European governments appear to be fighting against conservation protections for grey wolves after populations began to rebound from the brink of extinction in the 20th century.
Grey wolves became a “strictly protected” species under 1979’s Bern Convention, by which time they were already extinct in France.
They began returning in the 1990s.
The grey wolf population in Europe had risen to 20,300 by 2023, with 24 countries in the European Union fostering breeding packs.
Guillaume Chapron, a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, says the move enabled the animal to reclaim the continent, pointing to “a growing awareness that the environment was becoming important”.
But not everyone is happy about the population return.
The increase in population has brought the predator back into more frequent contact with humans, triggering concern from farmers.
Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lost her pony Dolly to a wolf who had crept into its enclosure on her family’s rural property in northern Germany.
While Brussels’s top official insists it is not a personal vendetta, she has now focused on bringing grey wolf populations down once more.
Several months after the attack, Ms von der Leyen warned that “the concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger, especially for livestock”.
The European Commission has asked EU member states to revise wolves’ conservation status, taking it from “strictly protected” to just “protected”.
This would allow hunting to resume under strict regulation.
France reports first population drop in almost 10 years Europe’s grey wolf population rose to 20,300 by 2023.(Reuters: Christian Bruna)
France has recently registered a drop in the predator’s population, the first in almost 10 years, but the number of wolf attacks is also on the rise.
The estimated number of wolves in France last year stood at just over a thousand, down 9 per cent from 2022.
Wolves can be killed to protect flocks, but only under very specific conditions.
Compensation for damage caused by wolves in France amounted to 4 million euros ($6.5 million) in 2022 — compared with $105.52 million in damage caused by wild boars and deer.
Around 20 per cent of France’s grey wolves are killed each year, and the authorities would like to simplify culling procedures.
Weakening protections ‘will not work’, experts warn
Many experts are concerned that wolves will again be under threat.
“If we weaken protection, it would be possible to hunt wolves without justification and this would open the door to all kinds of abuses,” Dr Chapron says.
University of Rome Professor of Zoology Luigi Boitani adds: “Thinking that removing wolves solves everything is actually a dream and will not work.”
He insists the focus should be on preventing attacks via electric fences and guard dogs, among other measures.
Professor Boitani notes other animals such as wild boar, deer and birds cause far more costly damage than wolves.
He stresses the need to avoid “any fundamentalism” as society seeks to tackle the problem.
“The wolf is not a saint, a secret animal or a devil.”
Saving the animals is “a success story, and we don’t have many conservation success stories”, Dr Chapron adds.
History of demonisation may lead to over-hunting The increase in population has brought the predator back into more frequent contact with humans.(Reuters: Vasily Fedosenko)
The wolf is a common motif in ancient mythology and children’s fairy tales portray wolves as threatening creatures.
“Wolves have been and remain an object of fascination for many human societies”, Nicolas Lescureux, a human-animals relations researcher at France’s CNRS scientific research centre, says.
He notes the role of the predator in ancient legends — including a she-wolf who saved the twin founders of Rome, the monstrous wolf Fenrir of Scandinavian mythology and the blue wolf of the Mongols.
“The close relationship between humans and wolves goes back a very long way since our current dogs are descended from populations of wolves — this is the oldest form of animal domestication.”
He explains the relationship “undoubtedly became more complicated” with the domestication of livestock such as sheep, goats, cattle and pigs around 10,000 years ago.
Wolf hunting was institutionalised in the ninth century, when Frankish king Charlemagne established the “louveterie” — a special corps of hunters responsible for eradicating harmful animals — to protect people and livestock.
The institution has endured in France, with the lieutenants de louveterie now working as volunteers.
AFP
Source link : https://amp.abc.net.au/article/104116422
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-18 13:08:53
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
