Council of States wants to strengthen protection against wolves

SDA

3.12.2024 - 12:17

How to deal with wolves has been the focus of political debate for several years. The picture shows a wolf in a wilderness park in the canton of Zurich. (symbolic image)
How to deal with wolves has been the focus of political debate for several years. The picture shows a wolf in a wilderness park in the canton of Zurich. (symbolic image)
Keystone

The Council of States wants to better protect herds from wolves. On Tuesday, it approved a committee motion calling for an examination of areas without wolves and simpler support for herd protection.

Keystone-SDA

In the summer session, the National Council had approved a motion by former National Councillor Fabio Regazzi - now a member of the Council of States (center/TI) - calling for the creation of "wolf-free zones". The Council of States did not go that far and rejected this motion on the grounds that such a project would be almost impossible to implement. However, the Council of States still wanted to have the idea examined. It approved a committee motion on the subject, which the National Council will now decide on.

With the motion, the small chamber is also calling for a reduction in bureaucracy so that the cantonal administration's workload for an application to hunt a wolf is reduced. The Federal Council, represented by Environment Minister Albert Rösti, rejected the motion, pointing out that a new ordinance will come into force in February.