The status of the wolf was this Tuesday at the heart of the debates at the Berne Convention which met in Strasbourg. In a few hours, it lost some of its protected species status. The 49 member states of the convention have in fact approved a proposal to this effect from the European Union, which thus seeks to “ better protect livestock in a context of increasing wolf population”indicated the Council of Europe in a press release. A modification which will come into force in three months, “unless at least one third of the parties to the Berne Convention (17) object”.
Under pressure from breeders?
The wolf, which was exterminated at the beginning of the 20th century in several countries, including France, has in fact made a comeback in recent years, arousing the anger of breeders denouncing attacks on herds.
In its proposal, the European Union, which claims to be based on “an in-depth analysis of the status of the carnivore on its territory”, reports a growing population, reaching 20,300 individuals in 2023, mostly in the Balkans, the Nordic countries, Italy and Spain.
Fear of a generalization of shootings in France
The change in status which has just been recorded has given rise to associations in France which fear a generalization of wolf shootings and denounce a “political choice to satisfy breeders”.
“The result is that the wolf clearly becomes a huntable species, alerts Denis Doublet, the wolf representative of the Ferus association. Until now, in France, wolves can be killed under very specific conditions to protect herds. These are exceptional shots with a ceiling set at 19% of the total population. Which is already important. In 2024, 201 wolves out of the 209 authorized have already been killed… This declassification could now make it possible to generalize the possibility of shooting and therefore killing more wolves.”
“Other ways to protect herds”
However, there are other effective ways to protect yourself from a wolf attack, argues the Ferus association: “I’m thinking of protection measures around herds but also of scare measures by human presence, by dogs dedicated to this and by non-lethal shots. In fact, breeders have lost the habit of being close of their animals and scaring dogs, like patous, are almost absent.
As for non-lethal shots, they are, according to him, almost not used: “A wolf frightened by a blank shot will nevertheless convey the warning message to the pack more clearly than a dead wolf… States would therefore have every interest in supporting breeders in this sense rather than lowering the status of the wolf And then, a pack socially disrupted by the death of a wolf forces the youngest to hunt on their own and therefore to behave in ways that would not be usual towards the herds. Shooting is therefore sometimes counterproductive. ” adds the Ferus association.
The other fear put forward by the associations is, in the long term, the weakening and decline of the species. “And it’s a very bad sign for biodiversity in general. And the door opens for other protected species like the bear,” notes Denis Doublet of the Ferus association who recalls that the wolf, which had completely disappeared from France a century ago, has returned “ naturally in the early 1990s.
How many wolves in France
In France, the estimate for the number of wolves in 2023 is 1,003 individuals and would be down 9% over one year. During a visit to the Livestock Summit at the beginning of October, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier estimated that the new official assessment of the number of wolves in France, expected by the end of 2024, could represent potential “key moment” to increase, or not, slaughters.
This Tuesday, the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher underlined in a statement sent to AFP that “the wolf remains a protected species (…) And any destruction will remain very regulated as today”she continued, believing that “this development will, however, facilitate the management of the species.”
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