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Wildlife Commission Lowers European Wolf Protections

The 49 member states of the Bern Convention charged with the protection of wildlife in Europe and some African countries agreed to lower the wolf's protection status from "strictly protected" to "protected".


(FILES) European gray wolves are pictured on June 18, 2015 in the semi-wildlife animal park of Les Angles, southwestern France. (Photo by RAYMOND ROIG / AFP)

European countries on Tuesday approved downgrading the protection status of the wolf, a move activists say will upset the recovery made by the species over the past 10 years after near extinction a century ago.

The 49 member states of the Bern Convention charged with the protection of wildlife in Europe and some African countries agreed to lower the wolf’s protection status from “strictly protected” to “protected”, the Council of Europe said.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe 100 years ago but their numbers have practically doubled to the current population of 20,300, triggering howls of protest from farmers angered at livestock losses.

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Demoting wolves to a “protected” species would allow hunting to resume under strict regulation, a move activists fear could result in a large number of the species being shot dead.

“We need a balanced approach between the preservation of wildlife and the protection of our livelihoods,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who has strongly backed the lowering of the protection.

The Bern Convention is an international treaty of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe in nature conservation which came into force in 1982.

The European Union, which is entirely separate from the Council of Europe, is a party to the convention.

‘No positive consequence’

The move cames after the EU backed a plan in September to lower the protection status of wolves as the species’ growing population brings the creatures into more frequent contact with humans.

According to Brussels, the carnivore’s “coexistence with human activities” is causing damage to livestock at “significant levels”.

In late 2022, von der Leyen herself lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf that crept into its enclosure on her family’s rural property in northern Germany — leading some to suggest the matter had become personal.

Animal rights activists say the move puts at risk the wolf population, which at one point disappeared entirely from France.

“The risk of downgrading this status is to weaken or even cause the decline of this species in Europe,” said Yann Laurans of WWF France.

And while many French farmers have complained of attacks on their livestock, some say the culling the wolf population will not reduce the number of herd killings.

Downgrading the wolf’s protection status will have “no positive consequence for livestock farmers in France or Europe,” said Jean-Luc Valerie, co-founder of a French wolf observatory.

The change will be implemented on March 7, 2025, said the commission, unless at least a third of its members object.

AFP