The long and harsh winter of 2008/2009 caused the highest number of deaths in wild animal populations seen in Switzerland for decades.
This content was published on
1 minute
Because the ground was covered in snow for a longer period than normal, the animals could not forage for food and their fat reserves were insufficient to make up for the deficiency, according to the Federal Environment Office which released its annual hunting statistics on Wednesday.
Overall last winter more than 23,000 roe, red and sika deer, chamois and ibex were found dead. In certain mountainous cantons the number of dead animals found was three times that of the previous year.
The Environment Office explained that many animals died of weakness because they were unable to access food between February and April.
The authorities noted that wild animals were even more weakened by having to flee when disturbed by snowshoe walkers or off-piste skiers. It stressed the importance of protected wildlife zones.
Wild boar find it easier to forage for food in their lower lying habitat in winter but the death rate among this population was also high, mainly due to road deaths.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Living with the big bad alpine wolf
This content was published on
The number of wolves in Switzerland is expected to rise in the coming years. Yet critics of the current protection strategy say the wolf remains a taboo subject and greater transparency, monitoring and prevention is needed. Since mid-May over 100 sheep have been slaughtered by wolves in cantons Valais, Bern, Fribourg and Lucerne. The Valais…
This content was published on
Once numerous in Switzerland, brown bears have been making a comeback since 2005, wandering in from neighbouring Italy. But the last one, JJ3, was shot after it became dangerous to humans. “The survey reveals that overall 85 per cent of Swiss want the bear, saying it’s an Alpine animal and it belongs here. The same…
This content was published on
The report was drawn up for the Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and presented at the world conservation congress in the Spanish city of Barcelona. The research team compiled data on 5,487 mammalian species, many of them for the first time. The experts found that 1,141 of them are in danger…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.