More than 300 civil society groups call on the EU to strengthen, not undermine, efforts to live with wolves. Member States should strengthen wolf protection, not weaken it.
If the European Commission has its way, the protected status of the wolf in the EU is to be watered down.
© Wolf SteigerA large coalition of civil society and animal welfare organisations, including EuroNatur, is calling 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.
As EU Member States must decide on the European Commission's politically motivated proposal, a large coalition of civil society organisations are calling on the EU to:
- Promote coexistence between humans and wolves: strengthen preventive measures such as the use of fences and guard dogs and make them more accessible to farmers.
- Enforce protection: Ensure that illegal wolf hunting is eradicated and uphold the EU's Habitats Directive.
- Raise awareness: Provide science-based education on the ecological and socio-economic benefits of wolves.
- Respect science: Base any changes to wolf protection on rigorous data, not political pressure.
"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," say the organisers. They stress that this is a crucial moment for the EU Environment Ministers.
“Wolves must remain strictly protected - not just for the sake of the species, but also 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,” says EuroNatur project manager Antje Henkelmann.
Background information:
- Read the full statement.
- On International Wolf Day (13 August), Avaaz launched a petition calling on the Environment Ministers of the EU Member States to ensure that wolves remain under strict protection. To date (as of 19 September 2014), 292,167 people have signed the appeal.
- At the end of 2023, nearly 300 NGOs, including EuroNatur, signed a joint letter urging the President of the European Commission to maintain existing protections for wolves across Europe. “Unless there is substantial new science-based evidence gathered by the European Commission services, we believe the science and public opinion are clear: the modification of the protection status of the wolf – either under the EU law or the Bern Convention – is not justified,” they said.