“This is no longer possible!” “Something has to happen!” “The Hague, intervene!” The call to do something about the attacks of wolves on cattle in the Netherlands becomes louder for every incident. Especially now that the number of attacks has been increasing in recent weeks and the number of animals that life leaves due to most likely wolves is growing explosively.
The wolf was strictly protected, under the Bern Treaty. This is signed by the countries that are affiliated with the Council of Europe and by the European Union, Monaco and a number of African countries.
However, those countries have decided to adjust the status from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’. This offers more opportunities to solve problem situations.
The change in Bern’s Convention will start on Friday. But even now, action cannot just be taken against the wolf. Legislation and regulations must be adjusted at European and national level and that is not ready from today to tomorrow. What still needs to be done?
As soon as the protection status of the wolf has changed, Europe is up to the move. The European Commission must come up with a proposal for adjusting the Habitats Directive. That is a series of rules in which it is determined which plant and animal species and which nature should be protected.
The bill must then be adopted by the European Parliament and by the European Council of Government Leaders. In Brussels, lawyers and politicians are currently looking at the best approach for the change in the law. If white smoke comes from Brussels, it is the turn of the Member States themselves. The regulations can be adjusted in the Netherlands no before that.
The Netherlands must adhere to the Habitats Directive, so the adjustments that Brussels makes therein also apply to our country. But that still has to be black and white. Civil servants in The Hague are already preparing.
It is not clear at the moment how far Brussels is with the plans for adjusting the Habitats Directive. According to a spokesperson for the representation of the European Commission in the Netherlands, it is difficult to link a time path to this.
A completely new bill generally needs at least one to one and a half years of design until the law starts. If a smaller part of a law has to be changed, it could be a bit faster, but that depends on which procedure is chosen and the political circumstances. In a general sense, it is about months rather than weeks. But whether that also applies to the change in the status of the wolf cannot yet be said, says the spokesperson.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) says that work is already being done to adjust Dutch regulations, so that it is ready when Europe is out. This is done with a general administrative order. The measure is being prepared for the ministry. He is then discussed in the ministry and gives the Council of State advice on it. In the end, a signature of the minister and the king follows and the case is settled.
Normally, the Second and the Senate are skipped by such a general administrative order, but there is a chance that in this case both rooms will be looked at.
For the time being it remains unclear when to take action if a wolf causes nuisance and damage. That mainly depends on the speed of the Brussels official mill.
But it is already clear that even after adjusting the Habitats Directive De Wolf is still a protected animal species and that conditions remain before it can be tackled.