EU Member States support adapting the conservation status of wolf  - Finland voted for the decision

The European Commission gave a proposal to move the wolf from the list of strictly protected species to protected species in December 2023. On Wednesday 25 September, the EU Member States outlined that the adaptation of the conservation status will proceed to be decided by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention.

“This solution that will bring more flexibility in terms of the conservation status of the wolf is an important step forward in order that people and wolves can continue to coexist in Finland. This kind of policy on large carnivores is an absolute necessity, as it will allow the hunting of wolves for population management in Finland, which is necessary also for public safety. At the same time, this will also make the conservation of this valuable species easier to accept,” Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen says.  
 
“The decision is very important and absolutely necessary to take the policy on large carnivores in a new direction. The local circumstances and the fact that the large carnivore populations have become stronger must be taken into account. A lot of hard work has been done to achieve this decision, and in the past year Finland has been particularly active in this matter at the EU level. We have also had very good cooperation with the like-minded countries. I am very happy that the Member States reached an understanding of how important it is to enable socially sustainable population management for the wolf. Now the Commission has our full support to take this matter forward,” Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah says.  
 
Finland supported the Commission’s initiative to change the status of wolves in the Bern Convention from ‘strictly protected’ (Annex II) to ‘protected’ (Annex III), and urged to make the same changes to the annexes of the Habitats Directive. Recently, Finland presented the matter as Information from the Finnish delegation at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in January 2024.   
 
The reason for the proposed change in the conservation status is the positive development of the wolf population. The wolf is, however, still endangered in Finland. The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention will convene in the beginning of December 2024. If the adaptation of the status in the Bern Convention is approved, the Commission can start the preparations for amending the Annex to the EU Habitats Directive.  

Inquiries:

Lyydia Ylönen 
Special Adviser to the Minister of Climate and Environment 
tel. +358 50 476 1341 
firstname.lastname@gov.fi

Iina Mattila
Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 
tel. +358 50 473 6221
firstname.lastname@gov.fi