Calls mount for culling of problem wolves in Switzerland

The call for more regulation of packs comes amid a spate of recent wolf attacks on sheep and cows. Keystone / Marco Schmidt

Switzerland’s mountain cantons want more federal government money to protect livestock from wolves and more proactive regulation of wolf packs.

There should be fewer delays in shooting problem wolves and there should be “active regulation” of wolf packs to enable “sustainable coexistence of wolves, humans and livestock”, the Governmental Conference of Alpine CantonsExternal link said on Tuesday.

The Conference suggests that the Swiss wolf population be limited to 17 packs. Based on previous studies, this is the minimum size to ensure the preservation of the wolf species in the Alps, the statement said.

There are currently 19 wolf packs living in Switzerland, according to Swiss NGO KoraExternal link, the Foundation for Predator Ecology and Wildlife Management. A total of 180 wolves roam the country.

The mountain cantons fear that the wolf population will continue to increase “exponentially”. It has already doubled in the last three years, the statement said. In the cantons of Valais, Graubünden, Glarus, Ticino and Uri, a total of 1,000 sheep and cattle have already been killed by wolves in 2022.

Two years ago, voters vetoed a parliamentary decision to ease restrictions on the hunting of wolves in Switzerland. Under current law, the wolf is a protected species and can only be culled if it first kills a certain number of livestock.