Wolf "Problem wolves" should also be able to be shot in hunting ban areas
The Swiss parliament is tightening the screws further on wolf regulation. They have decided that in future, wolves that cause damage and for which a shooting permit has been issued may also be shot in hunting ban areas.
03.12.2025, 10:41
03.12.2025, 11:52
SDA
In addition, "problem wolves" will be allowed to be shot all year round - even if they belong to a pack. Currently, the shooting of such "problem wolves" is only possible from June 1 to January 31.
On Wednesday, the National Council adopted two corresponding motions by Esther Friedli (SVP/SG) and Pascal Broulis (FDP/VD) in this order by 109 votes to 76 with 3 abstentions and 106 votes to 76 with 3 abstentions respectively. As they have already been approved by the Council of States, they will be passed on to the Federal Council for implementation.
"Ecosystem out of joint"
Councillor of States Friedli said in the small chamber in September that the alpine farming ecosystem was coming apart at the seams. By the end of August, wolves had killed 44 cattle in Vaud, for example. Numerous animals had therefore been removed from the Alps prematurely during the summer.
This is despite the fact that herd protection measures are constantly improving. These cannot be constantly tightened - they are expensive and not for the benefit of the livestock. We must therefore tackle the causes: "We must be able to better regulate the wolves that cause damage," said Friedli in the Council of States.
Monika Rüegger (SVP/OW), who acted as spokesperson for the majority of the Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-N), sounded the same note in the National Council. Wolf attacks are no longer restricted to certain locations and higher altitudes, Rüegger pointed out.
A Urek-N minority spoke out against the two motions. Christoph Clivaz (Greens/VS), referring to the Broulis motion, said that the regulation of wolves had already been relaxed by the new hunting law and the ordinance based on it. The damage had already been reduced by stronger herd protection measures. Further easing is not indicated.
Federal Council wants to wait and see
Federal Councillor Albert Rösti also campaigned for a no vote on the two motions. Hunting law already offers the opportunity to intervene in the event of problems with wolves. Individual wolves could be shot all year round.
However, the shooting of wolves from a pack due to damage to livestock and thus year-round regulation would contradict the Federal Hunting Act and the Animal Protection Act.
It was first necessary to evaluate the effects of the recently revised hunting law before further adjustments could be considered. The Environment Minister also said that wolf territories, with an average area of 250 square kilometers, are significantly larger than the federal hunting ban areas. The largest has an area of 94 square kilometers.
Hasan Candan (SP/LU), the spokesman for the Urek-N minority on the Friedli motion, also said that there was enough space to shoot wolves causing damage outside of these no-hunting zones.
New rules since February
On February 1st of this year, new provisions for the regulation of wolves came into force in Switzerland. They give the cantons the authority to preventively regulate the wolf population under certain conditions.
In order for the cantons to intervene in the wolf population before any damage has been done, there must be a risk to livestock and herd protection measures must be implemented.
Nature conservation organizations recently spoke of a calming of the wolf issue. Compared to last year, the number of livestock kills caused by wolves is stable or declining across Switzerland - despite a slight increase in the wolf population. Environmental associations see the benefits of herd protection measures in this.
By the end of October, wolves had killed a total of 832 farm animals in Switzerland - 37 fewer than at the same time last year. Only in the canton of Ticino did the numbers increase.
