Wolf: 25% fewer attacks in 2022

1’100 livestock kills instead of 1’480

This is shown by an analysis of cantonal data by the group Wolf Switzerland.

Based on this data, it estimates a total of 1’100 livestock killed by wolves in Switzerland this year in Switzerland. In 2022, there were 1’480 livestock kills, representing a decline of around 25%. The analysis was dated 26 December and was based on data from the cantons available online.

Four kills per wolf

In the six cantons where wolf packs were present, the number of livestock killed fell from 1’329 in the previous year to around 950 this year. The non-governmental organisation estimates that around 150 additional livestock were killed this year in cantons without wolf packs. This corresponds to the figure from the previous year.

According to the fact sheet of the Group Wolf, livestock kills by wolves in the current year have declined sharply in the canton of Grisons. In the canton of Valais, kills were slightly lower than in the previous year, while in the cantons of Vaud and St. Gallen, livestock kills increased.

Based on figures from the Federal Office for the Environment and the Foundation for Predator Ecology and Wildlife Management (KORA), the Group Wolf also states that in the current year, an average of four livestock kills per wolf have been recorded. In 2020, the figure was nine, and the year before that, six.

Appeals against shooting orders pending

At the beginning of November, the Federal Council decided that wolves may also be shot preventively from December of this year onwards. The rapid spread of the wolf had so far not been able to be halted. The cantons of Valais and Grisons subsequently issued shooting orders for a total of 78 wolves.

Three environmental organisations subsequently filed complaints with the Federal Administrative Court against some of these shooting orders. The federal government and cantons disregarded the principle of proportionality and the important role that predators play in the forest ecosystem. These complaints are still pending.

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