The European Commission has proposed a significant change regarding the protection of wolves in Europe, as announced on Friday. The new proposal will modify the status of wolves in the habitat directive from “strictly protected” to “protected,” potentially allowing for the culling of these animals.
This adjustment aims to enable EU countries to manage wolf populations, although they will still need to take into account the size of these populations.
Additionally, a modification to the Bern Convention, which the European Commission has advocated for, was enacted on the same day. The Bern Convention is an international treaty managed by the Council of Europe, headquartered in Strasbourg.
The EC’s proposal requires approval from both the European Parliament and the member states within the EU Council before it can take effect.
This initiative to amend the Bern Convention was first proposed in December 2023, and it has been suggested that the motivation behind it may stem from a personal incident involving EC President Ursula von der Leyen, whose pony Dolly was killed by a wolf on her farm in Germany.
Ratified by 51 parties—including countries within the Council of Europe, four African nations, Belarus, and the EU itself—the Bern Convention aims to protect wild European flora and fauna and their habitats. Poland became a signatory in 1995.
The European Commission reports that the wolf population in EU member states has grown significantly over the last two decades, with estimates indicating over 20,000 wolves across 23 countries. Italy (approximately 3,000), Romania (around 2,500-3,000), Bulgaria (about 2,700), and Poland (nearly 1,900) are cited as having the highest populations as of 2021.
However, ecologists caution that the wolf population in Europe has not fully recovered and assert that the EC’s proposal is based on unverified information. In December 2023, 300 NGOs rallied against the easing of protections for wolves. (07.03.2025)
Leave a Reply