ECJ strengthens wolf protection in two rulings

In two rulings by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the strictly protected status of European wolves was confirmed in the current month.

The political right is seeking to open the growing population to hunting.

The northern Spanish region of Castile and León is therefore not authorised to permit wolf hunting as long as the species remains protected at the national level. In a second ruling of this kind, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a corresponding decision in the current month.

The ruling states that the government of the largest of Spain's 17 autonomous regions, which has been led by the conservative People's Party (PP) since 1987, may no longer designate the wolf as fair game for hobby hunters. For the period from 2019 to 2021, they were granted a quota of 339 animals in an area north of the Duero river.

The left-leaning Spanish government had, on the initiative of Environment Minister and candidate for the next EU Commission, Teresa Ribera, extended strict protection to all wolves. Under certain circumstances, however, it was permissible for existing regional exemptions to continue to apply. In its decision, the ECJ found that this constitutes a violation of the EU Habitats Directive.

A statement from the Luxembourg court notes that the designation of the wolf as a huntable species in part of the territory of a member state cannot occur if the conservation status of the species at the national level is in an unfavourable condition.

The environment minister of the Castilla y León region, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, confirmed the ruling and noted that no hunting had taken place since the introduction of the national law in 2021.

The latest ruling follows a similar decision by the ECJ of July 11, in which it was established that exceptions to the general prohibition on wolf hunting, as provided for in the directive applied by the Austrian province of Tyrol, are not permissible.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has thus strengthened the protection of wolves, dealing yet another setback to the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission has long been attempting to facilitate the culling of wolves. At the end of last year, it proposed downgrading the animals' protection status — from "strictly protected" to "protected". However, a majority of EU member states in favour of the proposal has not materialised.

In doing so, the judges argued against the position publicly held by Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission President stated some months ago that while the return of the wolf was good news for biodiversity in Europe, its spread in some European regions had become a genuine threat — particularly for livestock farming.

Cynics claim that von der Leyen's engagement with the issue is also due to the fact that a wolf killed her pony “Dolly” at the end of 2022. Numerous media outlets reported on the incident at the time. The wolf “GW050m” was shortly afterwards approved for culling by the regional authorities. However, the administrative court subsequently overturned the culling permit.

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