Wolves may lose their endangered status in Europe, as the European Union (EU) is all set to take necessary steps in order to prevent the loss of livestock due to wolf attacks across the continent. Ursula von der Leyen, a German politician who has been serving as the 13th President of the European Commission (EC) since 2019, recently expressed serious concern over this particular issue. She has hinted that wolves would no longer enjoy special protection in European countries. However, she is in favour of taking the opinions of all the concerned parties before making a final decision on this matter, instead of taking a knee-jerk action.

On September 4, 2023, the EC President said: “The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans.” When asked whether the wolves would be culled in near future, von der Leyen stressed that she sought the help of local committees, scientists and officials in European countries. She also urged them to prepare a report on the number of wolves in European countries, and also on the effects of wolf attacks on human lives. She further mentioned that Brussels launched a review of laws protecting wolves from hunters and farmers. According to the EC President, the experts shall submit the report to the Commission by September 22, 2023.

Meanwhile, US daily Politico has claimed that von der Leyen is making preparations for a wolf hunt. It may be noted that a wolf crept into a paddock on the family’s rural property in northern Germany and killed her beloved elderly pony Dolly in September 2022. Incidentally, the EC chief planned to address the issue right after that incident. Within a year, she hinted that wolves might not enjoy their endangered status in Europe. If necessary, the law on protection of wolves can be relaxed, she added. However, the EC would make a final decision only after receiving the report.

Reports suggest that wolf hunting had been a common practice in Europe for a long time. However, the concerned authorities had imposed restrictions on this practice in the 1950s, as the number of wolves began to decline rapidly. Several wolf species were also declared endangered in different European countries at that period of time. Since then, the wolf populations have increased across Europe. Environmentalists are of the opinion that there may now be at least 19,000 wolves in 27 member-states of the EU. Of these, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain have more than a thousand of wolves. According to the Federal Wolf Documentation and Advisory Office, there are approximately 161 wolf packs in Germany, with each pack consisting of 8-12 wolves. In addition, 43 pairs and 21 wolves have been found in Germany.

Environmentalists have further claimed that wolf populations have increased by 25% in the past decade alone, and they are protected in most of the European countries. However, the EC President has claimed that there is a laxity in EU laws related to wolf hunting. The farmers in the southern German Province of Bavaria enjoy the right to kill wolves, if they attack livestock. The concerned authorities in Brandenburg, too, took similar measures in 2022 after a series of wolf pack attacks on livestock.

As per an EU directive, wolves have been protected in Europe since 1992. After the EC President urged experts to submit the report on wolf populations to the Commission by September 22, EC spokesperson Adalbert Janz stated: “The picture will be clear to us only when we get thorough statistics on the matter. And only after that, we can take necessary steps in this regard.“

Reports suggest that von der Leyen has asked German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke to take extreme measures against aggressive wolves. Lemke has informed the press that wolves would be shot dead on sight in order to save domestic animals in future. She has confirmed that the German Government would implement an act in this regard later in September 2023. For his part, Marc Fesneau, the French Minister of Agriculture, has said that the government has no other option, but to take bold steps. He has thanked von der Leyen for taking a brave and clear stance on the issue, urging the European authorities to advance with pragmatism. “While the rules had been introduced to protect an endangered species, now it is the farmers and their business that are in danger,” stressed the French minister.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das