European hunters want Ursula von der Leyen to do more to protect farmers from wolves and speed up the ongoing review of the large carnivore’s protection status.
In a letter sent to the European Commission president Wednesday, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation asked von der Leyen to engage in “swift action to establish practical management frameworks for coexistence.”
The hunters’ association asked the Commission to review wolves’ protection status by amending the annexes of the EU Habitats Directive — something that environmental groups are pushing back against. The large carnivore is currently under strict protection, meaning that shooting wolves is banned in most cases but can be allowed in specific circumstances, notably when the animal poses a danger to people and livestock.
The hunters also called to “clarify the flexibility” given to EU countries to manage wolves and “implement a new approach to assess the conservation status of the wolf.”
Von der Leyen in September called for a re-evaluation of wolves’ protection status and launched a public consultation on the topic, which received more than 17,000 responses. It came after her beloved pony was killed by a wolf in Germany last year.
The consultation aimed to gather information and evidence about the state of wolf populations across the Continent, as well as advice and best practices about managing conflicts between farmers’ livestock and the large carnivore.
“We now urge you to move quickly to the next step to put in place practical solutions to ensure appropriate management frameworks are in place to ensure coexistence,” the European hunters said.
The Commission is expected to provide a follow-up to the consultation with recommendations as to how to better manage conflicts before the end of the year.