Wolf protection on the brink: EU states want to make hunting easier!

Wolf protection on the brink: EU states want to make hunting easier!

The decision has been made: On December 3, 2024, the states party to the Bern Convention reduced the protection status of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected”. This communication, which came from the Press Office of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, was the result of a proposal from the European Union. While the exact voting details of the countries remain secret, it is likely that the EU Commission and Switzerland, which had already argued for a reduction in 2022, voted in favor of this proposal. Mind you, after today's decision it will take three months for the new status to apply, during which theoretically a third of the signatory states could still veto it, but this is considered unlikely since a two-thirds majority was required for the decision.

A reduced protection status would offer EU states more scope for action in managing the wolf population. In certain cases, hunting of wolves could be permitted without their protection being completely lifted. This is in line with the goals of many countries that are striving for inventory management. In recent years, the wolf population in the European Union, once threatened with extinction, has increased significantly; In Germany alone, around 1,600 wolves were recently counted. The agricultural economy is under increasing pressure as farmers complain of attacks on livestock. The Bern Convention, an international treaty adopted by the Council of Europe in 1979, aims to protect wild animals and plants, which makes this current development all the more important.

As Deutschlandfunk reported, these changes to the guidelines represent a further step that is intended to create a balance between the protection of wolves and the interests of agriculture. If EU laws are adjusted accordingly, this could have far-reaching consequences for future wolf management in Europe.