The European Parliament gave the green light on Thursday to the downgrading of the wolf's protection status from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected,’ a move criticised by biodiversity conservationists.
In practical terms, it will be easier to shoot and kill wolves in rural and mountainous areas where the animal's proximity to livestock and herding dogs is deemed too threatening.
MEPs decided by 371 votes to 162 (37 abstentions) to modify the status of the wolf in the EU Habitats Directive. All that remains is for Member States to formally approve the change. They will then have 18 months to implement it.
The change in status does not mean that there will be an obligation to reduce the number of wolves. Member States may also choose to preserve the wolf's current status as a strictly protected species in their national legislation.
With this adjustment, the EU is bringing its legislation into line with the new status of the wolf in the Bern Convention, a 1979 Council of Europe treaty defining the protection of wild animal and plant species. The European Union itself had called for the relaxation.
Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont (Ecolo) denounced the status change as a result of the conservative right's attacks on environmental legislation.‘The downgrading of the wolf is a deeply worrying decision, since it is based on political considerations rather than sound science," she said.
MEP Benoît Cassart (Mouvement Réformateur) welcomed the decision as a "common sense choice." ‘We are committed to biodiversity, but the management measures will make it possible to preserve livestock farming in a spirit of coexistence," he said.
