The European Union has approved the lowering of protection for wolves, with the government of Pedro Sanchezfrom “strictly protected” to “only protected”, in accordance with the proposal of the European Commission. Brussels is thus adapting the current legislation to the demands of the livestock sector throughout the territory, which requires greater protection against attacks that this canine carries out on farms.
Brussels maintains that its proposal “is based on an in-depth analysis” of the current situation and the data obtained, as well as reports that show “increasing conflicts” of the wolf with “human activities”. “This reality that has changed on the ground justifies the proposal,” the spokesperson argued.
The Minister of Environment, Housing and Spatial Planning of the Government of Castilla y León spoke about this news, Juan Carlos Suarez-Quiñoneswhich celebrated that 21 countries of the European Union have decided to launch a mechanism to modify the Bern Convention. “This is a very relevant step to finally guarantee that the wolf has clear protection in the regulations, but this does not prevent it from being a protection that allows its population to coexist with the extensive livestock that is ending livestock in Castile and León,” he said at a press conference held this Wednesday.
Similarly, the advisor denounced the position of the Government of Pedro Sánchez who was the only one, along with Ireland, to vote against this legal change. “It is an abandonment of livestock farming and the rural environment of Spain and of course of Castilla y León. He has positioned himself against livestock farming, against rural areas. So it is a great day for livestock farming and for Castilla y León and, of course, one more day of sadness and shock at the position of a Spanish government that certainly does not understand the rural environment, does not defend our livestock farming and opposes the interests of Castilla y León,” he stressed.
For his part, the spokesperson of the European Commission said that the adaptation of the protection status “will be an important step in addressing the challenges posed by increasing wolf populations while maintaining the overall objective of achieving and maintaining a favorable conservation status for the species,” he celebrated at a press conference.
Once this official vote has been taken at ministerial level, Brussels will present this initiative to the Standing Committee of the Berne Conventionthe international forum in which the reduction of the wolf’s protection status would eventually be decided on condition that the necessary majority is obtained at a meeting scheduled for the first days of December, as explained by the Community authorities.
