Thanks to the mild, sunny weather, a large crowd turned out for the protest. Organised by the Groupe Territoire et Alpages (Land and Alpine Pastures Group), made up of a number of associations in the sector and an umbrella group of veterinary services, the protest was intended to draw attention to the difficult situation of Ticinese alpine pastures.

According to the organisers, the pastures are not sufficiently protected by the cantonal authorities. According to recent estimates, 74% of sheep pastures and 79% of goat pastures are not protected at night.

This content was published on Nov 9, 2023 While farmers were relieved by the Federal Council decision on preventive culling, the announcement also met with criticism. Join the discussion.

The year 2025 was a difficult one for sheep and goat farmers, many of whom live at high altitudes and are faced with ever-increasing wolf predation on their land. This situation has led to the evacuation of certain mountain pastures that“will probably never be used again”, said the organisers.

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In their view, the proliferation of wolves in Ticino is being encouraged by ineffective management on the part of the authorities, and legislative reforms are urgently needed. A popular petition addressed to the Swiss government was launched on October 2.

Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, 11 privately-owned fallow deer were found dead in their enclosure in Bironico at the foot of Monte Ceneri. According to the local press, the fatal wounds were caused by“one or more canids”, but we will have to wait for the results of the autopsy to find out if the attack was indeed caused by a wolf.

Translated from French with DeepL/gw