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Animals arouse emotions. Wild animals even more so, and none excite the mind more in Switzerland than the wolf. Its filming will be facilitated with the revision of the hunting law, which will be voted on September 27. Opponents warn that this will also be the case for many other wild animals. Defenders deny this.
“The hunting law is also a law for the protection of wild animals,” said Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga in the voting “arena” on Friday. You cannot simply release animals for hunting, on the contrary, said the Environment Minister in an interview with the moderator Sandro Brotz: “The wolf remains a protected species.”
Intervention in a wolf pack should only be done if the population is not in danger, Sommaruga said. In the end, it is about people: “There are those who want to exterminate the wolf and others who do not want to do anything.” The law was a good response, both parties did not get everything, said the federal president.
300 protected animal species
So a good federal compromise? Not for the Council of States of the SP of Zurich Daniel Jositsch: “They totally invaded and released the wolf to be killed.” Other protected animals like beavers and lynxes could easily be on the list. The Federal Councilor resisted in the parliamentary deliberation.
Berne BDP National Councilor Lorenz Hess disagreed. In current law, more than 300 species of protected animals could be released for shooting. This is no longer the case with the review: “It is a good law for biodiversity.” Urs Leugger-Eggimann, Pro Natura’s central secretary, on the other hand, described the 300 species as “cunning.”
More or less protection? The debate revolved around this key issue over and over again. “We hunters have no interest in declaring that other animals are huntable,” said David Clavadetscher, managing director of Jagd Schweiz. Simonetta Sommaruga referred to the right of appeal, which is maintained in the new law.
Sandro Brotz then showed the obligatory photo of a lamb torn by a wolf. “The wolf is a wild animal, not a vegetarian,” said Daniel Jositsch, who appeared in the “Arena” in his capacity as a member of the Animal Law Foundation. A lamb is slaughtered and eaten at some point: “We must not pretend that it is dying of old age.”
For and against protecting the herd
But what do those directly affected think? The farmer from the Graubünden mountains, Regula Schmid-Blumer, fears the seven herds in her canton: “It is terrifying, we cannot protect our animals enough.” There were also attacks on animals that were surrounded. The wolf is one of them, he said, “but we have to regulate it.”
“Regulation is a reality today,” responded David Gerke, president of the Wolf Switzerland group. Graubünden and Valais regulated the wolf packs, “but shooting them alone doesn’t solve the problems.” He advertised good pack protection and was met with skepticism from farmer Regula Schmid-Blumer: “The wolf learns with every measure.”
For Gerke, however, protecting the pack is “extremely successful.” Last year the same number of sheep were killed ten years earlier, although there are significantly more wolves. ‘Protecting the herds with the shotgun doesn’t work. Hunting does not turn the wolf into a vegan animal, ”says Gerke. The problems would not be solved with the hunting law.
“He doesn’t need more deaths, he needs more protection,” said National Green Councilor Greta Gysin. “Every summer 4,500 sheep die, 90 percent not from the wolf, but from disease and accidents.” The law is a small step forward, Ticino admitted, but that does not compensate for the four steps backwards in the protection of species.
Beaver and lynx
But what about other animal species, like beavers and lynxes? “Today the Federal Council can release them to hunt,” said Federal President Sommaruga. The new law doesn’t do that, which is an improvement over the current one: “You only do something when there is a need. That’s why the wolf is on the list, but only under strict conditions. “
Daniel Jositsch, who used to annoy his party colleague, shook his head: “The law is soft and openly written. There is no longer any need to damage the concrete, only conceivable damage. ”For the Zurich lawyer, this also puts the right of appeal in perspective: if a law is formulated so openly, the courts cannot do anything.
According to Lorenz Hess, the lynx had a better protected status under the law and met with opposition from opponents. “I’m more concerned about the lynx than the wolf,” said wolf protector Gerke. The population is much more fragile. “I myself am a hunter, the pressure on the lynx is high and will increase.”
More or less protection? This “arena” could not give a clear answer, and experience has shown that it is more useful for opponents. Daniel Jositsch emphasized that they were ready to immediately offer a hand to a better law after saying no. For the national advisor of the BDP, Lorenz Hess, however, the opponents lack arguments, “so it’s scary.”
What is clear, however, is that the wolves could be taken down more easily in the future. In the final words, Simonetta Sommaruga referred to a conversation with an Alpine woman from the Safien Valley. She feared that the hard work with the wolf was no longer feasible. “I ask the women in Switzerland to show solidarity,” he gave as a message.
