Wolf defenders demonstrate in Vaud
More than 250 wolf protectors demonstrate at the Marchairuz Pass against the shooting of young wolves. They are calling for a moratorium.
According to the organizer more than 250 wolf protectors demonstrated peacefully on 9 October 2021 at the Marchairuz Pass in the Vaud Jura.
Revoke shooting permit
They called on the canton of Vaud to revoke the shooting permit for two young wolves from the Marchairuz pack, or to impose a moratorium.
Under the slogans «Stop the shooting of wolves at Marchairuz» and «Coexistence with the wolf», the action was conceived as a citizens’ initiative, said Alain Prêtre, organizer, former journalist and wildlife photographer. This is about political shots to reassure farmers. The rifle must not be the only solution.
Alain Prêtre did not mince his words: Vaud was showing «extremism and dilettantism» in its «handling of the wolf risk» for livestock, and State Councillor Béatrice Métraux, responsible for the environment, had «declared war on the wolf.»
Killing two wolves is absurd and counterproductive. It is not only no solution at all, but also increases the risk that herds will be attacked by predators. This will undoubtedly lead to a breakup and fragmentation of the pack.
Alain Prêtre
Shooting destroys pack structure
«The recreational hunting of a deer or a wild boar — the wolf’s preferred prey — requires a coordinated attack. A lone wolf is not capable of killing a large herbivore such as a deer. This means that attacks on calves, which are much smaller prey, will increase once the pack dissolves», he continued.
Wolf attacks on cattle have increased in recent months in the Vaud Jura. Since the start of the summer season, eleven cattle and four goats have been attacked. It is estimated that around a dozen wolves are present in the region.
At the beginning of August, the Vaud authorities had approved the shooting of two young animals from the Marchairuz pack, a first for the canton. The shooting permit from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), so far without result, is valid until 31 March.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier The Role and Criticism of Recreational Hunters we shed light on the training, power and self-image of recreational hunters. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
