Wolf Grisons hunters shoot wolves on the high hunt for the first time

Grisons hunters shot two wolves during the three-week high hunt in September. It was the first time that hunters were involved in the traditional hunt to regulate wolf packs.

At the same time, 14 wolves were shot by gamekeepers during the regulation period that began on September 1, as Arno Puorger from the Office for Hunting and Fishing explained on request. "We are satisfied with the involvement of hunting," the person responsible for large carnivores told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

In order to obtain a license to shoot wolves, licensed hunters must attend an instruction evening. There has been great interest in this. So far, 2700 of the 5200 hunters in Graubünden have completed the course. However, they are only allowed to hunt wolves where entire packs are shot.

Eliminate three packs, reduce six packs

The federal government has approved 55 to 60 wolf shoots for the regulation, which lasts until the end of January. The game warden will not provide a total wolf population figure until the winter, as counting the wolves is very time-consuming, according to Puorger.

"According to federal law, management is not planned based on the total number of wolves, but on the number of wolf packs and their behavior," explained Puorger. The canton wants to completely remove three of the eleven packs and reduce the size of six packs and make them more timid by shooting young animals. Two packs would not be regulated.

The stalking of wolves by hunters is not completely new in Graubünden. Last year, they were involved in the special hunt in late fall for the first time. However, no one managed to shoot one of the large carnivores.