The process initiated to lower the level of protection for wolves within the European Union (EU) reached a decisive stage on Wednesday 25 September. Meeting in Brussels, the permanent representatives of the Member States voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to lower the level of protection for wolves within the European Union (EU). canine lupus a species “protected”and no longer “strictly protected”, which will make it easier to shoot these predators.
This vote is a victory for breeders’ representatives and for a number of States in favour of this revision, including France. The main European organisation of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, COPA-Cogeca, welcomed on Wednesday the vote. “a major step forward in the management of wolf populations”Nature protection associations, which have been mobilised against this initiative for months, are denouncing the exact opposite. “a scandalous decision and a shameful day for the EU”.
“This vote undermines decades of efforts and represents a significant setback for what has been hailed as one of the EU’s most remarkable wildlife conservation successes: the return of the wolf after near extinction.writes a coalition of organizations in a press release.
The proposed change in status is expected to be formally adopted by the EU Council on Thursday, in time for the European Commission to submit it to the standing committee of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife, which meets in early December. This treaty, signed in 1979, includes four annexes listing the degree of protection of animal and plant species: its revision, to move the wolf from annex 2 (strictly protected) to annex 3 (protected), should be approved without difficulty. The European directive on “Habitats” would then have to be amended, which would be the first time since its adoption thirty years ago.
“Unjustified reasons”
This anti-wolf initiative was launched at the end of 2023 by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, a member of the European People’s Party, in a context of heated political battle around agricultural and environmental issues. For its promoters, this relaxation of protection is justified by the increase in the number of wolves on the continent, which has risen from about 11,200 to 20,300 in a decade, and by the weight of predation on the agricultural sectors. The concentration of wolf packs in certain regions of Europe has become a real danger, especially for livestock. declared at time Mme Von der Leyen.
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