Swiss lawyers are investigating whether intentionally disrupting the wolf hunt can be made a criminal offense. Through this approach, the Swiss Justice Department aims to put an end to the noisy ‘walks’ and ‘photography courses’ organized by animal associations at times when hunters are searching for two young wolves on Alpine pastures.
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) gave permission in August to shoot two young wolves from their pack after livestock had been attacked. Hunters have set up several drives in the Marchairuz region, but so far without success. The granted hunting permit expires in March.
The hunts were regularly disturbed and interrupted by walkers or photographers. These people came specifically to the locations to prevent the shooting of the two cubs. If there is an audience in the area, hunters are not allowed to shoot.
The wolf pack – the first in 150 years in the canton of Vaud – consists of four adult wolves and five young animals. The canton is focused on the two young animals born last year, as killing the adult wolves is prohibited by law. At the end of September, the authorities announced that a second wolf pack had settled in the canton.
On October 9, about 150 animal lovers demonstrated at the Marchairuz Pass and asked the canton to revoke the shooting permit for the two young wolves. Three weeks earlier, some 250 concerned Swiss farmers and herders from the Vaudois Jura had gathered at the foot of Mont-Tendre.