Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Today you can expect gloomy news. Two horrific criminal cases have gripped Switzerland at the start of the week. Women are the victims and men are the perpetrators in both cases.
Tackling violence against women has been a political issue for a long time. Now a politician is in the dock for precisely this reason.
Perch are doing well in Lake Geneva but other animals have not been so lucky in recent days.
The fishermen on Lake Geneva are recording excellent catches. The popular perch have multiplied strongly. In most Swiss waters, however, it is too warm for aquatic life at the moment – or they have too little water.
On good days, a fisherman lands 100 kilos of perch from Lake Geneva at the moment. As recently as 2024, this popular edible fish has practically disappeared. According to the Tribune de Genève , this may be due to several factors, including the appearance of the quagga mussel, the warming of the lake, and the natural reproductive cycles of the species.
“The perch feed on the larvae of the quagga mussel. Last year, their stomachs were full of them,” says a fisherman. However, experts emphasise that good and bad years have always alternated in perch catches.
The catches are also good on Lake Murten this year, but not on Lake Neuchâtel. “We generally fish less perch than on Lake Geneva,” says the fisheries manager.
Meanwhile, fish in eastern Swiss waters are suffering from high water temperatures. Despite emergency measures, many have already died, especially in streams. “The fish and all other creatures in the water, such as crabs or mussels, have been doing badly for weeks,” says the head of the fisheries department in the canton of St. Gallen.
There are also low water levels in the reservoirs with the current level at 46%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Experts therefore expect higher electricity prices in Switzerland in winter.
An indictment by the public prosecutor’s office of Aargau reveals the full horror of the accusations against a politician.
A former cantonal Swiss People’s Party politician is about to go to prison for life. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of attempted murder, rape and sexual acts with a minor – all multiple violations.
The now 57-year-old defendant has already been in custody since 2023. So far, only the charge of sexual acts with minors was publicly known. Now the prosecution has revealed the full list of charges.
The former member of the cantonal government of Aargau is said to have drugged his victims, sexually abused them and recorded the crimes on camera. The prosecution deems this as attempted murder because the victims could have suffocated.
Two of the three victims are the defendant’s partner at the time and her 16-year-old daughter. During the investigations, more and more crimes and evidence have emerged, explains the public prosecutor’s office. The trial is still pending and the presumption of innocence applies to the accused until a verdict is reached.
A femicide in Ticino from the Thursday is still making waves. Better prevention is needed demand the experts and also the police.
Near the hospital in Faido a woman was found lying in a pool of blood in the garden. The suspect was the ex-husband, from whom the woman has been separated for 20 years. A search was immediately initiated.
The next day a special police unit stormed the house where they suspect the perpetrator to be. Then the building exploded. The perpetrator had set an explosive trap for the police. Five police officers were injured. The perpetrator himself was found in the rubble of the building – dead.
Max Hoffmann, the Secretary General of the Association of Police Officers, is now urgently calling for more intensive preventive measures against domestic violence. Specifically, there is a need for more shelters for those affected by violence, more police forces – and also the help from the population.
“As a police officer, I have never seen domestic violence to the extent as it is today,” says Hoffmann.
A thunderstorm wiped out more than half of the flock of two Valais sheep breeders on Friday night. A total of 97 black-nosed sheep were killed by lightning strikes. However, the number of sheep killed by wolves is decreasing.
A lightning strike struck a flock of 180 sheep in the Valais Binntal. The herd was asleep. Shepherds found the dead animals on the alp in the morning.
“The incident is causing great consternation among breeders,” writes the Walliser Bote. The Valais black-nosed sheep is much more than just a farm animal. It is considered a living cultural asset of the canton and its husbandry is done with a lot of passion and tradition.
Today, news comes from French-speaking Switzerland that the increase in the number of wolves has not led to a comparable increase in attacks on livestock. However, this trend should be interpreted with caution, writes 24heures. It is true that the number of livestock killed by wolves in Switzerland has been decreasing since 2022, after it had previously risen continuously. But the data for 2025 is still incomplete. The Federal Office for the Environment attributes the decline to better livestock protection and increased regulation of the wolf population.
This development is remarkable because the wolf population continues to grow. According to the Federal Office for the Environment, increased flock protection and culling have contributed to the decline. In 2024 and 2023, wolves killed around 1,000 sheep. Currently, around 440,000 sheep are registered in Switzerland.
In Switzerland, it is estimated that between 200 and 250 wolves currently live in 30 packs. In addition, there are around 10 cross-border packs. A total of 77 wolves were shot in the past hunting season.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
