SOFIA  –  European countries have agreed to downgrade the protection status of wolves due to their growing number and effect on agriculture and farming livestock. The 49 member states of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats agreed to lower the wolf’s protection status from “strictly protected” to “protected”, the Council of Europe said on Tuesday. The change will be implemented from March 2025.

Wolves have been protected from being hunted or captured unless they pose a serious threat to livestock or health and safety. Under their new status, any “exploitation” of wolves “shall be regulated in order to keep the populations out of danger” – giving a far lower threshold for hunting them. The European Commission proposed the change last year as growing wolf numbers led to conflicts with farming and hunting communities and there were calls for measures to prevent attacks on livestock.

“Important news for our rural communities and farmers. We need a balanced approach between the preservation of wildlife and the protection of our livelihoods,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement after the vote. Last year, von der Leyen lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf that crept into its enclosure on her family’s rural property in northern Germany.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe a century ago, but their numbers have strongly rebounded due to conservation efforts. This includes their designation as a “strictly protected” species under the 1979 Bern Convention, which bars them from being killed or captured unless posing a safety threat to humans or livestock. In 2023, there were breeding packs of grey wolves in 23 European Union countries, with a total population estimated at about 20,300 animals, bringing the elusive creatures into more frequent contact with humans.

More than 300 environmental and animal protection groups have spoken out against relaxing protections for wolves, arguing it is premature since while population numbers have grown, their recovery is still ongoing. In a statement on X, the World Wildlife Fund’s EU office said the commission’s decision was “extremely disappointing” and politically motivated. “Instead of supporting coexistence measures, we backtrack on our own conservation success!” said the group.  (Al Jazeera/ Karol Kalisky, Arolla Film, Slovakia)