Klewenalp marmots have been shot - animal rights activists are outraged

A new enclosure required too much space and money, but no other place was not found for the seven animals, so they were shot. Animal rights activists are outraged.

Only wild marmots can now be found on the Klewenalp. The seven animals in the enclosure, which has long been a children's attraction, are no longer alive. They apparently liked living here: "The time up here was really nice," claims an information board, on which the ‘Murmeli’ could say "goodbye" this summer.

They had a lot of fun as photo subjects. But the enclosure was too small, and no longer complied with the rules, according to animal rights activists. "We often had a lot of fun down the holes," it says on the board. There will be no “Wiedersehen’ however: last week, the gamekeeper shot the four marmots that were born in July, together with their parents and one of their grandfathers, at the request of the Klewenalp cableways (Klewenalp-Bahnen).

Marion Theus, president of the Swiss Wildlife Conservation Association, is not surprised: "A game warden is a hunter employed by the canton, and there is usually only the option to shoot," she criticizes: "You cannot attract children with the ‘Murmelihege’ and then simply dispose of them when it no longer suits you. "The enclosure is still mentioned on the website as a visitor attraction, says animal rights activist Theus:

And continues: "Nidwalden wanted to do that with the swans as well." That’s just as wrong as piercing their eggs. If you had to, you could swap eggs with gypsum eggs, and let the swans believe that they would hatch. But back to the marmots: "There could have been completely different solutions. At the very least, they could have been released directly into nature so that they would not have to look for a relocation option. "Or a wild animal station could have helped out. The animals could live quite well in the wild and still enjoy the people, says Theus, pointing to the example given by Graubünden. There, the animals were partly fed, which makes them more confident and gets them used to people. That's why she saw a release as a solution.

The ‘Murmeli’ were allowed to say "goodbye" with this poster

Jacqueline Dehmel, President of Nidwalden Animal Welfare Association, said she received an anonymous warning last week that the animals should be shot. But when she went to check at the Klewenbahn mountain station on Friday, the enclosure was already empty. She is also indignant: "With our large network, we could have safely moved the animals elsewhere or organized donations for the necessary renovation," she says. She has received no reply to inquiries from the railway. A letter is apparently on the way, but she hadn’t received by yesterday.

Seven years ago, it was shown on the Stanserhorn that a fundraiser can work. When the rail company wanted to abandon the enclosure for financial reasons due to higher costs for the new Cabriobahn, one of the rangers said the decision was a "punch in the stomach". In only four months, the rangers then collected CHF 130,000 for a new enclosure.

Paul Odermatt, Head of Operations and Technology at the Klewenalp Railway, did not want to comment at first, but then took a stand. He explained that he contacted the Tierpark Goldau, the Marmot Park on the Grimsel and the Stanserhornbahn at the beginning of September. They all told him they couldn’t take the animals this autumn. Even the canton was unable to provide space.