Minister: Lower protection status for wolves is a positive signal

Saxony's Agriculture and Environment Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch (CDU) sees the EU Parliament's vote in favor of lowering the protection status for wolves as a positive signal. "With today's decision, we are taking a big step towards being able to remove harmful animals more easily and with legal certainty," he said in Dresden. "In view of the increasing numbers of grazing animals being killed, consistent action on the way to population management is long overdue."

The new federal government must now swiftly implement the corresponding changes in federal law so that the Saxon regulations can be adapted "and a legally secure, regionally differentiated wolf management" can be made possible.

Wolves will be easier to shoot in future

Wolves should be easier to shoot in the EU in future. A majority of MEPs in Strasbourg voted in favor of lowering the status from "strictly protected" to "protected" in an urgent procedure. The measure still has to be approved by the EU member states, but this is considered likely. The majority of them had already spoken out in favor of a reduction. Many countries want to shoot more wolves to protect their grazing animals.