The process initiated to lower the level of protection for the wolf within the European Union (EU) reached a decisive stage on Wednesday 25 September. Meeting in Brussels, the permanent representatives of the Member States spoke out in favour of the European Commission's proposal to lower the level of protection for the wolf within the European Union (EU). canis lupus a species “protected”and no more “strictly protected”, which will make it easier to shoot these predators.
This vote is a victory for the representatives of the breeders and for a certain number of States in favour of this revision, including France. The main European organisation of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, COPA-Cogeca, welcomed on Wednesday, “a big step forward in the management of wolf populations”Nature protection associations, which have been mobilizing for months against this initiative, are instead denouncing “A scandalous decision and a shameful day for the EU”.
“This vote undermines decades of efforts and represents a major setback for what has been hailed as one of the EU's most remarkable wildlife conservation successes: the return of the wolf from near extinction.”wrote a coalition of organizations in a statement.
The proposed change of status is expected to be formally adopted at 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 Wild Animals, which is due to meet in early December. The treaty, signed in 1979, has four annexes listing the degree of protection for animal and plant species: its revision, to move the wolf from Annex 2 (strictly protected) to Annex 3 (protected), is expected to be approved without difficulty. The European Habitats Directive is then expected to be amended, which would be a first since its adoption thirty years ago.
“Unjustified reasons”
This initiative targeting the wolf 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 fierce political battle over 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 around 11,200 to 20,300 in a decade, and by the weight of predation on agricultural sectors. The concentration of wolf packs in certain regions of Europe has become a real danger, particularly for livestock,” had declared at the time M.me von der Leyen.
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Source: Lemonde
