The absurd hunt for wolves in Switzerland

On foot, from off-road vehicles, in small huts flown into the forest by helicopter, or lured illegally with dog food — the wolves were massacred. Aided by tools such as thermal imaging cameras and night-vision devices, which are normally forbidden and frowned upon in hunting. Every trick in the book was employed and laws were broken.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 17 February 2025

During the proactive wolf massacre over the past five months, approximately 100 wolves were shot in Switzerland by the end of January.

To that end, the cantonal game wardens — predominantly after nightfall — spent thousands of hours roaming the wilderness, disturbing the habitat of all wildlife. A strain that pushed not only the game wardens to their limits.

17,000 working hours in the canton of Valais alone

In the canton of Valais alone, the wolf massacre last year required nearly 17,000 working hours. According to the cantonal office for hunting and nonsense, the 26 game wardens logged 6,400 overtime hours across their entire range of duties — an average of 250 overtime hours per game warden, equivalent to roughly six working weeks at a full-time workload.

The wolf massacre of 2024/25 has cost taxpayers millions of francs — a figure that is utterly absurd given the actual damage caused by wolves and in times of fiscal austerity. As studies demonstrate, recreational hunting fails as a means of population control.

Wolves fulfil an important ecological and economic function. Almost half of all forests in Switzerland protect settlements or infrastructure against natural hazards. Wolves benefit the forest, particularly protective forests and forest regeneration.

Due to high game densities, young trees frequently have little chance to grow. Rare species such as the silver fir in particular suffer enormously as a result. The problem of wildlife browsing damage can be addressed by more predators such as wolves and lynx. More on biodiversity and the ecological benefits of predators.

Forests are essential for climate protection. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it long-term. A study by the University of Leeds shows that the return of wolves could bind an additional one million tonnes of CO₂ per year. Particularly noteworthy: the researchers calculated that each individual wolf would contribute to the storage of 6’080 tonnes of CO₂ annually. Based on current calculations of the value of CO₂, each animal would theoretically be worth around 170’000 francs.

Schafsterblichkeit Schweiz: Krankheiten statt Wolf

Federal Government Cuts Herd Protection Funding

Particularly scandalous is the fact that the federal government, under the direction of Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, is even cutting funds for herd protection, although this has been proven to reduce attacks by up to 100%. The number of livestock kills does not depend on the wolf population, but on herd protection measures. In the past, there have been years with particularly high levels of damage despite low wolf populations. The majority of livestock killed are taken from unprotected alpine pastures.

7’000 hours were spent by Vaud wildlife wardens on the wolf massacre, with other important tasks left unattended as a result, according to the authorities. Six wolves were massacred in the Vaud Jura, for which the officers were deployed for 115 nights. This means: the wildlife wardens spent an average of 20 nights in the forest for each wolf killed.

The canton doubts that the 30 animals killed in Vaud justify such a level of personnel and ultimately financial expenditure.

Vaud Environmental Officer Calls for a Rethink

Instead, Vaud's environmental officer Vassilis Venizelos hopes for better herd protection. “For 2025, I would like to see less time, less money and less energy invested in regulation and more in protection,” says Venizelos. But the federal government, under the direction of Environment Minister Albert Rösti (57), is not cooperating and is withdrawing from herd protection, he criticizes. “This is nonsense!” The Geneva model demonstrates that wildlife management works without hobby hunters.

The hobby hunting of innocent young animals, the arbitrary elimination of entire packs, the systematic shooting of “wrong wolves”, and the waste of money and resources demonstrate: this is unworthy of a civilised country. More on the animal welfare problem of hobby hunting.

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

Get Involved: Due to the catastrophic policies of Federal Councillor Albert Rösti (SVP), submit a petition to your municipality for a remission of federal and cantonal taxes in light of the recently approved wolf culling in Switzerland. You can download the template letter here: https://wildbeimwild.com/ein-appell-fuer-eine-veraenderung-in-der-schweiz/