Europe: Highest Protection for Wolves

The Council of Europe is currently not prepared to relax the protection of the wolf The body has postponed a corresponding motion by Switzerland, wishing to await the results of a study expected next year.

A new attempt by Switzerland to downgrade the level of wolf protection under the Bern Convention on species conservation failed on Friday, as a spokesperson for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg announced. The committee responsible for monitoring the species conservation convention decided to postpone the vote.

The population is growing

Switzerland has been trying for years to loosen the protection provisions for wolves. According to a survey, there are currently around 17’000 wolves living in the wild across Europe. Between 30 and 40 wolves live in the Swiss Alps.

In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) estimates the population at around 60 packs. Farmers and exploiters of livestock as well as hobby hunters have been mobilising against the presence of predators for years. More on the hunting law and on biodiversity.