Template text: No wolf kills in game reserves or during the denning period

The canton of (………) shall not submit applications for interventions in wolf packs, nor approve such kills, in federal hunting ban areas or during the wolves' breeding season from 1 February to 31 May, even if federal law permits this in future. The defence against an immediate and significant threat to humans remains reserved.

1. Motion

The Cantonal Council is instructed to submit a bill to the Grand Council amending the Act on Hunting and Wildlife Protection (………) that ensures the following:

• the canton neither applies for nor approves the killing of wolves in federal hunting ban areas;
• the canton neither applies for nor approves interventions in wolf packs between 1 February and 31 May;
• measures to defend against an immediate and significant threat to humans remain reserved and are carried out exclusively by the cantonal wildlife wardens;
• the canton takes a position, in current and future federal consultations, against a relaxation of wolf protection in hunting ban areas and during the whelping season.

2. Brief rationale

On 24 June 2026, the Federal Council opened a consultation on a further revision of the Hunting Act. It implements motions 25.3715 ("Allow wolf kills in hunting ban areas") and 25.3549 ("Problem wolf living in a pack. Action must be possible!"). Under the new rules, interventions in wolf packs would also become possible between 1 February and 31 May, as well as in federal hunting ban areas. The consultation runs until 16 October 2026 (Wolf: Consultation on the Hunting Act until 16 October).

The months from February to May are the wolves' breeding season. Until now, pack wolves have been fully protected during this period, except in cases of a serious and immediately imminent danger to humans. Killing parent animals during this phase risks orphaning pups and causing packs to disintegrate. Studies suggest that disintegrated packs may be more likely to lead to increased conflicts with livestock.

Federal hunting ban zones are protected areas. They serve to protect rare and endangered species and their habitats. When protected predators can be shot precisely there, the instrument loses its purpose. It is in these very areas that natural regulation can be shown to work.

Federal law authorises the cantons to intervene, but does not oblige them to do so. The canton can therefore, within its executive authority, decline such requests. Instead of kills in protected areas and during the whelping period, consistent herd protection is needed, which the canton should actively promote.

Protected areas and the whelping period are the last refuges left to the wolf. Whoever gives them up turns protection into an empty shell.

Further background: Wolf in Switzerland: facts, politics and the limits of hunting and Template text: Herd protection instead of wolf kills.