Uri cantonal government opposes wolf-free zones

The wolf should be able to have its place in the canton of Uri alongside alpine farming and tourism.

The cantonal government affirms this in its response to an urgent interpellation by the SVP, which is calling for «wolf-free zones».

Uri is not a special case despite its sheep farming on alpine pastures, the cantonal government writes in its response published on Wednesday. The demand for a wolf-free zone in Uri cannot be justified on factual grounds.

Around 30 wolves are currently estimated to be living in Switzerland. Given their distribution across the entire country and the great distances an individual animal can cover each day, a wolf-free zone would not be practicable in practice, the cantonal government writes.

The cantonal government assumes that the 15’000 sheep that spend the summer each year on Uri's alpine pastures can be protected from the wolf. Herd protection would be possible for 95 percent of the summered sheep. The remaining 5 percent could be accommodated on protectable alpine pastures, as these are not operating at full capacity. To date, all sheep kills recorded in the canton of Uri have occurred in unprotected herds.

In 2015, according to the government, one third of Uri's sheep grazed on protected alpine pastures. These are located mainly in the Urseren Valley. The aim is to implement herd protection on as many alpine pastures as possible. Only on 17 small alpine pastures is herd protection topographically impossible or too demanding in terms of effort.

Not following the Valais lead

The occasion for the SVP interpellation «Alpine farming and tourism or the wolf?!!» was the Valais cantonal initiative «Wolf, enough is enough!». The interpellants would like the Uri cantonal government to likewise advocate for a relaxation of wolf protection and for the predator to be permitted to be hunted again.

The cantonal initiative from the Canton of Valais goes too far, writes the Uri cantonal government. Opening up wolf hunting is not the right solution.

The cantonal government refers to the revision of the Hunting Ordinance carried out by the Federal Council. Under this revision, not only wolves causing major damage can be shot, but also problem wolves near settlements. In addition, animals can now also be targeted for the purpose of regulating wolf packs.

In the cantonal government's view, this has improved the conditions for coexistence between humans and wolves. However, the cantonal government sees further room for improvement that it intends to advocate for, such as compensation for herd protection measures, additional costs in the event of damage, and loss of income. Furthermore, new, alternative herd protection measures would need to be examined.