53 Associations Call to Halt EU Wolf Downlisting

An open letter signed by 53 associations has been sent to the Polish EU Presidency. Urging it to halt plans to downgrade the protection status of wolves in Europe.

Their message is clear: Do not move forward with a decision that’s highly questionable from a legal, scientific, and ethical perspective.

“The European Commission’s push to reduce wolf protection is based on a single report that, according to an independent peer review, lacks proper scientific grounding. That review—released by respected scientists M. Fisher and E. Randi (see link below) —finds the Commission’s 2023 report is not fit to justify such a major policy shift.”

Legal challenges are also piling up. A case is already pending at the European Court of Justice, brought by multiple NGOs, and a separate complaint has been filed with the EU Ombudsman. Both question the legitimacy and transparency of the decision-making process. In fact, several EU countries—including Spain and Ireland—have already pushed back, and others are refusing to implement the change.

The open letter “applauds Poland’s national decision to keep strict protections for wolves, and calls on its EU leadership role to reflect that same caution”. The 53 associations stress “that there’s no legal obligation for the EU to follow the Bern Convention’s recent vote on downlisting, especially given its lack of scientific review.”

The tools to manage wolf-human coexistence already exist, such as EU farm subsidies for prevention and compensation. Wolf predation remains extremely rare in the broader context of European farming, and no wolf attacks on humans have been recorded in over a century. The EU has invested heavily in wolf conservation for decades. Rushing to weaken protections now, with science and legal clarity still in question, would be a betrayal of that commitment—and of the EU’s own laws.