Wolves and other large carnivores are currently strictly protected under the international Bern Convention – which aims to conserve wildlife and protect endangered species.
The proposal comes after an analysis of the wolf population in the EU and an increased number of wolf attacks on livestock, writes the European Commission in a press release.
Demanded after wolf attacks
The issue of culling of wolves has become relevant in Kalmar County during the autumn after a wolf carried out a large number of attacks on domestic livestock.
The County Administrative Board of Kalmar made a historic decision on culling, but had to withdraw it after it was appealed and the Administrative Court chose to overturn the decision.
SVT Nyheter Småland has previously reported on Center politicians in Kalmar County who have approached their EU parliamentarians with the demand for relief in the protection of wolves.
Criticism from WWF
But the proposal from the European Commission is also criticized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which believes that it lacks a scientific basis and sabotages the EU's role in achieving global goals for biodiversity.
"It's unacceptable. The wolf is used as a symbol to achieve political goals where urban and rural areas are pointed out as opposites. We do not accept decisions that have no basis in research and science, says WWF's Secretary General Gustaf Lind in a press release.