Switzerland rejects anti-wolf motion
The Swiss National Council has narrowly rejected an MP’s motion to remove the wolf from the list of endangered species.
The motion proposed by Theo Maissen and carried in the Swiss Council of States in December 13 2001, instructed the government not to implement the Swiss Wolf Concept and to release the country from all international obligations that require it to protect the wolf.
However after a long debate, Members voted 84 to 77 on June 2 in favour of an alternative non-binding instruction to adapt the Swiss Wolf Concept. The result means that Switzerland will be saved the potential embarrassment of leaving the Bern Convention.
Under the Swiss Wolf Concept, the Cantons will continue to shoot wolves that cause damage to livestock and the Swiss Confederation will continue to pay compensation for livestock losses attributed to wolves.
Theo Maissen had argued that Switzerland was too densely populated and the country too dependent on tourism to accommodate wolves.
However opponents said that wolves would continue to immigrate to the Swiss Alps and that livestock owners would suffer because compensation for damages would be scrapped if the wolf’s protected status was removed. Others believed that wolves could provide an added attraction for tourists.