Barcelona: Lawmakers in Europe voted Thursday to downgrade protections for wolves across the European Union’s 27 states in a victory for farmers over environmentalists.
Nearly two-thirds of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg, France voted to change wolves’ status from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’ in a vote of 371 to 162, with 37 abstentions.
Centrist and right-wing groups celebrated the vote.
“Farmers can now breathe a sigh of relief,” said Herbert Dorfmann, a spokesperson for the European People’s Party, a coalition of centre-right groups in the EU. Right-wing Dutch politician Sander Smit said on Twitter: “This is fantastic news.”
Environmental groups criticised the decision as politically motivated rather than scientifically grounded.
“This is a sad day for biodiversity and wild animals,” said Lea Badoz at the Eurogroup for Animals.
Joanna Swabe, a spokesperson for Humane World for Animals, called for individual governments to increase national protection
for wolves.