Monday, September 04, 2023

HUMAN'S ARE THE WORSE DANGER
EU chief warns wolf packs 'real danger' in Europe 
SPECIESISM

By AFP
September 4, 2023

A wolf  photographed in Kuhmo in northeastern Finland - 
Copyright Lehtikuva/AFP/File Jussi Nukari

Dave CLARK

Brussels launched a review Monday of laws protecting wolves from hunters and farmers, as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen argued that packs threaten livestock and perhaps even people.

Wolves were once hunted to near extinction in Europe, but in the 1950s countries began granting them protected status. Now populations are growing in several regions.

"The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans," von der Leyen said.

The president of the European Commission has personal experience of the alleged threat posed by wolves.

In September last year, a wolf crept into a paddock on the family's rural property in northern Germany and killed her beloved elderly pony Dolly.

Conservationists, however, have hailed the return of healthier wolf populations to Europe's mountains and forests, seeing the large predator as part of the natural food chain.

Under the EU Habitat Directive, first adopted in 1992, the wolf enjoys protected status.

But local and national exceptions to the law are possible, and von der Leyen urged "authorities to take action where necessary", adding: "Indeed, current EU legislation already enables them to do so."


Her statement urged local communities, scientists and officials to submit data on wolf numbers and their impact to a European Commission email address by September 22.

Using this information, the commission will then decide how to modify wolf protection laws "to introduce, where necessary, further flexibility".

The European Commission's announcement received angry comments from animal lovers on social media, many pointing out there have been no fatal attacks on humans by wolves in Europe for decades.

– 'Brave and clear' –


But major European member state governments are thinking along the same lines as Brussels — as are some political parties keen to court rural voters angered by environmental protection laws.

German environment minister Steffi Lemke plans to put forward proposals to make it easier to shoot wolves that have attacked livestock.

"The shooting of wolves after their attacks must be made possible more swiftly and unbureaucratically," Lemke told Welt daily, adding that she will present her plans at the end of September.

"It is a tragedy for every livestock farmer and a great burden for those affected when dozens of sheep that have been ripped apart are lying on the pasture," said the Green Party politician.

French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau thanked von der Leyen for taking a "brave and clear" stance on the issue, urging European authorities to "advance with pragmatism".

While the rules had been introduced to protect an endangered species, he said, "now it is the farmers and their business that are in danger".


DC/FG

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Monday of the "real danger" of wolf packs in the European Union, announcing a possible revision of the protection status for the animal.

"The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger to livestock and, potentially, to humans," the German official said in a statement.

For the Commission, "the return of wolves to parts of the EU where they have been absent for a long time leads to increasing conflicts with local farming and hunting communities, especially when measures to prevent attacks on livestock are not fully implemented".

The Commission calls on "local communities, scientists and all interested parties to submit, by 22 September, updated data on wolf populations and their impacts".

The question of the number of wolves present in different European countries is at the heart of lively debates – and a real battle of figures – between breeders and environmental protection associations.

"On the basis of the data collected, the Commission will decide on a proposal to amend, where appropriate, the protection status of wolves in the EU and to update the legal framework, in order to introduce, where necessary, more flexibility, in the light of the evolution of this species," the EU executive added, adding that this would "complement the current possibilities offered by EU legislation".

Under the EU's 1992 Habitats Directive, most wolf populations in Europe enjoy strict protection, with derogation possibilities. This regime implements the requirements of the Berne International Convention.

"I call on local and national authorities to take appropriate action. Indeed, current EU legislation already allows them to do so," von der Leyen said.

Ms von der Leyen herself had a bad experience with the wolf: in September 2022, one of them broke into an enclosure on her von der Leyen family's property in northern Germany and killed her old pony, Dolly.

EU reviews wolf's protected status, Germany considers culls


Wolves are currently highly protected under both German and EU law. 

Populations have grown rapidly over the last decade, with farmers pointing to the threat the EU's 19,000 wolves pose to livestock.


Wolves were systematically eradicated in much of Western Europe and only returned to Germany two decades ago after migrating westward from Poland.
 Jonas Ekstromer/STF/picture alliance

The European Commission on Monday launched a study in order to review the protected conservation status of wolves in the EU.

Wolves are currently highly protected under both German and EU law.

There are 1,200 wolves in Germany, according to official figures from 2021-2022. Experts estimate there are up to 19,000 wolves in countries across the EU, with numbers having grown by 25% over the last decade.

Wolves had long been extinct in much of Western Europe after having been systematically eradicated, and only returned to Germany two decades ago after migrating westward from Poland.

While environmental activists and others have lauded the increase in wolf populations as an example of successful conservation and oppose new culls, farmers have complained of the threat the predators pose to livestock.



Wolves 'real danger for livestock, humans' — von der Leyen

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that wolf numbers have "become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans” in some parts of Europe.

She urged "local and national authorities to take action where necessary," adding that current laws already allow for this possibility.

"Where there is a clear danger, local authorities are allowed to permit hunting," she said. "I think this is an absolute right."

The commission has asked scientists, local communities and other interested parties to submit data on wolf populations and their impacts by September 22.

Von der Leyen's own pet pony was killed by a wolf last year in the northwestern German state of Lower Saxony, an incident which was widely reported on in German media.

Meanwhile, German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke of the Greens said she supports rules that make it easier to shoot wolves to protect livestock.

"Shooting wolves after they have killed has to happen faster and with less bureaucracy," she told the Die Welt daily on Monday.

"When dozens of sheep are killed and lie dead on the meadow, it is a tragedy for every livestock farmer and a very great burden for those affected," she said.

"[Farmers] need more support and security," the minister stressed.

Lemke aims to present new plans by the end of September. However, these could be difficult to implement due to the fact that wolf management corresponds to powers held by the state governments.

Farmers, conservationists disagree on wolf control measures

The head of the German Farmers' Association, Bernhard Krüsken, called Lemke's propsal a "smokescreen" in comments to the German Press Agency (dpa).

He said that that farmers want "real wolf management" and for the species' protected status to be removed, which would then allow culls.

However, German environmental groups have argued against hunting wolves.

"For the number of grazing animals killed, it is not the number of wolves that is decisive, but the number of unprotected grazing herds," Uwe Friedel, wolf expert at the BUND conservation group said.

Marie Neuwald, wolf and grazing specialist at the Nabu conservation group, asserted that even smaller numbers of wolves could pose a threat to livestock.

"Hunting does not lead to wolves keeping more distance to grazing animals," she said. Instead, she advocated for financial support for farmers to implement herd protection measures.

sdi/jcg (dpa, AP)







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