The Commission presented a proposal in Brussels on Wednesday to adjust the protection status of the wolf under the international Bern Convention on the conservation of European wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Since the contracting parties are the EU and its Member States, without changing the protection status under the Berne Convention, the status cannot be changed at EU level. The consent of the EU member states and other contracting parties to the Berne Convention is also required.

“The return of the wolf is good news for biodiversity in Europe. However, the density of wolf packs in some European regions has now become a real threat, especially for livestock farming,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Local authorities called for “greater flexibility for the active management of critical wolf populations.” This should be facilitated at European level and the process launched by the Commission today is an important step towards this.

In a reaction to the APA, Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) spoke of a “first major milestone” and referred to his own initiatives with this thrust. He now called on the member states to “take a clear position and agree to a change. The fact that Von der Leyen, like the German Environment Minister Stefanie Lemke (Greens), is now “taking people’s concerns seriously” is certainly to be welcomed, said the minister: ” The fact is that the wolf is no longer threatened with extinction in Europe and is now reproducing by up to 30 percent per year.”

“Sensibility finally seems to be returning to Brussels when it comes to wolves,” said Austria’s Chamber of Agriculture President Josef Moosbrugger happily. “Now the EU member states must also take the results of the Europe-wide survey seriously and ensure that the Bern Convention is changed,” demanded the President of the Chamber of Agriculture. In this context, Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) demanded that she take appropriate action: “It would be important that – unlike last year’s vote – she finally takes the desperation of the farmers in the alpine and pasture regions seriously and gives them more credence than non-practical theorists and self-proclaimed conservationists.”

The EU Commission’s announcement on Wednesday caused great joy, especially in Tyrol. This was the case with State Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP), who had repeatedly vehemently pushed for a lowering of the protection status and in whose state the pressure on wolves was increased this year by means of a regulation including easier shooting. “The pressure and arguments from Tyrol are having an effect, the European Union is finally giving in to the big predators,” Mattle told the APA. Tyrol has “made an enormous contribution at the European level and has laid the foundation for the extraction with the amendment to the Tyrolean Hunting Act”. “This means that the Tyrolean Way is finally secured. We will continue to do everything we can to secure traditional alpine farming and our living space,” emphasized the state governor.

Tyrol’s deputy governor and agricultural councilor Josef Geisler (ÖVP) saw the APA as a “first important and correct step”, but they were “far from reaching their goal yet”. There is still a long way to go before the FFH directive is actually changed, and we can’t let up now. The red deputy state governor Georg Dornauer also emphasized that the protection of the population and the alpine economy was a priority for the SPÖ and the state government. “With the relevant regulations for the removal of large carnivores, we have kept what we promised the Tyroleans before the state elections. Now we are confirmed by the approach at the European level.