EU states back plan to downgrade wolf protection status

BRUSSELS

EU member states on Wednesday voted in favor of lowering the protection status of wolves, in a move decried by conservationists that paves the way for a relaxation of strict hunting rules.

Representatives for the bloc's 27 countries backed a proposal to push for changes to an international wildlife convention that would see the species downgraded from "strictly protected" to "protected."

The European Commission, which initially put forward the plan, welcomed its approval by a qualified majority of member states during a meeting in Brussels.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe a century ago but, thanks to conservation efforts, numbers have rebounded, triggering howls of protest from farmers angered at livestock losses.

"Adapting the protection status will be an important step to address the challenges posed by increasing wolf population while keeping the overall objective to achieve and maintain a favorable conservation status for the species," commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz told reporters.

In 2023, there were breeding packs of grey wolves in 23 European Union countries, with a total population estimated at around 20,300 animals, bringing the elusive creatures into more frequent contact with humans.

In announcing plans to revise the species' status last year, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the "concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger especially for livestock."

Last year, von der Leyen herself 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.