National and regional governments should be free to manage growing wolf populations in the European Union more flexibly, free from the environmentalist hysteria that has characterised much of the discussion about the Commission’s plan to adjust the protection status of Canis lupus, ECR MEP Pietro Fiocchi said today.

The ECR Group in the European Parliament led the majority in favour of a Commission proposal to align EU law on wolves with the decision by Berne Convention experts to designate the species ‘protected’ as opposed to ‘strictly protected’.

Today’s vote in support of a reclassification represents the ECR Group’s endorsement of local and regional solutions to addressing this issue, balancing the interests and concerns of farmers and breeders with the need to support biodiversity.

Pietro Fiocchi MEP said:

“We need to step away from the emotion and exaggeration this proposal has created and examine the situation rationally.

“The wolf remains subject to protection under EU law.

“The proposal simply aligns with accepted best practice internationally, and member states are free to take greater protective measures in favour of wolves if they want.

“Farmers and breeders in my region of Italy tell me that they feel no-one has been listening to them as wolf populations have grown rapidly.”

ECR MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen added:

“The European Union’s efforts to reintroduce large predators like bears, wolves and lynx have been successful but perhaps too successful in some parts of Europe.

“The Habitats Directive is a cornerstone of the EU’s wildlife management approach, but we recognise the need for legislators to step up when something needs adjusting.

“The proposal puts regions and communities front and centre in wildlife management. It’s the kind of flexibility and pragmatism we want to encourage.”