The European Commission wants to weaken the protection of wolves. A year ago, a wolf bit Ursula von der Leyen’s pony

The Commission proposes to change the international status of wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected”. He justifies this with “new data on the increased population.”

Wolves in the EU. There is an EC proposal

Wolves are a strictly protected species under an international agreement to which, among others, EU, included in the Berne Convention on the Protection of Species. The reason for lowering the protection status of wolves is that it was established when the convention was created in 1979, and according to new data, the “protected” status is sufficient. In the communication, the Commission points out that a larger wolf population means increasing losses for farmers, especially owners of farm animals. However, allowing the shooting of wolves is also a demand from hunters.

Naturalists and nature conservation organizations are outraged by the decision. The European branch of the WWF foundation estimates that “von der Leyen is sacrificing successes in the field of nature conservation for his own political benefits.”

This is an outrageous announcement that has no scientific basis but is motivated purely by personal considerations and undermines not only the conservation status of the wolf, but with it all conservation efforts in the EU

– said Sabien Leemans, WWF biodiversity specialist. In her opinion, the Commission uses wolves as a “scapegoat for socio-economic problems in rural communities.” The Foundation also refers to (including in Poland) the vast majority (68%) believe that wolves and other large predators should be strictly protected, and 72%. agrees that they have the right to coexist with humans.

In Poland, 73 percent respondents support strict protection of wolves – even though we are the country with the second highest percentage of people who are concerned about the presence of large predators. Also among rural residents in Poland there is a very high (79%) percentage of people who support the right of large predators to coexist with people.

“We treat this as only a political decision, completely negating the results of scientific research proving the important role played by wolves in nature, the provision of many ecosystem services by them, which significantly exceed the financial losses in livestock, as well as the devastating impact of hunting on the population structure and the possibility of proper functioning of wolves. in the environment,” writes the Polish Association for Nature “Wilk”. He points out that even the report published by the European Commission itself quotes the results of a survey in which the vast majority (71%) of 18.5 thousand respondents supported maintaining the current legal status of the wolf in the EU.

Will wolves lose their status as a strictly protected species? It is now up to the Member States to decide on this proposal. Once adopted, it would be submitted by the EU to the Standing Committee of the Berne Convention. WWF calls on member countries to reject the EC’s proposal. In Poland

A wolf bit Ursula von der Leyen’s pony

EC President Ursula von der Leyen said that “the reintroduction of wolves is good news for biodiversity in Europe.” – However, the concentration of wolves in some European regions has become a real threat, especially to farm animals – she added. Weakening the protection of the species is intended to allow “the population to be managed with greater flexibility.”

Some people accuse the President of the European Commission of becoming interested in the issue of the wolf population only after the incident with her pony. In September 2022, a wolf bit the pony Dolly in a pasture belonging to Ursula von der Leyen, near apartment buildings in Beinhorn in Lower Saxony.

After this incident, the President of the European Commission ordered a detailed investigation into the threat posed by wolves in the European Union. And the wolf that bit the pony was sentenced to death – . During several months of the shooting decision, it was not possible to track down and kill the wolf. However, this does not mean that it is safe. At the beginning of the year there was a request to cull this wolf.

Reports that the decision to kill the wolf was a consequence of biting the pony were categorically denied by the EC spokesman. He said that the wolf that bit Dolly’s pony had been on the “kill list” previously in connection with other attacks.

Wolves in Poland

The wolf is a protected species in Poland because its population has decreased significantly over the last 200 years. It was entered into the Red Book of Animals. The wolf population in Poland is currently approximately 2,000 individuals – WWF estimates. The population is currently growing – thanks to, among other things, legal protection and the availability of food sources such as deer, wild boars and roe deer.

The main threats to wolves are poaching, habitat fragmentation and road accidents. Wolves can be a threat to farm animals. In recent years, there have been cases of illegal killing of wolves. . The police are investigating the case.