The wolf returns to Europe, but not everyone wants it alive

The wolfthe animal of scary stories, the lurking predator, one of the most beautiful creatures on the planethe returned to Europe after decades of conservation initiatives. And with his return the hunters’ desire returned for turning them into prey for their rifles. This is the main reason for the debate that is heating up in Europe in view of the continental elections in June next year.

The return of the wolf, estimated by the European Commission there would already be around 20,000 copies in the European Union, composed of far-right parties and conservative agrarian parties, they saw a fishing ground for votes among ranchers and hunters. If the former are paid for each animal killed by wolves, the latter see what the species is like, which one enjoy maximum protectionit is out of range of their rifles.

The far right has been advocating this for years there are already too many wolves AND? They could be kicked out again. Furthermore, it guarantees (It is not true) that there are more and more attacks on people. The traditional right, fearing losing votes that it traditionally obtained without effort, has embraced this cause so as not to see its voters abandon the countryside.

The legislation has been protecting the wolf since 1992 AND forbids killing him under any circumstances except endangering people’s lives. Farmers are financially compensated and protective measures such as pylons are financed You are not allowed to touch the wolf.

Last September the leader of the European People’s Party (centre-right), German Manfred Weber, stated that “the debate on wolves in the European Union It’s a top priority”, when the vast majority of Europeans He hasn’t seen a wolf in his life.

The conservative arguments were always rejected by the European Commission, but in September, just a month later a wolf killed the old pony “Dolly”owned by its president Ursula Von der Leyenthis began to circulate, also to help the in-laws.

The German explained that “the concentration of wolf packs – groups rarely reach a dozen individuals – in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially for humans.” This is potentially not trivial, because in reality the danger, given the data, does not exist.

In this decade there was four attacks (two in the Italian Alps, one in the Netherlands and another in the Czech Republic) to people across the European Union, none with fatalities or serious injuries. In the two territorially largest countries of the bloc (Spain and France), no attacks have occurred since 1983 and 1990 respectively.

Von der Leyen is also trying to reconcile with her political family who in recent years have viewed her with suspicion, considering her too close to the postulates defended by liberals, social democrats or environmentalists.

Hand over the European Commission

The breakthrough was completed this week. The European Commission proposed this to governments on Wednesday approve a reduction in the level of wolf protectionFrom from “strictly protected” to “protected”. This would allow wolves to be killed in some regions that consider their numbers a threat, not just when they pose a direct threat to humans.

Von der Leyen said on Wednesday that “the return of wolves is good news for biodiversity in Europe. But the concentration of wolf packs “In some European regions it has become a real danger, especially for livestock.”

WWF, one of the largest animal protection NGOsbelieves that the proposal is “scandalous” and that it has “no scientific justification”. They accuse Von der Leyen of “deliberately sacrificing decades of work in favor of nature protection for his own political interest.”