A Betrayal of the Wild: EU Votes to Weaken Wolf Protection

The European Parliament has voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to downgrade the protection of wolves across the EU. This vote paves the way for wolf hunting to resume—undermining decades of progress and disregarding the scientific consensus.

In March, the European Commission proposed to reduce the level of protection for wolves under the EU Habitats Directive, following the Bern Convention's acceptance of the same in December. The Council of the EU approved the proposal shortly after. Now, with Parliament’s vote, the legislative process is complete: the wolf will no longer be “strictly protected” in the EU, but merely “protected.”

This decision flies in the face of scientific evidence. While wolf populations have been slowly recovering thanks to strict protections, the species remains in an unfavourable conservation status in six out of seven EU biogeographical regions. The EU’s own laws require decisions to be based on science—yet this vote was driven by politics, not evidence.

A Dangerous Precedent

Even more troubling is the use of an emergency procedure by the European Parliament to push this measure through—sidestepping the normal legislative process and limiting democratic debate. As if making it easier to kill wolves was a matter of extreme urgency. This tactic sets a worrying precedent that could be used to fast-track the dismantling of other vital nature protections.

MEPs - Daniel Attard ,Thomas Bajada, Alex Agius Saliba, David Casa, Peter Agius

MALTA: Every Single MEP Voted Against Wolves

In a shameful move, all five of Malta’s Members of the European Parliament voted to downgrade wolves—completely ignoring the unanimous advice of leading conservation and animal welfare organisations including WWF, BirdLife, Eurogroup for Animals, and others.

🐺💔 If our MEPs won’t even protect animals that don’t live on our island, how can we trust them to defend Malta’s own environment, seas, and wildlife?

We refuse to look away. We will continue to hold our representatives accountable—vote by vote. So that next time you head to the ballot box, you’ll know who stood up for life, and who stripped away its safeguards.