Wolf protection downgrade set for green light in EU
EU lawmakers are set on Thursday to give the green light to downgrading wolf protections in the bloc, in line with a landmark change to conservation rules late last year.
Members of the Bern Convention, tasked with the protection of wildlife in Europe as well as some African countries, agreed in December to lower the wolf's status from "strictly protected" to "protected".
The downgrade came into force in March, and the European Commission moved immediately to revise related EU laws to reflect the change, which allows hunting to resume under strict criteria.
Barring a last-minute upset, EU lawmakers will give their approval on Thursday to the rule change, backed by the conservative, centrist and socialist groups in the European Parliament.
The European Union -- as a party to the Bern Convention -- was the driving force behind the push to lower protections, arguing that the increase in wolf numbers has led to more frequent contact with humans and livestock.
But activists fear the measure would upset the recovery made by the species over the past 10 years after it faced near extinction a century ago.
Echoing their concerns, green and left-wing parties were expected to vote against a change they denounce as politically motivated and lacking scientific basis.
"Downgrading wolf protection... panders to fear, not facts," warned Sebastian Everding of the Left group in parliament, saying the move "ignores effective coexistence tools".
Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe 100 years ago, but their numbers have surged to a current population of 20,300, mostly in the Balkans, Nordic countries, Italy and Spain.
- No 'licence to kill' -
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has made the case that "wolf packs have become a real danger especially for livestock" in some parts of Europe.
Lowering protections "will help local authorities to actively manage wolf populations while protecting both biodiversity and our rural livelihoods", she said when the convention change took effect.
In late 2022, von der Leyen lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf that crept into its enclosure on her family's rural property in northern Germany -- leading some to suggest the matter had become personal.
In practice, the EU rule change would make it easier to hunt wolves in rural and mountainous regions where their proximity to livestock and sheepdogs is deemed too threatening.
Von der Leyen's European People's Party (EPP), which has spearheaded the change, has stressed that member states will remain in charge of wolf management on their soil -- but with more flexibility than before.
To date, there have been no human casualties linked to rising wolf populations -- but some lawmakers backing the change warn that it may only be a question of time.
Spain's Esther Herranz Garcia, a member of the conservative EPP, cited figures showing that wolves attacked more than 60,000 farm animals in the bloc every year.
"The people who feed our country cannot be expected to work with this fear hanging over them," said France's Valerie Deloge, a livestock farmer and lawmaker with the hard-right Patriots group, where the rule change has also found support.
Socialist and centrist lawmakers -- while agreeing to back the changes under a fast-track procedure -- have struck a more measured tone.
"This is not a licence to kill," Pascal Canfin, a French lawmaker with the centrist Renew group, told AFP. "We are providing more leeway for local exemptions -- wolves remain a protected species."
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27 minutes ago
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National Geographic
35 minutes ago
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But over the past 15 years, Sow's work alongside the government has helped communities drill dozens of new wells, build better schools and health facilities, and secure bank loans for buying animals. Last November, in the days before an important parliamentary election, one of the leading candidates visited with an entourage that included security guards, tom-tom drummers, and a couple of traditional praise singers called griots, who opened the discussion by offering an oral history about Sow herself. 'Families once wished for a boy first,' one proclaimed melodically. 'But Awa, firstborn, is a great source of pride. Awa changed everything. She showed us that one woman can do what a thousand men cannot.' On election day, Awa glided into the courtyard at a nearby secondary school to cast her vote. 'Before, women didn't even come vote. It didn't interest them,' she says. 'But when you look at the lines today, things have changed.' More than half the people at the polls were women, which Awa considers her greatest accomplishment. A version of this story appears in the July 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine. A policy expert on Africa's Sahel region, Hannah Rae Armstrong traveled from her home in Dakar to Senegal's Ferlo reserve to profile Awa Sow, who leads a transformative women's herding association. She also writes for Foreign Affairs, MIT Technology Review, and Le Monde. An Explorer since 2019 and Barcelona-based photographer, Robin Hammond documented the traditions and challenges of nomadic Fulani people in communities across Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, and elsewhere. The nonprofit National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, funded Explorer Robin Hammond's work. Learn more about the Society's support of Explorers.
Yahoo
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