Downgrading of wolf protection

The EU Parliament voted on a proposal from the EU Commission that envisages downgrading wolf protection from “strictly protected” to “protected”. After the plenary session decided on Tuesday to deal with the proposal as an emergency procedure, a vote was now taken on the corresponding change to EU legislation. The draft law is intended to amend the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive in order to adapt the protection status of wolves in the EU to the Bern Convention*. The changes are intended to give Member States more flexibility in managing their wolf populations while ensuring the conservation of the species. * The Bern Convention is an international treaty of the Council of Europe on the protection of European wild animals and plants (source: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection). Attention: The voting results shown on the right only reflect the voting behavior of the 96 German MEPs and not that of all 720 MEPs. Overall, the EU Commission's proposal was approved with 371 votes in favour, 162 against and 37 abstentions. Of the German MEPs, 54 voted for and 17 against. There were eight abstentions.

Vote breakdown