Strengthen, not undermine, efforts to live with wolves: Civil society groups urge EU

Over 300 civil society groups have called on the European Union (EU) to strengthen, rather than undermine, efforts to live with wolves.

The large coalition of civil society and animal welfare organisations called on EU Member States to reject the European Commission’s proposal to downgrade wolf protection under the Bern Convention.

“Instead, the coalition is calling for increased efforts to promote coexistence with large carnivores including preventive measures, and to safeguard decades of conservation success,” a statement by the World Wide Fund for Nature EU released on September 19, 2024, said.

The statement also urged the EU to strengthen preventive measures such as the use of fences and sheep dogs and make them more accessible to farmers.

The coalition called on the bloc to ensure that illegal wolf hunting is eradicated and uphold the EU’s Habitats Directive.

Member states of the EU should also provide science-based education on the ecological and socio-economic benefits of wolves and base any changes to wolf protection on rigorous data, not political pressure, the statement advised.

“According to media reports, there has been a lot of political pressure on Member States to accept the European Commission’s unscientific and politically motivated proposal,” it observed.

The civil society groups noted that this was a crucial moment for environment ministers of the EU.

“Wolves must remain strictly protected — not just for the sake of the species and science, but for the health of our ecosystems and the credibility of the European Union. If the EU wants to be a trusted ally of nature and a global leader, we must set the right example now.” It read.

In December last year, some 300 environmental and animal protection organisations had written to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, demanding that existing legal protections for wolves in Europe be upheld and enforced consistently across the European Union’s member states.

The letter had been issued in the wake of wolf culling operations in Switzerland as well as Sweden.