Sloppiness in Katrin Schneeberger's Office

The FOEN has still not submitted its report on the current status and the impact of the massacre on wolves during the hunting season.

The Bern Convention Secretariat reminded on 14 May 2025 once again that, despite the change in protection status, the rules of the Convention continue to apply during the hunting season.

Not only in the canton of Valais were the wrong wildlife shot alongside hobby hunters during the disgraceful wolf hunt of 2024/25. There, 11 of the wolves shot are said to have belonged to packs that were never approved for culling by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). 

The wolf is not covered by hunting law. Therefore, hobby hunters are not permitted to intervene. This is reserved exclusively for wildlife wardens.  The wolf is a protected animal, and a hobby hunter has no right to take aim at one, as stipulated under hunting law. Even the hunting association president Charles-Henri de Luze in the canton of Vaud stated clearly that this is the responsibility of wildlife wardens. Accordingly, the canton of Vaud issued no call to Vaud's hobby hunters to participate in the massacres.

In the canton of Graubünden, a wildlife killer in a state of frenzy even shot 3 protected lynxes during the wolf massacre.

Accordingly, wolf populations must be maintained in accordance with ecological requirements, writes the Bern Convention Secretariat, which continues to await the report from Switzerland. In a published minutes the FOEN is once again called upon to fulfil its reporting obligation.Katrin Schneeberger took office as Director of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in September 2020 and has repeatedly attracted negative attention from IG Wild beim Wild.

According to the Convention, whose bureau is located in Strasbourg, wolf populations must be protected from threats in order to restore a satisfactory population size. The BAFU is reminded that the Bern Convention specifically prohibits night hunting and the use of night vision devices — both of which are, however, permitted under the new hunting ordinance. According to Éric Jaquet of Avenir Loup Lynx Jura, "wolf culls in Switzerland take place exclusively at night".

Legal provisions not complied with

The killing of an entire pack during a hunt within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which includes the Swiss National Park in the canton of Graubünden, is also criticized.

This not only violates the legal provisions of the National Park, but has also "destroyed a 20-year research project in the National Park", the Convention's bureau laments.

Research project in the Jura halted

Furthermore, criticism is levelled at the fact that a further research project on coexistence was halted by the elimination of an entire wolf pack through hunting.

This research project concerned the Jura mountains, says Susanne Clauss, Vice-President of Avenir Loup Lynx Jura, according to a statement. Substantiated findings would have been particularly important there, as coexistence between livestock and large predators places special demands on the expansive Jura meadows.

Herd protection weakened

In conclusion, the Bureau of the Bern Convention expresses concern about the drastic reduction of funds in Switzerland for proven herd protection measures.

It calls on the federal authorities to support the transfer of responsibility for these measures from the federal level to the cantons, to provide sufficient funds for promoting coexistence with the wolf, and to encourage the use of non-lethal methods.

"The elimination of funding for the breeding and promotion of livestock guardian dogs is in particular completely incomprehensible", emphasises Christina Steiner, President of CHWOLF.

Participatory action: Due to the catastrophic policy of Federal Councillor Albert Rösti (SVP), demand from your municipality a petition for remission of federal and cantonal taxes on account of the recently approved culling of wolves in Switzerland. You can download the template letter here: https://wildbeimwild.com/ein-appell-fuer-eine-veraenderung-in-der-schweiz/

Further articles

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• When sheep, cattle and the like occupy wildlife habitats
• Swiss Animal Protection criticizes planned wolf culls as a threat to pack structures and livestock protection
• In Graubünden, wolf management incompetence runs rampant
• Val Fex: When the livestock protection concept is more full of holes than the fence
• Shooting instead of protecting – Switzerland on the path to silent wolf extermination
• Communication failure at the Office for Hunting and Fishing in Graubünden
• Illegal wolf hunting in Switzerland
• Wolf cubs in Switzerland under crossfire
• Switzerland sells wolf massacre as success
• Sloppy work in the office of Katrin Schneeberger
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