Wolf protection: EU Council approves status change

Brussels – With the final vote by the Council of the European Union, one of the most hotly debated conservation dossiers of recent years has finally ended: the wolf will no longer be classified as “strictly protected” but simply “protected” under the Habitat Directive.

The measure, formally adopted today (June 5), updates European legislation in line with the changes introduced to the Bern Treaty, the international treaty protecting biodiversity on the continent. The new classification will allow member states greater flexibility in managing wolf populations while maintaining the obligation to ensure their “favorable conservation status.” Individual countries can continue to apply more stringent measures at a national level, including maintaining strict protection status.

The change comes against a backdrop of the demographic recovery of the species. According to a Commission study published in 2023, the wolf population in Europe has almost doubled in ten years, from around 11,000 in 2012 to over 20,000 in 2023. However, the expansion of the species has raised growing tensions over its impact on livestock activities. The most recent data indicate around 65,500 cattle killed annually in the EU.

Green light to wolf protection status revision, EU countries want more flexibility for trapping and culling

The decision to revise the wolf legislation comes amid controversies related to the reason behind the European Commission’s proposal, namely the killing of a pony owned by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who ever since then has made it a personal matter. Now, the legislative process is over.

The legislative act will be published shortly in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force after twenty days. With this decision, a chapter that has been open for years and has often been the subject of confrontation between conservation and economic interests in Europe’s rural areas comes to an end.