The joint appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU by five associations regarding the downgrading of the wolf’s protection status has been accepted.
The application for a legal annulment of the change in the wolf’s protection status from “strictly protected species” to “protected species” under the Bern Convention, adopted in December 2024 (see EUROPE 13537/15), is to be examined by the Court of Justice of the EU.
According to One Voice, Green Impact, Earth, Nagy Tavak and LNDC Animal Protection, the decision taken in December was not taken “on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge”, in contradiction with the guidelines established by Recommendation No. 56 (1997) of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention.
The five organisations explain, for example, that the Council of the EU relied on the same scientific data that, in 2022, “led the European Union to vote against a similar proposal put forward by Switzerland”.
Furthermore, the associations are relying on new scientific evidence to oppose the downgrade in status of the wolf. Published in 2025, the study (‘Developing methodology for setting Favourable Reference Values for large carnivores in Europe’) highlighted the fact that at least half of wolf populations in Europe have insufficient genetic diversity. Preservation of genetic diversity is one of the commitments signed by the European Union as part of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Montreal COP 2022. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)