Hunting law review – the last word has yet to be said with the wolf – news

Wolf regulation is not yet ruled out. New proposals to revise the hunting law should be presented already in the winter session.

The Swiss electorate rejected the hunting law, which would have made the hunting of wolves easier. The result shows a clear urban-rural divide. While rural cantons tend to agree with the law, urban cantons tend to say no.

Valais Senior Vice President National Councilor Franz Ruppen, who campaigned for the hunting law, is very disappointed. “Coexistence between urban and rural areas, of course, is already being put to the test,” says Ruppen.

Opponents want to get closer to mountainous areas

Opponents of the now-failed proposal are also aware that living with wolves brings conflict. Urs Leugger, Central Secretary of Pro Natura, said they wanted to speak with representatives of the mountainous regions: “We are ready to talk to each other to find solutions for the coexistence of alpine calf and wolf.”

New proposals for a new attempt to revise the hunting law must be presented already in the winter session. He wants to do that, says Daniel Jositsch, from the SP Zurich Council of States and also an opponent of the failed proposal.

There are individual points that can be quickly clarified. “For example, we have criticized the fact that the cantons are now responsible for regulating hunted animals, but we want to keep that with the federal government.” Points like this could be adjusted quickly, Jositsch said, “and there we will again find a majority in parliament that is before the people.”

With Sunday’s No, the issue of regulating wolf populations is not ruled out. To be successful, a new presentation should be better coordinated with conservationists.