European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has succeeded in chewing up the animal rights protection level enjoyed by wolves in Europe, the commission has announced.
According to a December 3 press release, the protection level enjoyed by wolves will be dropped by the middle of March next year, with the animal’s status being lowered from “strictly protected” to “protected”.
The status change will be made to the so-called “Bern Convention”, presided over by the Council of Europe, which is separate body from the European Union. EU officials had requested it to adjust the convention regarding the protection it granted wolves in October, citing the animals’ rising population on much of the continent.
Speaking on the announcement, von der Leyen said the change would be welcome news for farmers and those in rural areas, many of whom have been dealing with an increasing number of wolf attacks in recent years.
“The Bern Convention has decided to adjust the protection status of wolves. Because we need a balanced approach between the preservation of wildlife and the protection of our livelihoods,” she said.
One rural European to feel the impact of rising wolf numbers was von der Leyen herself, with her prized pony Dolly falling victim to GW950m, a mature male wolf living in the Lower Saxony region of Germany, in January this year.
The attack resulted in the predator being put on a local “kill list”, although the warrant for its execution has since lapsed.
While it is unclear whether GW950m is still alive, von der Leyen has become far more critical of measures protecting wolves since the incident, teaming up with farmers in Brussels to demand the protections be eased.
Animal rights groups have taken issue, with the World Wildlife Foundation claiming that the shift in European policy has been “seemingly influenced by personal reasons”.
“By voting to weaken wolf protections under the Bern Convention, EU member states ignored the pleas of over 300-plus civil society organisations, the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe and hundreds of thousands of citizens urging science-based action to promote coexistence with large carnivores,” the body said on December 3.
“Instead, they supported politically motivated decisions, which are seemingly influenced by personal reasons after Commission President Von der Leyen’s pony was killed by a wolf in 2022.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen voiced support for the killing of European wolves during her latest visit to Germany. https://t.co/x7ymvwSst3
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 26, 2023
