Swiss Review 2/2020

Swiss Review / April 2020 / No.2 8 Focus crossed when a wolf attacks more than 25 sheep. Local authorities have issued 23 of these permits since 2000. Ten of these cases resulted in the wolf being successfully dispatched. In the remaining instances, the wolf made off before the hunter could pull the trigger. Around 20 wolves met their end in other ways: they were hit by cars or trains – or shot illegally. Wolves that die a natural death are rarely found and therefore do not ap- pear in any statistics. Vote on the Swiss Hunting Act With wolf numbers increasing, poli- ticians in Switzerland’s mountainous The movie and the book In his 2019 feature-length docu- mentary “Wolves Return”, Schwyz- born film-maker Thomas Horat ex- amines the human struggle with wolves. His film extends beyond Switzerland, also drawing from re- search conducted in Austria, Ger- many, Poland, Bulgaria and the USA over a three-year period. Horat talked to shepherds, mountain herdsmen, academics and wolf experts (including Reinhard Schnidrig) about the facts and myths surrounding this controversial yet fascinat- ing animal. The result is a highly watchable movie that cuts to the chase. “Wolves Return” will be released on DVD and on-demand this coming autumn. Trailer with German subtitles: ogy.de/trailer-wolf ; Trailer with English subtitles: ogy.de/wolf-trailer Wolves have not only made it to the silver screen but are also the subject of a new book. In his latest work, “Wolfsodyssee” (Wolf Odyssey), Swiss- Canadian nature photographer Peter A. Dettling documents his years of searching for the wolf. Ever since encountering ten wolves in the Canadian wilderness in 2005, Dettling has been fascinated by the animal. His book is part bi- ography, part nature chronicle, part behavioural study, part ad- venture story. Wolf whisperer Dettling wants to promote greater understanding and empathy for what he calls our “oldest allies”. The book contains numerous wolf-related photos, including the ones used in this edition of “Swiss Review”. “Wolfsodyssee” (Wolf Odyssey). Peter A. Dettling. Werd & Weber Verlag (2019), 350 pages, CHF 39. Only available in German. cantons want action. Parliament in- structed the Federal Council to relax the laws on species conservation back in 2015, so that wolf numbers could be regulated before conflicts of interest arose. On 17 May, voters will now decide whether to endorse a controversial change to the Swiss Hunting Act that would authorise shooting as a way to regulate wolf numbers before the animals cause any harm. The conservative-leaning parties, the Swiss Farmers’ Union and the hunting lobby are in favour of the reform, because they regard controlled killing as crucial to wolf-human coexistence. However, environmental and an- imal welfare groups are opposed to “preventive shooting”, saying that it would send out the wrong message and undermine species conservation efforts. Within a short space of time, they managed to collect the 50,000 signatures that are necessary for a popular vote. The groups also object to the fact that the revised Swiss Hunting Act even allows wolves to be shot in designated no-hunting zones. They believe that these conservation areas should remain a haven for wolves too. Protected status under scrutiny According to FOEN, the planned revi- sion of the Swiss Hunting Act re- spects the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979), which, it says, expressly permits the killing of wolves to prevent serious damage. A request lodged by Switzerland in 2018 to downgrade the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected” within the context of the Bern Con- vention remains pending. The Stand- ing Committee of the Bern Conven- tion rejected an identical request by Switzerland in 2006. EU member states first want to ascertain wolf numbers throughout Europe before deciding on the matter again. Those figures are still to be published. Wolves are an emotive subject – these evocative, mysterious creatures divide opinion. The federal parlia- ment has already seen fierce debate about the Swiss Hunting Act. Repre- sentatives of the mountainous can- tons accused their counterparts from the lower-lying cantons of romanti- cising the wolf and of dictating how affected mountain populations should deal with the animal. The vote on 17May threatens to reopen this ru- ral-urban divide. But the wolf is here to stay, regardless of what the people decide. On the trail of the wolf in Valais. A still shot from Thomas Horat’s feature- length documentary “Wolves Return”.