TIR disappointed: Council of States relaxes restrictions on wolf hunting
In its deliberations of June 13 concerning the federal hunting act, the Council of States agreed with central points made by the Federal Council in its draft, which was in many respects contrary to animal welfare. In terms of the relaxation of restrictions on wolf hunting, the Council of States went even further. The Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (TIR) is following these developments with great concern. It had already made its views clear to the members of the Council of States in a statement prior to its decision.
June 15, 2018
On August 24, 2016, the Federal Council opened consultation procedures for an amendment to the hunting act and submitted the corresponding dispatch to parliament on August 23, 2017. The new legislation provides for the regulation of populations of certain protected species if there is a risk of serious damage or a threat to humans despite preventive measures. In addition, the federal government grants the cantons extensive authority in the planning and organization of hunts. As part of the consultation process, TIR submitted a comprehensive statement (see news report from December 12, 2016; in German), in which it stressed its opposition to the draft amendment.
In its session held on June 13, the Council of States followed many of the amendments proposed by the Federal Council. In a number of points the Council of States went even further, in particular, it decided to relax the restrictions on wolf hunting. For example, it was decided to also allow wolf hunting in the 42 areas where hunting had previously been prohibited.
TIR is disappointed that animal welfare concerns have hardly found their way into the partial amendment. In particular, TIR criticizes plans to facilitate the regulation of populations of various protected species and to shorten certain biological recovery periods which will increase the pressure on wildlife from hunting.
TIR also disapproves of the plans to widen the scope for intervention in wolf populations, the consequences of which are currently unclear. The planned changes are solely to the detriment of wolves and leave out all preventive measures required by the Berne Convention, such as herd protection, deterrence, and awareness raising. The introduction of population control is therefore unlikely to lead to a sustainable solution and will not prevent damage to livestock in the long term. Furthermore, TIR criticizes the extension of the regulation period to 7 months for wolves and the lifting of the protection status of the lynx and beaver. It is also disappointed that the Council of States has followed the Federal Council's proposal to allow the cantons to temporarily shorten the biological recovery periods for huntable wildlife without the need for federal approval. You can find TIR's full statement here (in German).
Environmental and animal welfare organizations have already promised to launch a referendum. First, however, the National Assembly is still due to decide on the amendment of the hunting legislation.