Authorities in the Swiss canton of Wallis have granted a hunting permit for the first time to shoot a wolf. This is made possible by a recently expanded regulation.
The wolf in question has killed more than ten sheep in recent weeks on two steep Swiss alpine pastures at Äbnimatt and Münstiger Galen, where fencing is not possible.
Pressure from the local population on the regional government of the southwestern canton of Wallis has increased in recent weeks following new attacks on livestock. Protection of wolf packs falls under the national authorities, but lone wolves are managed by the cantonal administrations.
According to cantonal wolf monitoring, it is assumed there are two individual wolves in the area. On Tuesday evening, the responsible state council ordered the shooting of the large carnivore.
Under the hunting regulation revised last week, shooting is allowed if a single wolf kills ten or more sheep or goats within four months. Previously, the limit was fifteen animals killed in four months. This is the first time this Swiss provincial regulation has been applied. The shooting permit is valid for 60 days.
Alpine livestock farmers say that the Habitat Directive was introduced thirty years ago to prevent the wolf from becoming extinct, but that risk no longer exists. Calls for reopening hunting are growing louder, but politicians from nearly all parties acknowledge that this is not yet legally possible due to the European directive. Since protecting livestock with fencing in the mountains is not always feasible, an exception to the Habitat Directive is now being considered.
The proposal is now to designate small pasture protection areas for livestock where — after a decision by a four-member specialized supervisory council — wolves may be caught or, if necessary, shot. The German Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner recently made a similar proposal. It is also now included in the election program of the CDU/CSU.
In the Dutch border provinces and in Belgium, there are also increasing calls to relax hunting bans on geese and wolves.