Wolves could lose EU protections, opening the way for culls.

Sansimeon, a village in Romania’s Eastern Carpathian Mountains, has received its first snowfall of the winter.

Shepherd Joseph Reisz and his sons raise 500 goats on the high pastures here. It’s a hard life: when he’s not worrying about milking his sheep, which he does three times a day, he’s worrying about protecting them from predators.

Every year, Joseph loses five or six of his flocks to wolves, or bears. So he keeps 17 dogs.

“A good dog is the best tool a shepherd has, to protect his flock, night and day,” says Kisan.

This week, 45 years of strict protection for gray wolves in Europe could end.

A European Commission proposal seeks to move wolves from Annex II (strictly protected) to Annex III (protected) of the Berne Convention.

It would end many of the protections that have allowed the animals to thrive in Europe – if wolves lose their current status, each EU country would be able to set annual quotas for killing wolves.

The commission argues that the number of wolves in the EU has almost doubled, from 11,000 in 2012 to more than 20,000 today, and that they are causing significant damage to livestock.

But wildlife campaigners say better conservation methods, including trained sheepdogs, would be a better solution than removing protective measures. They say wolves keep deer and wild boar populations down, which damage trees and crops. Wolves also prevent the spread of disease by eating sick animals.

In the town of Beli Tsanad, in a valley near the village of Joseph, wildlife experts recently met to discuss the large carnivores. Most, though not all, oppose the hunting of wolves and bears.

“African swine fever is spreading across Europe, and the wolf is the best way to suppress the disease,” said Michel Hering, a biologist from Slovakia. For a very good ‘doctor’ the wolves cannot catch him.”

Another argument against targeting wolves is that they hunt in packs of five to eight, usually a pair and their offspring. If older wolves are shot, the pack breaks up, making it difficult for them to catch deer and wild boar.

“Individual wolves are more likely to attack sheep and other domestic animals,” explains Mr Herring.

Campaigners also point. 2023 EU reportIt states that only 50,000 of Europe’s 68 million sheep are killed by wolves each year – 0.065% of the total – adding that the overall impact of wolves on EU livestock is “very small”.

Moreover, he says there have been no fatal wolf attacks on humans in 40 years.

“If we expect countries like India or Indonesia to protect our lions, and to protect African lions and elephants, we are relatively rich Europeans,” says Laurent Schle, head of the wildlife department in the Luxembourg government. Must be willing to put up with something. Wolves.” Luxembourg is one of the few western European countries where no wolves have yet been spotted, Mr Schle believes it is only a matter of time.

“We have a high density of deer and wild boar, so there are conditions for wolves.

“Of course, if individual wolves or packs start killing too many livestock, or show aggression towards humans, we have to draw the line. Human safety always comes first.”

But back on the mountain, Joseph says wolves are dangerous because “they’re cunning animals”. He advocates tougher legal measures to eradicate poachers.

Bears come into the forest, trampling branches and warning their dogs, Joseph says: if they enter the wickerwork enclosure where his herd stays for the night, they will only catch one animal.

If a pack of wolves comes in, they can kill dozens of sheep at a time.

Last year, Joseph’s favorite dog, Moody, was killed by wolves in broad daylight while he was moving from one pasture to another. All they found was his bloody pellet.

Joseph says that the more wolves there are, the more likely they will take his sheep.

And it takes a long time to train a good dog.