The states that signed the Berne Convention have reduced the wolf’s protection status from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’. This makes hunting wolves in the EU easier. Animal rights activists are critical of this move.
The press department of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg announced the decision on Tuesday. The proposal to lower the protection status came from the EU, which may now reduce wolf protection in the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive) in the next step.
Switzerland has wanted a lower protection status for a long time
Which countries voted and how was not disclosed. In any case, the European Commission, speaking on behalf of the 27 EU member states in Strasbourg, probably voted in favor of the proposal. The same applies to Switzerland, which had already campaigned for a reduction in wolf protection in 2022, but failed, partly because of the EU’s no vote.
After today’s decision, it will take three months before the protection status under the Bern Convention is downgraded. By then, a third of signatory states could theoretically veto – but this is unlikely, as today’s decision required a two-thirds majority.
The wolf population must not be endangered
A reduced protection status would give EU states more flexibility to allow hunting of wolves without completely lifting protection – the state of the wolf population should not be endangered, according to a press release from the Council of Europe, in the framework within which the Berne Convention was concluded.
WWF sees ‘completely wrong signal’
Animal rights activists are critical of this move: the WWF warns that this is not scientifically substantiated. The organization speaks of a “completely wrong signal”. “Governing politicians refuse to do their homework and instead launch a populist attack on species protection. “A well-planned herd protection offensive would actually be necessary,” says species conservation expert Christian Pichler. The NGO fears that this will weaken the entire FFH directive.
“As native wildlife and predators, wolves make a natural contribution to biodiversity,” Pichler explains. “They prevent the spread of disease and ideally also strengthen important protective forests because they can reduce excessive wild populations.”
Source: Krone
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