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The organizations are demanding a judicial review of several shooting orders in Graubünden and Valais.
Pro Natura, WWF Switzerland and Birdlife Switzerland are taking legal action against proactive wolf regulation. The nature conservation organizations announced this on Monday. “Our goal is to establish a legally compliant way of dealing with wolves,” says Sara Wehrli from Pro Natura.
“Disproportionate firings”
The nature conservation organizations are taking legal action against individual shooting orders: They want to have four Graubünden and three Valais shooting orders examined by the Federal Administrative Court.
Legend:
Proactive wolf regulation: Ten wolves have been shot in Valais since the beginning of December. The canton of Graubünden has not yet published any figures.
Keystone/MICHAEL BUHOLZER
“These shooting orders are disproportionate and violate current law,” says Sara Wehrli from Pro Natura, explaining the approach. Conditions as provided for in the law or regulation are not met.
The shooting of entire packs must remain the exception and may only be applied to packs that have gotten “out of control”.
Graubünden is waiting for the complaint
“We also criticize the fact that the Federal Office for the Environment has even given its consent to these cantonal regulations. Apparently it did not examine the applications sufficiently,” says Sara Wehrli.
So far, only the complaint against the shooting orders in the canton of Graubünden has been officially confirmed by the authorities. “We were informed by the Federal Administrative Court last week that a complaint had been received,” said Arno Puorger from the hunting and fishing office of the canton of Graubünden.
Wallis is silent
However, because no one was informed about which shootings the complaint was directed against, the proactive wolf hunt was stopped throughout the canton.
“The general stop remains in place for the time being,” says Arno Puorger. “Only when we have the complaint on the table can we determine how to proceed and take the next steps.”
And in Valais? How and whether wolf hunting in the Rhone Valley will continue is still unclear. The responsible department does not want to comment. “We will communicate fully and promptly as soon as a formal decision from a responsible authority is sent to us,” it writes in response to a request from SRF.