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Wolf loses strictly protected status
The wolf loses its current protection. The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention decided this morning that the wolf does not need to be protected as strictly internationally. The proposal was made by the European Union, after the EU member states had agreed to it in September.
A two-thirds majority was needed to downgrade the wolf's protection status. The initiative came in November 2022 from Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen of the SGP. After a wolf killed the pony of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, things seemed to be gaining momentum.
In a press release, Ruissen states: "It is essential that there is more flexibility in wolf management as soon as possible. Due to the ever-growing wolf population, we are seeing an increase in attacks on livestock, and it is extremely worrying that the wolf is getting closer to humans. It is high time to intervene."
'Finally good news for sheep, calves, ponies and farmers'
Ruissen is satisfied: "Finally good news for sheep, calves and ponies and their farmers. The Hague and the provinces will soon no longer be able to hide behind Brussels. Now that it has been internationally agreed to abandon the strict protection of the wolf, it is crystal clear that wolves, especially wolves that cause problems, may be hunted." According to him, it will be easier to manage the wolf population. "There are now children who no longer cycle to school because of wolves. We cannot stand idly by and watch as this continues to spiral out of control."
The Bern Convention will now be amended on this point. After that, EU legislation can be amended. Until then, exemptions under Article 16 of the Habitats Directive can be used to tackle problem wolves, according to Ruissen. According to him, the Netherlands is 'far too cautious and unnecessarily afraid of legal consequences'.
'Lowering protected status counterproductive'
Not everyone is happy with the lower protection of the wolf. Members of the Party for the Animals and similar foreign parties state in an open letter to the Bern Convention that the proposal to scrap the strictly protected status 'is not based on good science, but purely on political reasons'. "The return of the wolf is good news. Where the wolf appears, nature flourishes. The presence of wolves has positive effects on the landscape and on other animal species such as birds, beavers, fish and butterflies."
In Europe, there has been no increase in agricultural damage caused by wolves since 2022, the parties state. "In the Netherlands, where there has indeed been an increase, it appears that farmers have in almost all cases taken insufficient precautions, such as installing wolf-proof fences and keeping captive animals indoors at night." According to the letter writers, lowering the protected status is even counterproductive. "Precisely by cornering and disrupting wolf packs, their behavior becomes problematic. A wolf cub that does not learn to hunt because its parents are shot will more quickly look for easy prey, such as an unprotected sheep in the meadow."
Linda van Eekeres
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