The executive body of the European Union has proposed to member states to change the classification of the wolf from a “strictly protected” species to a “protected” species under the Berne Convention. Which, in concrete terms, could authorize its hunting.
The European Commission proposed on Wednesday December 20 to modify the classification of the wolf, which would pass, if the Member States of the European Union (EU) give their agreement, of species “strictly protected” (as it is today) to “protected” species. This downgrading would create a “unprecedented and dangerous precedent” at the Berne convention, according to a joint press release from six environmental defense associations published Thursday, December 21.
The Berne Convention aims to ensure the conservation of European wild flora and fauna. It has four annexes which list the species according to their degree of protection. Today, since Canis Lupus appears in Annex II as“strictly protected species of fauna”the signatory countries of the text have undertaken to take measures to prohibit its intentional capture, detention or killing, as well as the destruction of its breeding areas, or even its internal trade, alive or dead.
If Annex II prohibits any exploitation (understand hunting) of the species mentioned therein, Annex III, relating to “protected wildlife species”, regulates it. The Berne Convention, for example, asks signatories to establish hunting periods and ensure that populations remain locally at a satisfactory conservation level.
Concretely, if Canis Lupus change of legal protection status and joins the classification of “protected” species, EU member states will be able to authorize its hunting. Currently, lethal shooting of wolves can only be carried out as an exception.
In a press release published on Wednesday December 20, the Commission motivated this change by the date of negotiation of the Berne Convention, 1979. The classification of the wolf as a “strictly protected species” had then been established. “based on available scientific data. At the time, the species was beginning to recover in Europe after being close to extinction. Forty-four years later, a new “in-depth analysis of the status of wolves in the EU”, published (in English) the same day as its press release, would explain a revision of this classification.
According to the data from this study, simply named The situation of wolves in the EU, the presence of wolves was documented in 2023 in virtually all EU countries, with the exception of three islands (Ireland, Cyprus and Malta). Breeding packs are believed to be spread across 23 countries. The total wolf population in the EU has been estimated at around 20,300; it was 11,200 in 2012.
It is “this evolution of the reality on the ground” which, according to the European Commission, justifies the change in class of the wolf. She “would allow to benefit from greater management flexibility, while maintaining the overall legal objective of achieving and maintaining a favorable conservation status for the species.”
“The proposal to downgrade the protection status of the wolf is not based on any scientific basis and is purely political logic, even against public opinion”, estimate the environmental defense associations ASPS, FERUS, FNE, Humanity and Biodiversity, LPO and WWF France in their joint press release. The organizations recall the results of an opinion survey carried out among 10,000 inhabitants of rural areas of ten European countries where more than two thirds believe that wolves should be strictly protected.
The biggest attacks in Spain, France and Italy
Quoted in the press release from her institution, the President of the European Commission Ursula Van der Leyen welcomed “the good news” what does the return of wolves represent in Europe while being alarmed about the “real danger, particularly for livestock”, from “the concentration of wolf packs in certain regions of Europe”. She explains that her proposal to change the classification of the wolf comes from a request for “more flexibility” from the “local authorities”. “The European level should make things easier and the process initiated today by the Commission constitutes an important step.”
Still according to the study The situation of wolves in the EU, wolves kill 65,500 livestock each year, three-quarters of which are sheep (sheep) and caprines (goats). These figures are put into perspective with the total sheep population in the EU, which is around 60 million: “The level of sheep depredation by wolves represents an annual slaughter rate of 0.065%”.
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“On a large scale, the overall impact of wolves on livestock in the EU is very low, but at a local level the pressure on rural communities can be high”continues the study, which highlights that the bulk of the attacks take place in Spain, France and Italy, with 10,000 to 14,000 animals killed per year in each country.
In Burgundy-Franche-Comté in 2023, according to the latest figures available of thea Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (Dreal) which date from August 31, 146 wolf attacks were recorded. Most occurred in Saône-et-Loire (96). In Franche-Comté, there are seven in Doubs, six in Jura, one in Territoire-de-Belfort and none in Haute-Saône.
“Contrary to what is implied in the announcement by the President of the European Commission, the weakening of the protection status of the species will not create the conditions for sustainable coexistence with the species,” affirm the environmental defense associations, and “will not resolve the difficulties facing the livestock world and which far exceed the impact of the presence of wolves”. The organizations would like to recall the success of herd protection measures “based on the trilogy shepherds, guard dogs and fences”.
But not everyone involved is of the same opinion. For Florent Dornier, breeder from Ville-du-Pont (Doubs) and president of the local Departmental Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FDSEA), “it seems clear that today, these protective measures no longer work“. “We currently have a problem with the wolf population, which is exploding. The European Union has become aware that wolves are no longer on the verge of extinction, and that their numbers are becoming dangerous for farmers and their farms. It’s a necessary rebalancing.”
We should be able to eliminate a few wolves in advance, before the mountain pasture period, and not just in reaction. Parks, fences… It doesn’t work. On 80% of the sheep flocks attacked, protective measures were put in place. They have their limits.
Florent Dornier,president of the FDSEA of Doubs
According to the study The situation of wolves in the EU, “the best way to reduce livestock losses due to wolf attacks is to apply effective and appropriate measures to prevent wolf depredation”. The European Commission also reminds that local and national authorities can call on European funding to invest in prevention and compensation measures.
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If the Commission’s proposal is accepted by the Member States, it will be submitted tou permanent committee of the Berne convention. It is only with its approval that the Commission will be able to propose an adaptation of the protection status of the wolf within the EU.