The Court of Justice of the European Union ruling strengthens livestock protection

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Judgment Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-601/22

An exception to this ban to prevent economic damage can only be granted if the wolf population is in a favorable conservation status, which is not the case in Austria.

Several animal welfare and environmental organizations1 are challenging the decision by which the Tyrolean government temporarily approved the killing of a wolf before the Tyrolean State Administrative Court (Austria). Previously, he had killed around 20 sheep on pastureland.

Wolves are strictly protected under the Habitats Directive. It is therefore generally forbidden to hunt them. In view of the development of the wolf population in Austria and the fact that exceptions apply for some Member States, the Provincial Administrative Court of Tyrol doubts the validity of this ban. It therefore referred the matter to the Court of Justice. In the event that it should consider the ban to be valid, it asks the Court to explain the conditions under which an exception to this ban and thus the authorization of the killing of a specimen is permissible.

The Court finds that the examination has not revealed anything that could affect the validity of the strict protection of wolves in Austria.

He points out that Austria had not expressed any reservations about this protection when it joined the European Union in 1995. Insofar as the Austrian government assumes that the Union legislator should have lifted the strict protection of wolves in the meantime as a result of the development of the wolf population in Austria, it is basically free to file an action for failure to act, which it has not done to date. However, the Court emphasizes that the Union is bound by the Bern Convention, which strictly protects wolves. Furthermore, the Austrian government itself has admitted that the wolf population in Austria is not in a favorable conservation status.

In order for the Austrian authorities to grant an exemption from the ban on wolf hunting to prevent serious damage, e.g. to livestock farming, they must ensure that the following conditions are met:

1. the wolf population must be in a favorable conservation status both at local level (in the province of Tyrol) and at national level (Austria), which is not the case. Moreover, even if this were the case, it would be necessary to ensure that this also applies at cross-border level, insofar as the available data permits.

2. the derogation must not compromise the maintenance of the favorable conservation status at any of these three levels.

3. the serious damage must be at least largely attributable to the animal specimen concerned. Indirect damage that is not attributable to this single wolf and results from the closure of farms and the resulting reduction in the total livestock population is not sufficient.

4. there is no other satisfactory solution. In this context, the economic effects of other conceivable solutions, such as alpine pasture protection measures, must also be taken into account. However, they cannot be decisive. In addition, other solutions must be weighed against the general objective of maintaining or restoring a favorable conservation status of the wolf population.

Press contact: Hartmut Ost ✆ +352 4303-3255

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