Hunters kill two young wolves

Two young wolves have been shot in eastern Switzerland after canton Graubünden allowed some wolf hunting in an effort to control wolf numbers.

At the beginning of October, the canton permitted the killing of four young wolves following attacks on farm animals in the region.

This followed at least 15 attacks on goats, which were protected by an electric fence. This meant that the wolfpack’s behaviour was classified by the canton as “problematic”.

Gamekeepers killed the two young wolves at the weekend, the canton said in a statement on Thursday. The bodies are being examined at the University of Bern’s Animal Clinic and will later be brought to the University of Lausanne for genetic identification.

In September parliament made it easier to hunt wolves, bears and ibex, giving cantons more freedom to decide when an animal should be culled after consulting the Federal Office for the Environment