Swiss group offers reward to find wolf shooter

A Swiss animal protection organisation Thursday offered a reward to anyone who helps authorities track down a shooter who illegally killed a wolf in the Alpine country last week.

Wolf Group Switzerland said it would give 10,000 Swiss francs (8,000 euros, $11,000) for clues that lead to the arrest of the killer, and issued “Wanted” style posters to hammer home its message.

It said that it did not aim to act as judge and jury itself, and would hand over any information to the justice authorities.

On January 3, wildlife rangers in the mountainous eastern region of Graubuenden discovered the body of a wolf which experts believe died in agony after having been shot.

The young male had been part of a 10-wolf pack in the Calanda mountain range, near the city of Chur.

The pack is the first to have been spotted in Switzerland since wolves returned to the country in the mid-1990s.

Only the authorities are permitted to cull rogue wolves.

The dead animal is the second to have been killed illegally since the revival of the Swiss wolf population, which experts count at around 20 individuals.

As in other European countries which have seen a wolf revival, the animal’s presence in Switzerland has sparked bitter debate between its supporters and farmers who have lost livestock.