21 December 2023
The ECR Group welcomes the European Commission’s plan to downgrade the wolf from a “strictly protected” species to a “protected” species.
The Union is once again making life easier for shepherds and farmers in mountain regions where the wolf has become a plague. ECR MEP Pietro Fiocchi led the way, writing a letter to Ursula von der Leyen in October that was co-signed by 43 MEPs of different nationalities and political affiliations, as well as former Green MEP and famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner.
Fiocchi also organised a Europe-wide signature campaign and meetings with government representatives, associations and committees. Fiocchi said:
“We created a good synergy between the European parliamentarians and the national government to convince the European Commission that the situation of predation on breeders, especially mountain breeders, is no longer sustainable - it was a good team effort that everyone can be proud of. We have achieved a really good result for the farmers and we are delighted with the clear decision in favour of our rural areas, in favour of the identity of the mountains, in favour of an economy that must be protected without any ifs or buts”.