Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission proposed to make it more convenient to hunt wolves in Europe, noting their increasing number and the threat they bring to livestock as reasons for demoting the animals’ protection status.
As a result of the proposal, EU law would be amended to reflect a change which came into effect under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats – surrounding Europe and some African nations – to reduce wolves’ status to “protected” from “strictly protected”.
“In some European regions, wolf packs have become a real danger, especially for livestock,”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, which expressed the change would help local authorities to control wolf populations while shielding farming and biodiversity.
As reported, campaigners and some European Union lawmakers have blamed von der Leyen, whose pony was killed by wolves in 2022, on personal reasons for targeting wolves.
Does personal bias drive Von der Leyen’s wolf policy?
“EU conservation policies are now being shaped by Ursula von der Leyen’s personal pony drama. But lowering wolf protection is mere symbolic politics. Farmers need real solutions,”
Stated German Green lawmaker Jutta Paulus, who cautioned fewer wolves could lead to more wild game driving impairment in forests.
Questioned whether von der Leyen’s personal understanding had motivated the European Union decision, a Commission spokesperson stated the proposal was based on reasoning including that wolf populations are growing in the EU, with approximately 20,300 animals present in 2023.
Under the Bern Convention, wolves have been protected from being intentionally hunted or captured unless they pose a grave threat to livestock or health.
According to their new status, wolves can be hunted. However, countries must still take measures to prevent the animals becoming endangered, for instance, as by limiting hunting seasons. The European Union had resisted a previous proposal by Switzerland in 2022 to downgrade wolves’ protected standing under the Bern Convention.
Wolves kill an estimated 65,500 livestock each year in the European Union, the European Commission’s analysis discovered.
According to reports, wolves can also assist in preventing wild populations of large mammals like deer. There are nine wolf populations in Europe, three of which have a “vulnerable” conservation status.
