Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture said, on Monday 10 January), that measures are needed to prevent attacks by wolves, which are damaging livestock in the EU.
The Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture, Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany), said he regretted that the Parliament’s Committee on the Environment had not wanted to join the debate on the subject and draft a resolution. Hence the initiative taken by the Committee on Agriculture alone to present a draft resolution by Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italy) on the protection of livestock and wolves in Europe.
Nobert Lins called for a revision of the 1992 Directive (92/43/EEC) on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, “because the situation in the 1990s was different from today”.
Mr Dorfmann said that in some parts of Europe, the presence of large carnivores threatens biodiversity and livestock farming, especially sheep. The protection of livestock is essential, according to Mr Dorfmann, who says it is important to regulate the wolf population in certain regions.
Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy) said the European Commission should take the necessary measures.
Anne Sander (EPP, France) defended a revision of the Habitats Directive to transfer the wolf, bear and lynx from Annex 4 to 5, to ensure the continuation of pastoral traditions.
Herd attacks are particularly rife in Romania, France, Austria and Germany, said Daniel Buda (EPP, Romania). Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, France) spoke of the “despair” of the breeders, faced with the increase in wolf attacks.
Regional differences must be taken into account, said Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, Germany), who acknowledged that wolves should be shot “when they cause problems”. “The reintroduction of the wolf is a success of European policy”, said Mr Häusling, who also called for “dignified” compensation for farmers.
Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, France), who spoke of a “failure“ of the wolf management policy and a success in terms of their reintroduction, deplored that “12,000 sheep have been lost in France”.
Anja Hazekamp (The Left, Netherlands) criticised the fact that the Committee on Agriculture is tabling a draft resolution in an area “where it has no competence”. She defended the wolf population and mechanisms for prevention and compensation, if necessary.
“We are witnessing a recolonisation of rural areas and even some urban areas, with wolves, bears and even lynxes starting to appear in places where they have not been seen for decades”, explain the EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) in an opinion piece on the subject.
Link to the draft resolution (in French): https://bit.ly/3r3DWHj (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)