Protection for wolves decreases in most of Europe March 9, 2025

Wolves in most of Europe are less protected as of today (THOMAS KIENZLE)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Protection for wolves decreases in most of Europe

Wolves became less protected in most of Europe on Friday as new conservation rules came into force, except in three countries that opposed the measure, including the United Kingdom, the Council of Europe said.

The measure allows hunting to resume under strict regulations, which activists fear could result in large numbers of wolves being shot dead.

Activists have said the measure will undermine the species' recovery over the past 10 years from near extinction a century ago, but farmers say the growing number of wolves is a threat to their herds.

Members of the Bern Convention, in charge of wildlife protection in Europe and some African countries, agreed in December to reduce the wolf's protection status from “strictly protected” to “protected”.

The decision “was scheduled to enter into force three months later, unless there was an objection from at least a third of the parties to the convention,” said the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.

Of the 50 parties to the convention - an international treaty of the Council of Europe - at least 17 would have had to object.

Instead, “three parties submitted formal objections: the Czech Republic, Monaco, and the United Kingdom. As a result, the decision to modify the wolf's protected status does not apply to these three parties,” he said.

The new “protection” status “requires regulating the exploitation of the species to avoid endangerment, implementing measures such as closed seasons and regulating the sale, keeping, transportation and, offering for sale of live and dead animals,” said the Council of Europe.

- Revision of EU rules - The gray wolf has been virtually exterminated.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe 100 years ago, but their numbers have almost doubled to the current population of 20,300, mainly in the Balkans, Nordic countries, Italy and Spain.

The parties to the convention include 45 members of the Council of Europe, four African nations - Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia - and the European Union.

The European Union has been the driving force behind the push to reduce the protected status, arguing that the increase in the number of animals has led to more frequent contact with humans and farm animals.

On Friday, the European Commission immediately took steps to revise related EU rules to reflect the change in status.

“In some European regions, wolf packs have become a real danger, especially to livestock,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Reducing protection “will help local authorities to actively manage wolf populations, protecting biodiversity and our rural livelihoods,” she added.

In late 2022, von der Leyen lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf that sneaked into her enclosure on her family's country estate in northern Germany - leading some to suggest that the matter had become personal.

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