“Some have spoken to me”
Blacknose sheep breeders are hoping for a Baume-Schneider effect
Elisabeth Baume-Schneider brought Switzerland to sheep. The Valais black-nosed sheep breeders are happy – they want the new federal councilor to give them maximum political support.
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Elisabeth Baume-Schneider keeps blacknose sheep at home in Les Breuleux.
Leah HartmannEditor Politics
With the photo, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) won the hearts of farmers in Parliament. It shows the newly elected Federal Councilor, who was still a candidate at the time, on the pasture behind her house – with her black-nosed sheep next to her.
The picture that Blick published ten days before the election not only made the Councilor from Jura known, about whom many hardly knew anything. The black-nose sheep are also experiencing a boost in awareness thanks to the Federal Councilor. This went so far that on the day before the election, a report about the Valais sheep breed appeared in several newspapers.
“Of course that’s very nice!”
The black-nosed sheep breeders are happy about the sudden interest in the fluffy animals, of which there are around 11,000 in Switzerland. “Of course that’s very nice,” says Rolf Kalbermatten (55) from Törbel VS, President of the Upper Valais Black Nose Sheep Breeding Association.
“In the past few weeks, a number of people have approached me about Baume-Schneider and their sheep,” he says. The president of the association is hoping for a Baume-Schneider effect: “I would be happy if more people devoted themselves to the Upper Valais breed.”
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He would also like political support from the now most famous black-nose sheep owner in Switzerland. “We have enormous problems with large carnivores, despite extensive herd protection measures,” says Kalbermatten. In recent years, a lot of effort has been put into this – “but the success has been modest”. However, it seems unlikely that the left Baume-Schneider will campaign for the relaxation of the protection regulations for lynx, wolves and bears.