Poaching - An indecipherable reality
Today, poaching is rife in Switzerland and around the world, regardless of the protection methods used, subsidies and compensation paid. Not only does this illegal practice have a negative effect on the maintenance of healthy wolf populations, it is also a clear indicator of the low level of acceptance of the predator, even today.
Why is this practice carried out, even in countries where regulation is already in place, sometimes taking up to 19% of the lupine population? First of all, we can mention attacks on livestock, which polarize attention, particularly in the media and politics. The wolf is the tree that hides the forest, and blaming it for all the ills avoids having to solve the real underlying problems of agriculture. Beyond the emotional subject of predation, Beyond the emotional subject of predation, there remains a deep-seated hatred and fear that has been present in our societies for centuries. Moreover the wolf, as the apex predator, can give a feeling of power and omnipotence to those who manage to kill it, wanting to provoke the admiration of their peers. But it's vital to put things back into their proper perspective : in a society where laws must be respected by all, and where taking the law into one's own hands is totally illegal, the poacher is simply a criminal, no more and no less!
Mostly, attacks on livestock remain the most common motive. Wolf opponents criticize regulation for never being “sufficient”, wishing to see the wolf shoot massively to reduce its numbers to a few individuals, or even to eradicate it. But this desire clashes with European protection laws, such as the Bern Convention, which advocates the maintenance of healthy numbers and the presence of packs, to ensure the protection and regional and federal balance of lupine populations. It should be noted that even if the wolf is downgraded in the near future, this obligation will clearly remain in force, thus dashing the dreams of wolf opponents. Indeed, “zero loss” will no longer exist, and the road to this reality will take time, but it is imperative.
The predator's low acceptance therefore stems from the constant frustration of breeders, hunters and opponents alike, who refuse to face up to this reality and still harbor expectations that can never be fulfilled. Nature cannot be controlled, and the predator remains and will remain a predator. A single wolf can even do more damage than several packs combined, as shown by the example of M121 in the canton of Vaud. It killed more than 82 animals between January and early November 2024, sailing so far afield that none of the shooting permits issued to date have allowed it to be shot. By comparison, in 2023, the FIVE packs in the French-speaking Valais region targeted by regulative shooting last winter (Chablais, Hauts-Forts, Les Toules, Hérens/Mandelon & Fou/Isérables) had predated a total of 48 animals, between them. Another example is the two wolves present throughout the Valais in 1999, which decimated 199 sheep in just a few months. This figure corresponds to half the losses caused by the 120 wolves and 9 packs present in the canton of Valais in 2023 (389 animals killed according to the Hunting Service's reporting, as at January 2, 2024)! As long as there are herds with little or no protection, as long as unprotected pastures are used by sheep, and as long as a few wolves roam the cantons, attacks - possibly very deadly - will occur! These areas will be the logical target for the wolves present, and it's like a snake biting its own tail.
Poaching is rife wherever wolves (and their prey, who are also victims) reside. Some carnotzets hide a number of little secrets, stories of wolf killers told like legends... but which are not.
But what about mortality due to illegal shooting? In Italy, at a recent “Ente Nazionale UNIN” conference we attended, the causes of wolf mortality were established as follows:
Road accidents: 53
Poaching: 32
Natural mortality: 6%.
The European “Life Wolfalps EU” project (2) has set up an anti-poaching brigade, using dogs to detect poisons in bait or carcasses left on the territory. This initiative has met with some success, and should be applied on a wider scale to combat this scourge effectively.
In Switzerland, legal shooting is by far the main cause of wolf mortality, followed by traffic and poaching, although it is not possible to establish a real ranking (by exploring and making genetics speak for itself, it can provide some interesting indications, but no certified proof). Poaching remains a 100% illegal act under Swiss and European law, and raises a number of questions. Wolves are being killed without us ever being able to put a figure on it, or know the real impact this may have on the evolution of the species, in Switzerland as elsewhere. And this will become an even more serious problem if wolf regulation is relaxed. Indeed, according to Adrian Teves & Guillaume Chapron's study (1), the increase in official lethal shooting often goes hand in hand with an increase in poaching, freeing up the last ramparts between legality and illegality to kill more individuals, considered “pests”.
The methods used
Unsurprisingly, the methods used are as varied and devious as the imaginations of the individuals practicing them. And some are particularly cruel, attesting to a deep-seated hatred of the living world, since other species are also victims, as poachers are well aware.
1. The best-known is shooting, with a hunting weapon, often carried out at night, and using unauthorized equipment (silencers, thermal visions, etc.). Once shot, the animal is buried or dumped in an inaccessible corner, out of sight. In legal circles, we say “no body, no crime”, and this method reflects that. The problem is that the shot may be missed (not everyone is a good shot...) and the wolf is then dies or forced to survive with a wound that prevents it from hunting, which will eventually kill it several days or weeks later. This was the case of the Mayoux she-wolf (cover photo), shot in 2017 in the Val d'Anniviers and found by two kids far from the shooting site. Or that of the Chablais wolf cub, found dead in January 2022, but had been shot months earlier. He survived with a wound to his hindquarters, which eventually prevented him from following the pack. He was then alone, no longer able to move around too much, and would call the pack at night to get them to come to him. He eventually died, either from weakening due to inability to hunt and feed, or from infection (septicemia). No, shooting is by no means always lethal, a fact which shows that the irresponsible people who practice it are really not good people, in every sense of the word. Added to this are pseudo-shooting errors by hunters who have “mistaken” a wolf for a fox (...), gaining popularity in their region and few legal or financial problems in the process. “A mistake confessed is half forgiven, isn't it?
2. The second method used is poisoning. This involves inserting poison such as rat poison or antifreeze (ethylene glycol), or any other substance capable of causing death, into bait or carcasses. Once the poison has been ingested, it causes internal hemorrhaging and agony, resulting in very painful symptoms that can last for several hours. These substances are extremely easy to obtain, freely available in supermarkets without any controls. There's also an even cheaper alternative to poison: sponge bits. This method, originating in Eastern Europe and Austria, has been brought to Switzerland in recent years. It involves cutting a commercially purchased sponge into small pieces, soaking them in roast sauce or blood and scattering them over the wolf's territory. When the animal ingests the sponge, it swells on contact with the gastric juice, causing an intestinal obstruction. The animal lies in agony for several days, experiencing unspeakable pain and violent contractions, and eventually dies of peritonitis (gangrene) or septic shock. According to veterinarians, this is one of the most despicable methods of all, showing a total dehumanization on the part of the people practicing it, some of whom claim to “love wildlife and want to protect it”.
Unfortunately, the use of poison, sponges and razor blades doesn't just kill wolves - quite the contrary. As wolves have a large territory (150-250 km2), the baits are mostly swallowed by smaller wild predators (foxes, badgers, weasels, martens, wild boars, birds of prey, owls, etc.) but also - and this is very serious - by our domestic animals! In the spring of 2024, two dogs, including a 6-month-old puppy, perished on the territory of the Le Fou pack (Valais). Dogs, cats and many small predators are the collateral victims of these cold-blooded killing methods, who couldn't care less about inflicting terrible suffering on animals, both wild and domestic! Such practices reveal a high degree of sociopathy in the people applying them, which is all the more disturbing!
3. Jaw or snare traps are also available. The former closes on the animal's leg, preventing it from getting out or escaping. The animal either suffers agony because it can't eat or drink for days/weeks (some have even gnawed off their own leg to free themselves), or is killed by the poacher when the trap is lifted. As for the second, the poacher grabs the animal by the neck as he passes, imprisoning and suffocating it, as in a hanging. The first, albeit rarer, method has already been reported in Switzerland, while the second has been the subject of legal proceedings. It has been used to kill a number of bobcats moving from the canton of Vaud to the canton of Valais, in order to prevent the predator from arriving in the latter.
In Switzerland, the rare cases of poaching where the wolf's corpse has been found have never led to the culprits being found or convicted. There are also methods for forcing anyone who has witnessed or knowledge of a reprehensible act to remain silent. Slashed tires, posters or letters, death threats, harassment - anything is a good way of exerting pressure, as there is an omerta, particularly in Valais. It's worth mentioning that many people who have a customer-related profession, or who have always lived in a place, won't denounce or testify. They know that they risk losing everything, or having to move, as the threats continue long after the complaint has been lodged or the case has been referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office. As for the cases that have eventually been referred to the judicial authorities, none have ever led to any convictions, unsurprisingly in view of all that has just been mentioned.
The problems caused by poaching
They take several forms:
1. Poaching can jeopardize the health of predator (wolf/bobcat) populations, both regionally and nationally. If regulation plans are put in place, through quotas or higher percentages than at present (Switzerland having already largely transgressed federal and European laws), the proportion of mortality due to poaching will never be able to deliver clear statistics. This can quickly lead to a drop in numbers, once again undermining the species' survival threshold. It's important to point out that, with science becoming the absentee in the way a Swiss canton, and also in countries where political pressure takes up far too much space, counts and the interpretation/assessment of numbers will then be inaccurate and approximate. Or even downright manipulated, as we saw this winter. This raises the spectre of a net decline in lupine populations.
2. Poaching leads to the death of many other species - collateral damage that is avoidable, but above all reprehensible! Predators die by ingesting poison or by eating smaller prey that have consumed it. The problem can also affect domestic animals, leading to costly veterinary care, traumatic experiences for owners and even death, which cannot be redeemed with an apology or any amount of compensation (if the culprit is found and convicted). Poison has a much wider reach than we think, so it's a very serious, alarming health problem that should not be underestimated.
3. Poaching and its frequency do not really depend on a variation in the number of predations on livestock, but rather on a low level of acceptance by part of the population. There is a lack of awareness of the predator, whose eradication over a century led to drastic changes in agricultural practices and the abandonment of ancestral ones. It is also accompanied by a refusal to accept the way nature works, a need to control and subdue it, and political pressure, often devoid of any knowledge of the subject as a whole. As a result, a reduction in predation will never be enough, as the examples of certain countries, notably France, already show. In this country, the increase in legal shootings is reaching a crescendo, but losses are not following the opposite curve. In 2018, in Valais, 269 sheep were killed, and the situation was already, according to farmers and politicians at the time, unbearable, intolerable, even though there were only 2 packs and around 20 wolves. Since then, in 2023, the number of packs has multiplied by 4 and the number of wolves by 6, but the losses have only affected 120 more animals. If we were to listen to the claims, we would have to cull 84% of the current population, returning to the numbers of a time when things were already going badly... No matter how many wolves are slaughtered, the pastoral and political worlds will continue to be unsatisfied. That's where the problem lies.
The future and how to manage poaching
As you can see, poaching is a real problem and will not disappear, no matter what political decisions, procedures or regulation quotas are put in place. On the contrary, it will certainly tend to increase, which could threaten the survival of the Canis Lupus species in the medium to long term. We are therefore entering an era of possible regression, where all the efforts made, particularly in setting up the most comprehensive protection possible (the only real solution), information, training and field studies, will be swept away by the promise of solving the “problem” through ever more intensive shooting. And this will be to the detriment of high-quality scientific monitoring, particularly with regard to genetics, which remains the main key to understanding this species, how it functions and how it manages its territories.
Preventing poaching is not easy, given the number of methods used and the difficulty of spotting some of them. We advise anyone who discovers bait (bits of meat or sponge, attached or wrapped carcasses) or traps (jaws, snares) to report such finds immediately to the cantonal police, and to systematically notify the cantonal veterinary service and associations defending predators. We remind you that poaching is an illegal act, which must be reported if solid evidence exists or if testimony can lead to the identification and conviction of the culprits. For all owners of domestic dogs and cats, any suspicious symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, apathy, lack of appetite, convulsions, etc.) should lead to an urgent veterinary consultation. And in the unfortunate event of your pet's death, request an autopsy, which must be followed by a criminal complaint.
We shall see what the future of the wolf will bring, but it is now certain that we are not entering an era where coexistence will be the watchword or the objective, given the methods now being applied by the head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) and his party, among others.
In the coming months, we'll be back with more news from Wolf Mission. We took part in a very large-scale project, that we are very proud of. More to come soon...
Références & études
(1) Blood does not buy goodwill : allowing culling increases poaching of a large carnivore (2016)
(2) Life Wolfalps EU - measures against poaching
(3) Study on poaching in Sweden
Article : Team Wolf Mission
Photo : She-wolf from Mayoux (Valais) - Le Nouvelliste
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