Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 7, 2025
2 min readLast updated: March 1, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU proposes downgrading wolves' protection status due to population growth and livestock threats, sparking debate and requiring further approval.
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Friday making it easier to hunt wolves in Europe, citing their growing number and the threat they pose to livestock as reasons for downgrading the animals' protection status.
The proposal would fix into European Union law a change which came into effect on Friday under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats - covering Europe and some African countries - to lower wolves' status to "protected" from "strictly protected".
"The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger, especially for livestock," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, which said the change responded to local authorities' requests for more flexibility in managing wolf populations.
Campaigners and some EU lawmakers have accused von der Leyen, whose own pony was killed by a wolf in 2022, of personal motivations for targeting wolves.
"EU conservation policies are now being shaped by Ursula von der Leyen's personal pony drama. But lowering wolf protection is mere symbolic politics. Farmers need real solutions," said German Green lawmaker Jutta Paulus, who warned fewer wolves could lead to more wild game causing damage in forests.
The Commission did not respond to a request for comment on whether von der Leyen's personal experience had motivated the EU proposal.
The proposal must be approved by EU countries and the European Parliament.
Since 1979, the Bern Convention had protected wolves from being deliberately hunted or captured unless they pose a serious threat to livestock or health.
Under their new status, wolves can be hunted, but countries must still take steps to stop the animals becoming endangered, such as by limiting hunting seasons.
The EU had opposed a previous proposal by Switzerland in 2022 to downgrade wolves' protected status under the Bern Convention.
Wolf populations are increasing in the EU, with around 20,300 animals present in 2023, according to Commission analysis. Wolves kill at least 65,500 livestock each year in the EU, the same EU analysis found.
However, wolves can also help control wild populations of large mammals like deer, limiting these animals' ability to damage agriculture or transfer disease to livestock.
Three of the nine wolf populations present in Europe have a "vulnerable" conservation status.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Editing by Louise Heavens)
The European Commission cited the growing number of wolves and the threat they pose to livestock as reasons for the proposal to make it easier to hunt wolves in Europe.
Under the new status, wolves can be hunted, but countries must still take measures to prevent them from becoming endangered, such as limiting hunting seasons.
According to Commission analysis, there are approximately 20,300 wolves present in the EU in 2023.
Wolves kill at least 65,500 livestock each year in the EU, which has raised concerns among farmers about their impact on agriculture.
Three of the nine wolf populations in Europe have a 'vulnerable' conservation status, indicating that they require monitoring and protection.
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