European Court: Wolves should not be hunted in Austria
Multiple animal welfare and environmental organizations contested this decree before the Regional Administrative Court. This court asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ), whether the hunting ban should still apply and under what circumstances exceptions could be made. The ECJ conducted the examination and declared now that its examination did not yield anything that spoke against strict protection.
The Austrian government itself admitted that the wolf population in Austria is not in a good condition. However, exceptions can only be made in certain cases. When Austria joined the European Union in 1995, it raised no objections against the strict wolf protection in the so-called Habitats Directive, the ECJ stated.
If the Austrian government now holds the opinion that the strict protection should be lifted, it could file an infringement action - but it has not done so. The ECJ also emphasized that the EU is bound by the Bern Convention, a multilateral treaty from 1979. This convention provides for strict wolf protection.
Furthermore, the European judges defined in their judgment in what cases Austria's government is allowed to grant an exception from the wolf hunting ban - namely, when the population of the animals is in a favorable conservation status both nationally, on a local level in Tyrol, and transnationally. However, this is not the case.
An exception regulation should not impair the state. A shooting permit may only be granted if it is widely assured that a specific wolf killed grazing animals. In the concrete case, now the Tyrol Regional Administrative Court must decide. It is bound by the ECJ's decision.
- Despite Austria's admission of struggling wolf population, the European Court of Justice (EuGH) highlighted that Austria did not object to strict wolf protection when joining the European Union in 1995.
- The appellate court in Tyrol will decide on a shooting permit for a wolf, as long as it can be widely assured that the wolf was responsible for killing grazing animals.
- The European Union, bound by the Bern Convention, supports strict wolf protection, which dates back to the multilateral treaty signed in 1979.
- Organizations contesting the wolf hunting decree in Austria brought their concerns to the Regional Administrative Court, ultimately leading to a question about exceptions to the hunting ban being sent to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
