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EU-wide/Brussels/Strasbourg – The signatory states of the Bern Conference have downgraded the safety standing of wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected.” This was introduced by the press division of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The proposal to decrease the safety standing got here from the EU, which might now, in one other step, decrease wolf safety within the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive). Agriculture Minister Totschnig (ÖVP) welcomed the discount he had demanded.
It was not disclosed which nations voted how. The EU Fee, which speaks on behalf of the 27 EU member states in Strasbourg, is more likely to have voted for the proposal. The identical goes for Switzerland, which had already pushed for a downgrade in 2022 – at the moment, nonetheless, it failed, amongst different issues, because of the EU’s opposition.
Because the EU and its member states are events to the worldwide Bern Conference on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Pure Habitats, the standing couldn’t be modified on the EU stage and not using a change within the safety standing within the conference. The change comes into impact three months after immediately’s vote. Till then, one-third of the signatory states may theoretically nonetheless veto – however that is unlikely since a two-thirds majority was wanted for immediately’s choice.
Based on the Ministry of Agriculture, 38 of the overall 50 Bern Conference member states voted for the proposal. Subsequently, the EU Fee is urged to amend the annexes of the FFH Directive. A downgraded safety standing would give EU states extra flexibility to permit wolf looking, with out fully lifting the safety – the standing of the wolf inhabitants should not be jeopardized, in line with a press launch by the Council of Europe.
Improve in wolf inhabitants results in conflicts
In December 2023, the EU Fee proposed to downgrade the safety standing of wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected.” The return of wolves to EU areas the place they’d not been seen for a very long time, in addition to the rise of their populations in new areas, has led to difficulties and conflicts, the Fee justifies its choice. After the EU states agreed in September, the EU submitted an modification for the Bern Conference. At this time, EU Fee President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her delight: “We want a balanced strategy between the safety of wildlife and the safety of our livelihoods.”
“At this time we have now paved the way in which for an vital milestone for simpler regulation of the big predator wolf. The very fact is, the wolf is not endangered in Europe and is now growing by as much as 30 p.c a 12 months. The issue with the wolf goes far past livestock assaults, because the wolf is more and more shedding its worry of people. As political leaders, we should not permit wolf assaults to happen. That is exactly why I’ve been preventing for years to decrease the safety standing,” welcomed Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) in a press release.
Tyrolean governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP) felt confirmed by the adoption of the change additionally demanded by Tyrol. “The wolf is not endangered,” Mattle emphasised in response to an APA request, the reducing of the safety standing is a “logical consequence” of this. If the EU Fee now adjustments the FFH directive, the discount is lastly “set in stone.”
“Since our alpine and pasture farming is way more endangered than the tens of hundreds of wolves roaming round Europe, immediately’s choice of the Bern Conference is a vital step ahead for the longer term and vitality of the agricultural space,” says Josef Moosbrugger, President of the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture. “The choice is a hit for species safety in Austria and clearly exhibits that the wolf inhabitants in lots of nations in Europe is at a excessive stage and continues to rise sharply,” emphasizes Looking Austria President Maximilian Mayr Melnhof in line with a launch.
“The downgrading of the safety standing is a vital step ahead to keep up the steadiness between nature conservation and the wants of our alpine farming and tourism,” says Salzburg’s Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek (FPÖ). FPÖ EU Member of Parliament Roman Haider additionally welcomes the downgrading of the wolf’s safety standing: “This permits for a optimistic coexistence of people, livestock, and wildlife in our nature.”
Animal rights activists criticize choice
“This choice is a setback for species conservation and an instance of democratic failure,” criticizes Madeleine Petrovic, president of Animal Welfare Austria. “It exhibits how usually scientific findings and the desire of the bulk are ignored in favor of particular person lobbying pursuits.” Each the survey on the primary wolf report and the EU Fee’s survey on reducing the safety standing resulted within the following: The bulk (77 p.c within the wolf report and 71 p.c within the EU research) favored sustaining the prevailing strict safety standing of wolves.
“The ruling politics refuse to do their homework and as an alternative begin a populist assault on species safety. What is definitely wanted is a well-planned herd safety marketing campaign,” says WWF knowledgeable Christian Pichler. The strategy is just not supported scientifically and will have counterproductive results general. As native wildlife and predators, wolves are a pure contribution to biodiversity. They stop the unfold of ailments and ideally additionally strengthen vital protecting forests by decreasing extreme wildlife populations.
Thomas Waitz, Inexperienced Get together agriculture spokesperson within the EU Parliament, says: “The downgrading is just not primarily based on scientific information however pure populism. The wolf serves as a scapegoat for conservatives to distract from their failures in rural areas throughout Europe. It’s feared that with the change within the nature conservation directive, not solely the wolf can be in danger, but additionally different threatened animals comparable to beavers, otters, sea turtles, seals, or lynxes will lose their safety standing.” (03.12.2024)
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