The EU wants to move from “strict protection” to “simple protection”, which would make it easier to eliminate wolves when they are considered too numerous in certain regions, with hunting quotas. Supported by France and Germany, the proposal received a qualified majority in Brussels at a meeting between the permanent representatives to the Union (Coreper).
” Necessary “. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, a member of the Green party, has overcome her reservations. “The wolf population has grown so much in recent years that this decision” is “necessary for breeders,” she said. However, this is only a step: the proposal still needs to be approved at a meeting of the Bern Convention on wildlife conservation in early December, before a possible change in European legislation.
Although it had been almost eradicated in the 19th century, the wolf population is increasing within the Union, with around 20,300 individuals in 2023, in 23 countries. This recovery is not without its problems, mainly because of attacks on livestock, giving rise to sometimes heated positions between supporters and opponents of the carnivore.
“Real danger.” In the fall of 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who herself lost her old pony to a wolf on her family’s property in northern Germany, advocated lowering the level of protection for the animal. “The concentration of wolf packs in certain European regions has become a real danger for livestock and, potentially, for humans,” the German leader declared, drawing the wrath of NGOs. In neighboring Austria, where the wolf has gradually made a comeback since 2009, the subject invaded the tabloids and social networks this summer, with calls from breeders for “massive regulation” of wolves, much to the dismay of environmentalists.
Environmental groups have repeatedly called for the current status to be maintained. Relaxing the rules is a “politically motivated proposal that is not based on science at all,” says Sabien Leemans, who is responsible for biodiversity at the NGO WWF, adding: “The main difference is that it would allow wolf populations to be hunted.”
« Cohabitation ». Environmentalists are calling for “already existing cohabitation solutions,” such as protecting herds with dogs, fences, or setting up volunteers for night surveillance. Shooting should only be used as a “last resort” if scaring them away has failed, they say.
In the European Parliament, the right, on the other hand, applauded the new European position, a “first victory for farmers”, even a “sign of reconnection of the elites”, according to MEP Céline Imart (LR/PPE). Copa-Cogeca, the organization of the majority agricultural unions, also welcomed “a major step forward” and the European Federation of Hunters (Face) a “victory”.
Under the EU Habitats Directive of 1992, most wolf populations in Europe currently benefit from “strict protection”, with possible exceptions. Wolves can be killed to protect livestock, under very specific conditions. In France, where 1,003 wolves were counted in 2023, around 20% are killed each year and the authorities have planned to simplify shooting procedures. In 2022, compensation for damage caused by wolves amounted to four million euros in the country – significantly less than the 65 million euros in compensation for damage caused by wild boar and deer.
Adrien DE CALAN
© Agence France-Presse
