The European Parliament has amended the EU’s wolf protection status from “strictly protected” to “protected” in order to align it with the Bern Convention. This decision was approved with 371 votes in favour, 162 against, and 37 abstentions, and it supports the European Commission’s proposal for a targeted update to the Habitats Directive.
The Commission’s proposal to adjust the protection status of wolves follows a request from Parliament. According to the Commission, the wolf population in Europe has surpassed 20,000, and their numbers and territories are expanding. While this reflects a conservation success, it has also increased conflicts with human activities, particularly concerning livestock.
This change in status will grant member states greater flexibility in managing their wolf populations, thus facilitating improved coexistence with humans and helping to minimise the consequences of a burgeoning wolf population. Member states will also be better positioned to implement measures suited to their specific regional contexts.
Member states must continue to maintain the wolves’ favourable conservation status and have the option to designate wolves as a strictly protected species within their national laws, alongside implementing more stringent protection measures if required.
For several years, the European People’s Party (EPP) Group has advocated for this change in the wolf protection status under the Habitats Directive. As indicated in a recent press release, the EPP now anticipates that member states will utilise this newfound flexibility to develop regionally tailored approaches that will support farmers and rural communities.
“Farmers can now breathe a sigh of relief. We have listened to their concerns and delivered real change at the European level to address today’s reality and protect rural livelihoods,” said Herbert Dorfmann MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.
“The Habitats Directive has been a clear success, helping the wolf population recover from near extinction to over 20,000 individuals across the continent. But now it’s time to adapt to today’s reality. This means balancing our conservation efforts with protecting farmers,” Dorfmann continued,” Dorfmann added.
“With this revised approach, the responsibility for implementing management plans will rest with the Member States, allowing them to tailor their strategies to the specific needs of their regions. This flexibility will facilitate a more adaptive and effective management of wolf populations, leading to better outcomes for both humans and wildlife, and providing farmers with the tools they need to protect their livestock and maintain their livelihoods,” explained MEP Esther Herranz GarcÃa, who leads the file on behalf of the EPP Group in the Parliament’s Environment Committee.
Conversely, the Greens/EFA Group has expressed concern over this decision, suggesting that it undermines environmental protections in a manner reminiscent of specific political strategies. They emphasise that the vote to downgrade the protection status of the wolf in the Habitats Directive disregards scientific evidence and undermines effective legislation that has successfully functioned for decades, achieving no significant benefit other than superficial political gain.
“The downgrading of the protection status of the wolf is bad news for nature,” commented MEP Jutta Paulus, Greens/EFA member of the European Parliament Environment Committee.
“Instead of taking care of farmers and finding a solution, the right decided to push through this measure which will damage biodiversity.
Although the downgrading of the protection status of wolves was adopted, we managed to stop right wing forces in their attempts to entirely gut the Habitats Directive. We have managed to preserve the rest of the Directive, but we must remain vigilant. This sets a dangerous precedent,” Pulus continued.
“An operation on the beating heart of Europe’s nature conservation should be guided by science not political interests. Weakening wolf protection was never just about one species; it marked a broader assault on the principles of nature conservation. When powerful lobbies win, forests, rivers, and wetlands lose. And this won’t be the last time conservatives target what protects our home,” concluded the Green MEP.
Parliament has agreed to expedite this process under an urgent procedure. For the draft law to take effect, it now requires formal endorsement by the Council, which previously supported the same text on 16 April 2025. The Directive will come into force 20 days following its publication in the EU Official Journal, allowing member states 18 months for compliance.
