The European Commission wants to significantly reduce the protection of the wolf. The Commission announced this on Wednesday a statement. By protecting wolves less strictly, they can be chased away or shot more quickly. Chairman Ursula von der Leyen says that the committee is sensitive to the complaints from farmers and local administrators, among others, that the wolf has become “a real danger”.
The wolf is a strictly protected species in Europe. This means that you are not allowed to kill or even disturb wolves. Von der Leyen asks the EU member states to amend the Bern Convention, an animal protection treaty from the 1970s, so that the wolf no longer falls among the ‘strictly protected’ but ‘protected’ species. After this, the EU can adjust its own rules. If an animal species is ‘protected’, hunting may be permitted. Hunting of a protected species must be carefully regulated by the Member States, because they are still obliged to ensure that a population does not become extinct.
Since the wolf returned to the Netherlands and other European regions, there has been fierce debate about how our country should deal with the animal. Farmers complain that their livestock are no longer safe, while conservationists are happy with the predator’s return.
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