Wolf Farmers' president Ritter sees alpine farming in danger

Despite herd protection measures, wolves have killed 20 sheep on an alp in the Flums mountains in recent weeks. Farmers' president Markus Ritter called for more effective regulation of wolf populations. Otherwise the alpine economy would be in danger,

The situation on the Halde alp above Flums has escalated, wrote the St. Gallen Farmers' Association in a press release. Wolves have killed 20 sheep in the past four weeks. In doing so, they bypassed herd protection measures and seriously injured a livestock guarding dog.

On Tuesday, representatives from agriculture and the SVP called for the rules on shooting permits to be relaxed. The wolves on Alp Halde should not be shot at present, as they are hardly a single animal, but the suspected pack has not been proven.

The scope for shooting the wolves is massively restricted in this case due to the current legal basis. The farmers' association and the SVP criticize that this forces farmers to stand idly by and watch as the wolves cause damage.

SDA