ThoseRegulation –One in three wolves was shot down last year in Switzerland
Despite the levy of a hundred individuals, the population regains their 2022 level. It remains to be seen if this strategy is tenable in the long term.
Posted today at 10:03 a.m.
In Switzerland, more than a hundred wolves were killed last year.
Donato Caspar / Lab
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- Switzerland recorded a record, with 101 wolves legally shot down in 2024.
- Despite this levy of a third, the population regains its level of 2022.
- Ultimately, the objective is to reduce the number of packs from around thirty to twelve.
- These figures will weigh when the parliament will have to decide on Tuesday to study the establishment of “zero wolf” zone.
Should we study the possibility for cantons to define areas “Zero wolf”? To this highly emotional question, the Council of States already answered yes in December, By accepting a motion which also requires regulating the canine with less bureaucracy. The text will be processed this Tuesday, May 6 during the special national session. Between those who speak of an essential measure and those who see a permit to kill, the debate promises to be heated.
And the number of wolves slaughtered last year is not likely to calm the spirits. We compared the figures of the Kora Foundation since the return of the wolf in 1994-1995. The result is clear: with 101 individuals drawn legally, 2024 was the year of all records. Reported to the number of wolves observed that year-320 individuals-this represents the levy of the third of the population. Most of the shots took place in Valais and Graubünden.
More surprisingly, this massive levy had only a limited impact on the presence of the predator. Despite a hundred wolves killed, there are even more than 200, the workforce observed in 2022.
What is the cost-benefit?
For Nicolas Kolly (UDC/FR), member of the National Council environment commission (CEATE), this “exponential” increase must be stopped. “We had a wolf in 1995, a first pack in 2012. Today, we are over thirty packs. If it continues like this, we could end up with more than 900 individuals on the territory in 2028. As the wolf has no predator, it is up to man to regulate it. And the figures show it, we are far from eradicating it as some NGOs believe. ”
An opinion that does not share Christophe Clivaz (the Greens/VS), also a member of the CEAT. “We started on a proactive regulation of the wolf, a bit like we do for the bouquetins. But I’m not sure it’s the best solution. As the evolution of the number of wolves shows in recent years, they will continue to reproduce to compensate for losses. And it will again be necessary to ask the Fauna guards to be on the lookout for thousands of hours to shoot them down. In terms of cost-benefit, I doubt that this is the best solution. ” The Federal Council will also have to look into the question sinceA postulate in this sense of Alex Farinelli (PLR/Ti) was accepted.
For Christophe Clivaz, we must continue to compensate the breeders, but above all update the measures to protect herds. The proof that it works? The number of animals killed has decreased in recent years. The statistics show that after a peak in 2022, the figures fell in 2023 and 2024. “Even with an increase in the number of individuals, we see that there are fewer attacks, continues Valaisan. And most of the attacked rent animals are in situations where they are not protected. ”
On April 16, 2025, it was probably a wolf that killed ten sheep in a single attack in Valeyres-sous-Rances (VD).
FLORIAN CELLA
This speech, Nicolas Kolly does not believe it. For him, current measures come to their limits. “The wolf that ventured into the Friborg conurbation in 2024 attacked sheep in a meadow located next to a school. In this kind of environment, you cannot have a protective dog. It would be too risky for children and it creates nuisance in the living area. ”
And to recall that compensation does not cover all costs. “Without counting the emotional impact of discovering its massacred animals.” Hence the interest in having “zero wolf” areas.
Will the motion be accepted? Or will the majority of the National Waiting to see the effects of the last revisions of the law before heard it again? What is certain is that the tendency to more regulation is also observed internationally. In December, the Bern Convention – which supervises the conservation of wild life in Europe – decided to downgrade the wolf: It goes from the category of “strictly protected wildlife species” to that of “protected fauna species”.
An international trend
A vision anticipated by Switzerland. In order to reduce conflicts between mountain agriculture and the wolf, the Parliament modified in 2022 the law on hunting by introducing preventive regulation. Ultimately, the objective set in the prescription by Albert Rösti is to reduce the number of packs, to go from thirty today to at least twelve. Criticized by nature protection associations, but also by the courts, the federal advisor assumed this hardening in An interview of March 2024.
“At the time, it was said that wolves would never attack a cattle. The facts showed that it was false. Today, it is said that he will not attack man. But when you have parents who write to you that they are afraid because their child has to cross the forest to go to school, then you act. ” And to conclude: “By bringing the number of diets to twelve on the territory – the situation of 2020 -, we are far from an extreme slaughter, as has been said.”
“Few scenarios bet on such rapid growth”
When the wolf reappeared in 1994-1995, did it imagine that we would have 300 individuals thirty years later?
I remember the first wolf observed in Switzerland. It was in Val Ferret (vs). I was then director of Pro Natura for French -speaking Switzerland. We felt a form of enthusiasm and we were not yet talking about the problems he could cause. The specialists expected the population to progress. But few scenarios bet on such rapid growth.
Willy Geiger, former vice-director of the Federal Environment Office, has followed the return of the wolf since its start.
Yvain Genevay
You say it is wrong to talk about exponential growth. However, this is what the curve shows. No?
By simplifying things, we can say that the population increases as long as there is something to eat. Then she self -regulates herself. Females, for example, make fewer little ones. If the populations were left to develop naturally, we would see that the curve would eventually stabilize to form an S. The species has no interest in growing to exterminate its resources. And I’m talking about deer here that constitute its main food as soon as a pack is formed. The attacks on sheep are often caused by isolated individuals.
How many wolves to the maximum can Swiss territory bear?
We cannot reason like this. As long as there are prey, the population increases, then self -regulates. The hundred wolves taken last year will be replaced by new cubs. It is utopian to want to regulate the species, unless you spend thousands of francs in slaughter by fade guards. We would better learn to cohabit and use money to promote the return of shepherds and the use of herd dogs. We see that it works: the attacks are decreasing, and the overwhelming majority of those that remain takes place in unprotected areas. But it is difficult to change mentalities, especially since the policies decided to set up this dossier in pin to make it an electoral theme. We forget to say that zero risk does not exist.
It is also the fault of scientists. In the 2000s, we were assured that the wolf would never attack cows.
Yes, we were wrong. At the time, I was a vice-director of the Federal Environment Office and it was based on the principle that the wolf would remain in deer areas that were confined to the Alps. When they started to colonize the Jura, the wolves followed them and discovered mountain pastures that were not prepared for their return. However, it is difficult to protect cattlemuch more than sheep. I am categorical about it: if a wolf-or a pack-specializes in cattle, despite all possible protective measures, it must be regulated. That said, the wolf can cause problems, but also plays an important role in regulating ungulates, and therefore works to maintain protective forests. Between the protection of herds and the shooting of individuals or problematic packages, one can find a normality which is in the interest of everyone.
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Florent Quiquerez is a journalist at the Swiss section since 2015. Specializing in politics, he covers federal news above all. Previously, he worked as a parliamentary correspondent for the French -speaking regional radios.More info
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