Wolf killed in southern Switzerland after sheep attack

A stuffed wolf that was part of an exhibition in Stans, canton Nidwalden, in 2019. © Keystone / Alexandra Wey

A wolf has been shot dead in the village of Lumino, near Bellinzona, in canton Ticino. The local government had authorised the shooting on December 21 after a wolf attacked sheep in the area.

Another wolf had already been shot dead in early December 40 kilometres further north in the Val Blenio area. Other wolves had been spotted in recent months in the Magadino, Val Onsernone and Val Colla regions. There have also been numerous reports of harm to livestock.

Last spring local farmers placed dead sheep in front of a Bellinzona government building in protest at a sheep attack in the Valle Maggia region. They demanded more effective measures against wolf attacks.

In December 2022, the Swiss parliament agreed to a more proactive regulation of wolf packs in Switzerland, which is home to an estimated 200 wolves, mainly in the Alps. A rise in attacks on livestock has prompted calls for the wolf population to be limited.

Under existing legislation, the wolf is a protected species and it is only possible to regulate them if significant damage or serious danger has occurred. It should now be possible to shoot the predator before it attacks its prey.

Two years ago voters rejected an overhaul of the hunting laws amid controversy about the regulation of wolves.