- The canton of Graubünden wants to shoot the Fuornrudel, which also lives in the national park.
- The reason for this is a cattle that was killed outside the park.
- Those responsible for the national park consider the shooting to be questionable from a wildlife biology point of view, as the park stands for the preservation of fauna and flora.
- Those responsible for the national park want to wait for the decision of the responsible federal agency before taking action themselves.
The Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fishing announced on Tuesday that it had submitted an application to shoot the only wolf pack living in the Swiss National Park. The Fuorn pack lives in the Ofenpass region and therefore also in the national park.
National Park views the request critically
National Park Director Ruedi Haller told the Keystone-SDA news agency that they had been informed by the canton about the shooting request, but they were critical of the plan.
The Swiss National Park stands for the preservation of fauna and flora. “We categorically rule out any kind of intervention in the national park,” said director Haller to Keystone/SDA. The park is a reserve in which nature is protected from all human intervention and in particular the entire flora and fauna is left to develop naturally.
We understand that the canton is under enormous pressure, but the extermination of the entire pack is questionable.
But the wolf does not stop at the national park border. The problems arise outside the park, where livestock live. “We understand that the canton is under enormous pressure,” says Heller.
“It has not been proven that the wolf that killed the cow really belongs to the so-called Fuorn pack of the national park,” says Heller. Rather, it is an assumption made by the authorities. It is also possible that the wolf responsible came from this pack but no longer belongs to it. A DNA analysis could provide clarity here.
Preventive wolf shootings by hunters
In a second application on Tuesday, the canton of Graubünden requested that, in addition to the shooting of the entire Fuorn pack that lives in the Swiss National Park, the Lenzerhorn pack and young animals in two other packs be shot.
On Tuesday, the Swiss Farmers’ Association called for legal enshrining of regulatory killings and for defensive killings to be permitted. The threshold for when wolves can be shot should be lowered for protected herds.
In addition, other dog breeds should be allowed as livestock guarding dogs and there should be analogous compensation for livestock killed on non-protectable alpine areas, according to the demands submitted on Tuesday.