Betrayed Wolves: European Parliament Yields to Politics Over Science

This vote is the final step in the legislative process to downgrade the level of protection afforded to wolves in the EU, from strictly protected to protected.

In March, the European Commission proposed amending the protection status of the wolf under the EU Habitats Directive, after the Bern Convention in December granted its request to downlist the species' protection. The EU Council had already approved the proposal several weeks ago.

This decision sets a deeply troubling precedent for European nature conservation. Under the EU Habitats Directive, decisions must be grounded in scientific evidence. Although wolf populations have been recovering thanks to strict protection, the species remains in an unfavourable conservation status in six of the seven biogeographical regions of the EU. The EU decision undermines the credibility of EU nature conservation legislation and threatens the recovery of wolf populations across Europe.

Wolves are vital to healthy ecosystems, but today's vote treats them as a political problem rather than an ecological asset, said Ilaria Di Silvestre, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Europe at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). There is no data to justify a lower level of protection, yet EU institutions have chosen to ignore the science. Decisions made on the basis of political interests rather than facts risk undoing decades of conservation progress.

"This is a sad day for biodiversity and wildlife", said Léa Badoz, Programme Officer at Eurogroup for Animals. "The EU was once proud of being a leader in nature conservation. Now we see vital species like the wolf being sacrificed for short-term political interests that benefit no one. Member States must now stand up and do the right thing. Wolves continue to need strong protection if we are serious about saving European nature."

Dr. Joanna Swabe, Senior Director for Public Affairs at Humane World for Animals, says: "We must not forget, however, that the decision to downgrade the strict protection status for wolves does not relieve Member States of their responsibility to maintain a favourable conservation status for wolves, nor does it mean that they can avoid investing in solutions that facilitate and promote the coexistence of people and wolves."

Despite the Parliament's vote, EU Member States can still choose to strictly protect wolves – a step that conservationists strongly recommend. They remain legally obliged to ensure that their wolf populations achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status.

Also of concern is the fact that the European Parliament applied an urgency procedure to push through this proposal, bypassing the usual legislative process for deliberating on Commission proposals – as if approving the further hunting of wolves were a matter of the utmost urgency. This trend towards the accelerated weakening of nature conservation laws curtails democratic debate and threatens the future of environmental protection in Europe.