden government is knowingly crossing red lines:

The Swiss Constitution obliges the Confederation and the cantons to protect endangered species. The wolf falls under this obligation – without exception.
The Berne Convention, a legally binding international treaty, prohibits precisely what is being practised here: the killing of strictly protected species without compelling justification.

What the government is doing is nothing less than institutionalised lawbreaking – sanctioned and organised by those who are in fact supposed to uphold our legal order.

Federal Councillor Albert Rösti suspended democratic rules in order to push through the world’s most contemptible wolf hunt.

Albert Rösti fast-tracked the hunting ordinance – despite the absence of a broad consultation process.
He set the number of wolf packs lower without any scientific basis.
Environmental organisations took the matter to court – and won.

Rather than respecting democratic processes, decisions were made on an expedited basis – at the expense of law, transparency, and nature conservation,writes watson.ch, who investigated the course of events.

Lobbying instead of responsibility

Instead of consistently enforcing herd protection, the rifle is declared the “solution.” This is not protection, but capitulation. It is submission to the farming lobby, which makes politics at the expense of the most vulnerable with the fairy tale of the “bad wolf” — and in doing so squanders the credibility of the rule of law.

A political scandal

The Grisons government sacrifices wolf cubs to serve its power games. It betrays the constitution, disregards international agreements and instrumentalises fear in order to shift legal boundaries.

The wolf is not the perpetrator, writes Wolf Facts on Facebook.

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

Further articles