Wolf M75: Graubünden and Ticino approve culling
The cantons of Graubünden and Ticino have approved the shooting of the male wolf M75. The predator is to be shot because he killed too many sheep. WWF is considering legal action. More on the wolf in Switzerland.
The cantons of Graubünden and Ticino have set their sights on the male wolf M75. The predator is to be shot because he killed too many sheep. WWF is considering legal action against the authorities' order.
The more than 40 sheep attributed to M75 were killed between 21 January and 8 February in the southern Graubünden valleys of Bergell and Mesolcina, as well as in the Leventina valley in the canton of Ticino. In three cases, the male wolf M75 was genetically identified as the culprit, as the Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fisheries announced on Wednesday.
The authorities also suspect that M75 may have killed seven sheep near Trun in the Graubünden highlands in mid-February. The targeted approach used there was said to be identical to that observed near Cama in the Mesolcina and Faido in the Leventina.
He must be dead by the end of May at the latest
The wolf now faces a fight for his life: under federal regulations, predators may be shot if they have caused significant damage to livestock despite herd protection measures being in place. Such damage is defined as at least 25 dead livestock within one month.
The shooting order issued by the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino is valid for 60 days. M75 must therefore be killed by the second half of May at the latest.
Little is known about the targeted wolf. He appears to be a restless wanderer. Graubünden's hunting inspector Georg Brosi said upon enquiry that the animal was first genetically identified last January in the southern Graubünden valley of Bergell. The animal's prior history is unknown.
Nearly 100 animals killed
According to Brosi, the shooting order against M75 is only the second issued in Graubünden against a wolf on the grounds of damage caused to livestock. The first concerned a wolf in Bergell in 2001. The animal was shot in the autumn of the same year, having killed nearly 100 sheep and goats within the space of half a year.
It was the first time a shooting permit had been issued for the cantonal territory of Ticino, said Giorgio Leoni of the cantonal hunting and fisheries office when asked. Since 2001, a total of 22 wolves had passed through the canton.
In Graubünden, an average of about 20 sheep kills per year were recorded up to 2015. After that, the number rose. In the current year, 32 livestock have been killed in Graubünden. Hunting inspector Brosi assumes that there are currently 15 to 20 wolves in the mountain canton, including the pack at the Calanda massif on the border with the canton of St. Gallen.
WWF opposes culling
The WWF regrets the shooting permit issued on 22.3.2017 by the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino for a wolf. It will review the two culling dossiers and reserves the right to take legal action.
According to DNA samples, the kills in Stampa, Faido (both TI) and Cama (GR) had been carried out by one and the same wolf, which is why the two cantons announced their intention to shoot simultaneously today.
It appears that wolf M75 has shown a certain skill in overcoming herd protection measures or barriers. At the same time, however, it is unclear whether herd protection in Ticino was implemented in accordance with federal guidelines. A parliamentary motion submitted by the WWF in Ticino, which called for transparency regarding the kills and the current state of herd protection in Ticino, was never addressed.
In Ticino in particular, herd protection is still in its infancy today, even though wolves have been appearing in the canton on and off for 10 years. The WWF therefore calls for comprehensive and area-wide herd protection measures, particularly in this region — because the next wolf will certainly come.
The WWF will now review the two culling dossiers and then decide, based on the specific facts of the case, whether to take legal action.
Sign the petition: Wolf «Odin» M75 should live!
