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![On September 27th, Switzerland will vote on the revised hunting law. Nature and animal protection organizations had taken the referendum.]()
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On September 27th, Switzerland will vote on the revised hunting law. Nature and animal protection organizations had taken the referendum.
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![The new law is a step backwards, criticizes the Green National Councilor Christophe Clivaz.]()
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The new law is a step backwards, criticizes the Green National Councilor Christophe Clivaz.
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“The hunting association believes it has the right to kill for fun,” says Green National Councilor Greta Gysin.
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![It should be much easier to release protected animals for shooting. Wolves could already be released for shooting if they have not yet caused any damage.]()
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It should be much easier to release protected animals for shooting. Wolves could already be released for shooting if they have not yet caused any damage.
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Getty Images/Imagebroker RF
![Opponents fear that other animal species could also be added.]()
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Opponents fear that other animal species could also be added.
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According to the opponents, the revised hunting law is aiming wrong. Instead of finding a sensible regulation for dealing with the wolf, the parliament passed a “completely incomprehensible attack on numerous species of protected animals”.
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The referendum held by environmental and animal welfare organizations supports parliamentarians from various political camps. On Monday, representatives from the SP, FDP, Greens, GLP and EPP presented their arguments against the bill.
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Farmers are challenged
The new law is irresponsible, said National Councilor Christophe Clivaz (Greens / VS). The revision does not offer an answer to the recognized challenges in dealing with the wolf. It is not about playing off the needs of the urban and rural populations against each other. “It’s about opposing a law that is bad for the whole country.” Because: The hunting law means a step backwards in species protection. The fact that even many foresters and hunters are against the law shows that it has failed.
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In the campaign logo of the No Committee there is a lynx in the crosshairs. If you say yes, this wild animal is just as potentially threatened by shooting as the beaver, the mute swan, the gray heron, the wolf and the otter, said Solothurn FDP National Councilor Kurt Fluri. The Federal Council contradicts this representation. He emphasizes: Parliament has already determined that lynxes, beavers, gray herons and goosander are protected.
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But Fluri also argued that a preventive shooting – without the people and parliament being able to comment – would go against the grain. Rather, agriculture is also required to adapt when dealing with wild animals. This included effective herd protection measures. The public sector could co-finance this.
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Is the constitution being violated?
If the protective measures did not work, the cantons could already decide today about the shooting of individual wolves and other animals that cause damage, said the Ticino National Councilor Greta Gysin (Greens). But it needs the approval of the federal government. “But the hunting association believes that it has a right to kill for fun.”
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Switzerland is risking “a big step backwards”, said Claire Richard, the Vaudois GLP councilor. According to the Zurich SP Councilor of States Daniel Jositsch, the revision of the hunting law violates the constitution. With the current revision, there is a shift in competencies from the federal government to the cantons. “In the event of a yes, the federal government would only have a right to a hearing.”
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Jositsch fears a “jumble of the protection level of threatened animal species” in the future. Depending on the taste of the cantonal government, so-called inventory regulations could also be approved for the mere prevention of damage. A mere presumed damage is sufficient without it having to be particularly large.
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“Completely incomprehensible attack”
In the draft of the corresponding hunting ordinance, the Federal Council writes that wolves may only be shot near settlements or flocks of sheep. In general, the cantons would have to explain to the federal government in advance why it was necessary to kill them. In doing so, they must maintain proportionality.
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The deterioration in the protection of wild animals in the revised law could not correct the regulation, said National Councilor Nik Gugger (EPP / ZH). Parliament launched a “completely incomprehensible attack on numerous species of protected mammals and birds”. He made it clear: “Nobody would oppose a law with a sense of proportion.” (SDA / lha)
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Hunting law declaredOn May 17th, Switzerland will vote on the new hunting law. It wants to loosen the protection of wolf, beaver and lynx. Opponents of the new regulation fear that species protection will be weakened. BLICK explains the template.
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