Culling the wolf pack in the Swiss National Park? “Scientifically indefensible”

The research commission of the Swiss National Park criticises the Grisons authorities’ desire to cull the wolf pack living in the nature park. According to the commission, the elimination of the entire pack is scientifically indefensible.

The young she-wolf that killed at least one bovine is no longer even a member of the incriminated pack, wrote the National Park Commission, a member organization of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, on Friday. In addition, the investigation into the other case of an attacked bovine has not yet resulted in any identification of the wolf in question.

On the basis of these two cases, the canton of Grisons has requested permission from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) to cull the entire pack living in the National Park. The FOEN has not yet made a decision.

“A decision to eliminate the pack would be contrary to the legal mandate of the Swiss National Park to protect nature,” the commission stressed. The pack in question lives mainly in the park. It is therefore not legal to kill it there, the commission believes. Even if it were to be killed outside the park boundaries, the consequences for the free development of nature, anchored in law, in Switzerland’s only wilderness reserve would be significant.

The researchers at the National Park also question the effectiveness of the culling of large predators in general. Systematic monitoring suggests that this approach has no impact on future attacks on herds. “With wolves, shooting is, based on current knowledge, the least effective measure to reduce attacks on livestock,” the commission wrote.

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