EU Commissioner: Wolf remains strictly protected

Despite the increasing spread of wolves across Europe, the EU Commission has no intention of changing the predator's special protected status. «The wolf is still an endangered species in large parts of the European Union,» said EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan. Targeted hunting of the animals to reduce their population therefore remains prohibited.

CSU Minister called for a weakening of the protected status

Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt (CSU) had written a letter to the EU Commission requesting a change to the strict protected status. This would make it easier to hunt the animal.

The environmental organisation WWF criticised Schmidt's proposal. Anyone calling for culls and wolf population caps is deflecting from the real, structural problems faced by, for example, sheep farmers — problems that require genuine solutions, said Moritz Klose, wildlife policy officer at WWF Germany. Instead, more thought should be given to how herds grazing outdoors can be better protected. According to the organisation, outdoor livestock farming is healthier and more ecologically sound and should therefore be supported. Klose is therefore calling for «quick, unbureaucratic compensation payments for animals that have been killed.» Likewise, recreational hunting as a means of population control is not supported by scientific evidence.

Culling permitted in individual cases

Hogan stated that the EU Commission was aware that the spread of wolves was associated with problems. However, he pointed out that better protection of grazing animals was being financially supported. Furthermore, he noted that the current regulations already permit targeted individual culling of wolves where it serves “population management” and does not endanger the survival of the species.