The Iberian wolf is back in the news. And not in the science and nature departments, but in the judicial records that have been making headlines in the EU for some time due to the open debates about its protection and possible hunting. On this occasion, the novelty comes from far away, in Luxembourg, where the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued a decision concluding that Castilla y León has not complied with community regulations by approving a plan to hunt more than 300 wolves. The decision is interesting both for its details and for the support it gives to the protection of the wolf in Spain.

Reactions to the decision were not slow.

What happened? The Court of Justice of the EU has issued a resounding decision that strengthens the protection of the wolf in Spain, both south of the Duero River and especially north of the channel. More precisely, the ECJ overturned a rule approved years ago by Castilla y León that allowed the hunting of this species. For the reason: it considers that it violates European legislation.

look backTo understand the blow that the Community Court dealt to the government of Castile-Leon, we must go back a few years, to 2019, when the regional government approved a plan for the area north of Duero that would allow the killing of 339 wolves. They would be hunted between 2019 and 2022.

The decision to consider the Iberian wolf as a “huntable species” north of the Duero River led the conservation association ASCEL to appeal to the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León, which, given the doubts arising from the compatibility of the Community standard with the regional law, submitted a consultation to the CJEU some time later. The Court has already given its verdict. And certainly.

“It is against the directive”. That’s the resounding conclusion of the ECJ. After examining the case, the community body concluded that the regional law declaring the wolf a huntable species did not comply with European standards. It was, in the court’s words, “contrary to the directive” on habitats.

In explaining its reasoning, the European court also gave a slap on the wrist to the Government of Castilla y León, which it condemned for not taking into account a new report from 2019, warning that when it was preparing the “controversial plan”, the species was in an “unfavourable protection status” in the country.

Does this nuance matter? Quite a few. In fact, this is one of the fundamental ideas on which the ECJ relies, and which makes a clear argument. The court says that the wolf cannot be declared a “huntable species” in a certain area of ​​a country where its national conservation status is “negative”.

And in this particular case, remember that Spain sent a report to the European Commission five years ago, concluding that the wolf was in a “negative-inadequate” conservation status in the three territories it occupied, at least in the period 2013-2018. The national territory “including the first two Castilla y León” (Mediterranean, Atlantic and Alpine) emphasizes the ECJ.

“Management measures”. Another of the concepts without which the European judgment cannot be understood. The European Court recalls that when the dispute arose, wolf populations in Spain were not in the same conditions on both sides of the Duero: in the south they enjoyed “strict protection”; but north of the river they were “considered an animal species of community interest, subject to management measures”, leading to hunting quotas. In 2021 this scenario changed and the species was no longer hunted throughout the country.

As a result, the ECJ’s argument is particularly interesting for the future, because it leaves out what it means for a species to be the subject of “management measures”. “This does not mean that its conservation status is positive,” it warns: “The aim of these measures must be to protect or restore the species.” […]”When they include hunting regulations, the aim is to restrict hunting, not expand it. So if necessary, hunting can even be banned.”

Scientific and comprehensive evaluations. When assessing the health status of animal populations and deciding whether to take “management measures”, the ECJ recalls that certain requirements must be taken into account. First, the reports prepared by States every six years and the “most up-to-date scientific data”. Second, these assessments cannot be made at a local level alone. The Court insists that a broader approach is required, encompassing the “biogeographical area” and even going beyond this to the “transboundary level”.

First reactionsThe scope and impact of the ECJ ruling is evidence that it did not take long for political reactions to emerge. Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, Minister of the Environment in the Government of Castilla y León, insists that “the wolf has never been hunted in Castilla y León as long as its conservation status is unfavourable”. He insisted that when action was taken, it was due to the number of samples and technical reports on “the largest wolf population in the world”.

Suárez-Quiñones questions the accuracy of the report cited by the ECJ, which analyzed the wolf situation in Spain between 2012 and 2018. “The CJEU is starting from this erroneous report because this is not the place to discuss it.” […]”Data has been provided that justifies and demonstrates that this is not the case. The Government is currently preparing the next program for 2019-2024, for which it will request data from the autonomous communities.” Leon’s Diary.

A broader discussion. The debate over the protection and hunting of wolves is much broader and extends to the European Union. In fact, the ECJ recently ruled on another case in which an order to slaughter a specimen registered in the Tyrol region of Austria was examined. In Spain, this debate has been ongoing for some time and has recently entered the political arena. In April, the PP had Congress consider a proposal to reduce protection and adapt it to a “protection status”; this proposal would remove the wolf from the list of specially protected species (Lespre).

Images | AR Environmental College (Flickr)

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