Valais wants to become the first canton to shoot lynx, even though the species is genetically at its limit

The canton of Valais is preparing, as the first canton in Switzerland, an official application to be allowed to shoot lynx next winter. The person responsible is State Councillor Christophe Darbellay, himself a hobby hunter. What is missing from the official justification is decisive: the Eurasian lynx is not a robust species in Switzerland, but a genetically severely impoverished one. The IG Wild beim Wild has therefore launched a petition and demands the immediate abandonment of the kill application.

46 per cent of genetic diversity is already lost

The Swiss lynx descend from a few, partly closely related founder animals from the Slovak Carpathians, which were reintroduced in the 1970s. According to KORA, the specialist body for predator ecology, the Alpine lynx have lost 46 per cent of their genetic diversity compared with their ancestors, and those in the Jura 30 per cent. Inbreeding is long since no longer a theoretical risk, but shows itself among other things in frequent heart murmurs and in documented malformations, as with the lynx without ears in the Jura. KORA and the Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI) therefore demand a genetic refreshment of the population, not its reduction. A kill application of all times right now reverses the technical logic.

Of all places, it was in Valais that the lynx was poached for decades

The canton of Valais is no neutral ground when it comes to the lynx. An international research team led by Prof. Raphaël Arlettaz (University of Bern) demonstrated in 2021 in «Frontiers in Conservation Science» that the low lynx population in the Lower Valais is attributable to systematic poaching. In the lynx's only immigration corridor into Valais, a network of 17 snare traps was found, some of them still operational. From the first indications to the first conviction of a hobby hunter for lynx poaching, 20 years passed. More on this in the dossier on poaching and hunting crime in Switzerland. The IG Wild beim Wild asks: how can a canton claim «too high» a lynx pressure whose population was artificially kept low by poaching?

The roe deer's greatest competitor is not the lynx

The kill request is justified by declining roe deer and chamois populations in the Upper Valais. However, scientific evidence that the lynx is responsible for this decline is still lacking to this day. Pro Natura Valais points out that around 1000 roe deer are shot each year in the canton by hobby hunting itself. At the same time, the lynx fulfils an important ecological function: it keeps game on the move and thus protects the forest from excessive browsing damage. As prey animals, roe deer and chamois primarily serve as a food source for predators and not for hobby hunting.

A conflict of interest that must be named openly

State Councillor Christophe Darbellay is himself a hobby hunter. That, of all people, he is having a kill request prepared for a strictly protected species whose population in his own canton has demonstrably been decimated by poaching, raises fundamental questions about the interests at play. In Switzerland, wild animals are legally ownerless property that belongs to the entire population, not to a minority of around four percent hobby hunters. What a wildlife policy without this conflict of interest looks like has been demonstrated by the Canton of Geneva for over 50 years.

High legal hurdles that must not be circumvented

The lynx is more strongly protected than the wolf. A regulation would only be permissible if the canton scientifically demonstrated that serious damage exists. Ultimately, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) decides on the request. It is precisely this evidence that is questionable, as long as the central question remains open: how can a canton claim excessive lynx pressure when its population has been artificially kept low by poaching and increasingly suffers from the consequences of inbreeding?

Ready-made motion for cantonal parliaments

So that council members can quickly take action, IG Wild beim Wild provides a freely usable template text. The motion «Moratorium on lynx kills for a genetically endangered population»Moratorium on lynx kills for a genetically endangered population» can be submitted in any cantonal parliament with few adjustments. It calls for a moratorium on lynx regulation where a demonstrably endangered genetic state exists, independent population analyses, as well as a consistent fight against poaching instead of kill requests. The template text is part of the collection Template texts for hunting-critical motions in cantonal parliaments.

Demands of IG Wild beim Wild

The canton of Valais shall refrain from applying for the regulation or killing of lynx as long as the species is genetically at its limit according to KORA and FIWI.
The canton shall take consistent measures against the documented lynx poaching, instead of additionally regulating an already decimated population.
The vested interests of officials who, as hobby hunters, decide on or have prepared kill applications for strictly protected species shall be disclosed.
The Grand Council of the canton of Valais shall take a clear political stand against the plan.
The Federal Office for the Environment shall reject any potential application as long as scientific proof of serious impairment has not been fully provided.

About IG Wild beim Wild

IG Wild beim Wild is a non-profit animal rights organisation. It is dedicated to protecting wild animals from hobby hunting and campaigns for an ethical understanding of wildlife and hunting modelled on the canton of Geneva.

Contact: info@wildbeimwild.com

Petition: https://wildbeimwild.com/petitionen/petition-luchse-wallis/

Background article on the topic: https://wildbeimwild.com/wallis-wuenscht-erstmals-luchse-abzuschiessen-obwohl-die-art-genetisch-am-limit-ist/

Template text for cantonal parliaments: https://wildbeimwild.com/mustertexte-fuer-jagdkritische-vorstoesse-in-kantonsparlamenten/moratorium-fuer-luchsabschuesse-bei-genetisch-gefaehrdetem-bestand/

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