Party Bern Convention committee investigates Swiss wolf policy
The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention of the Council of Europe has decided to open an investigation into Switzerland's wolf shooting policy. A complaint by two Swiss wolf protection organizations was upheld.
06.12.2024, 13:17
06.12.2024, 17:51
SDA
The main point of criticism from CH-Wolf and Avenir Loup Lynx Jura (ALLJ) regarding the Swiss authorities' current wolf management is the arbitrary definition of five regulation regions with a threshold of twelve packs across Switzerland, as Christina Steiner, President of CH-Wolf, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday.
They also criticize the lowered kill numbers and the preventive culls and pack regulations, solely to avoid possible damage in the future. "In our opinion, such an approach is clearly not compatible with the Bern Convention," both organizations emphasized in a statement.
Swiss wolf policy remains in focus
The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention apparently shared the concerns and decided unanimously on Thursday to open a corresponding investigation dossier. This means that Switzerland will have to report again on its wolf management at the next meeting in spring 2025.
In addition to the two wolf conservation organizations, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) was also heard at the meeting in Strasbourg. CH-Wolf and ALLJ explained that the Bafu's presentation was met with great skepticism by the participating countries.
At least 20 packs scientific basis
Only on Tuesday, the same committee of the Council of Europe had lowered the protection status of the wolf from "strictly protected" to "protected" at the behest of a two-thirds majority of its member countries.
According to the two wolf conservation organizations, Germany's spokesperson in particular emphasized on Thursday that the downgrading of wolf protection is not a free pass to shoot wolves en masse, and that the wolf remains a protected animal. Moreover, even with the protected status, a favorable conservation status of at least 20 packs in Switzerland remains the scientific basis.
FOEN wants to maintain exchange and report
When asked by Keystone-SDA, the FOEN explained that the Swiss authorities have never questioned whether the wolf is a protected animal. It would be happy to continue to exchange information with the Bern Convention and the member states and report back. Any jointly agreed recommendations on the conformity of Swiss wolf policy with the Convention will also be implemented.
The Bern Convention is an international treaty adopted in 1979 for the protection of wild animals and plants. Switzerland is a member of the Council of Europe and has ratified the Convention.
