European Commission and Council of State decide to ease restrictions

The European Commission wants to relax protections for wolves. On Tuesday, the responsible committee downgraded the protection status from “strict protection” to “protection”. On the same day, the Council of State approved the review of wolf-free areas and the strengthening of herd protection.

The National Council has passed a motion calling for the establishment of “wolf-free zones” at its summer meeting. The Council of State did not go that far. He rejected the proposal on the grounds that such a project would be virtually unfeasible. However, the smaller chamber hopes to review the idea through its own committee motion.

Specifically, the chamber called for less bureaucracy and therefore less effort for states to apply for wolf hunts. The Federal Council, represented by Environment Minister Albert Rösti, rejected the motion, noting that new regulations consistent with the motion would come into effect in February anyway.

Another State Department motion calls for faster genetic analysis of carcasses of animals killed by wolves and an expedited permitting process for killing problem wolves. Support for cattle protection and compensation for owners of animals affected by cracks should also be expanded and streamlined. According to Rosti, this is already being implemented.

debate in council of europe

Debates at the Federal Palace were shaped by current events. Meanwhile, a Council of Europe committee voted to downgrade the wolf's protected status. Based on a decision by the Council of Europe, the downgrading of Berne Convention protection status takes three months.

At that point, a third of the signatories could theoretically veto it, but that is unlikely as Tuesday's decision required a two-thirds majority. If less than one-third of the countries object, the decision will only take effect for those countries that did not object.

A press release from the European Commission said that downgrading the protected status would give EU countries more flexibility to allow hunting of wolves without completely lifting protection – the status of wolf populations should not be put at risk.

Switzerland failed two years ago

It is unclear which countries are voting and how. In any case, the European Commission, speaking in Strasbourg on behalf of the 27 EU member states, is likely to vote in favor of the proposal. Similarly, Switzerland called for reducing wolf protections in 2022, but the plan failed at that time after the European Union voted against it.

The European Commission is independent of the EU. The agency ensures the protection of human rights but is also responsible for compliance with the Berne Convention, an international treaty adopted in 1979 to protect wildlife. Switzerland is a member of the Council of Europe and has ratified the Convention.

While many livestock keepers welcome the relaxation of wolf protections, animal rights groups warn the species risks being weakened. From the conservation association's perspective, lowering the protection level is technically untenable and sends a bad signal for species conservation.

Pro Natura, Swiss Wolf Group, Birdlife and WWF said in a joint statement that de-escalation was not a panacea for reducing farm animal harm. There are also cracks where wolves are being shot intensively. Shooting wolves may even encourage these behaviors if the social fabric of the pack is disrupted. Good, comprehensive cattle protection remains vital. (Sudanese Development Authority/Department of Political Affairs/Apa/thw)

Annual Swiss inflation rose slightly in November. However, the rate remains at the lower end of the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) target range of 0% to 2%, suggesting further rate cuts are expected.