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illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on BBC News or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: The EU has downgraded the grey wolf’s conservation status from "strictly protected" to "protected," allowing member states to cull wolves as numbers surge to over 20,000
• This marks the end of 45 years of strict safeguards under the Bern Convention, sparking debate between farmers and conservationists
• Countries can now set quotas for annual wolf kills
🔭 The context: Wolves play an ecological role by controlling populations of deer and wild boar, which harm crops and spread diseases like African swine fever
• Despite this, farmers like József Rácz in Romania’s Carpathians face significant livestock losses and demand tougher predator control
• Campaigners counter that improved non-lethal measures, such as trained dogs, would better balance coexistence
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Wolves help maintain healthy ecosystems, but rising human-wildlife conflicts threaten biodiversity and sustainable farming
• The policy shift raises questions about Europe's commitment to protecting predators while addressing rural livelihoods
⏭️ What's next: EU countries must decide individual wolf management plans, balancing ecological needs with farmers' concerns
• Conservationists urge continued investment in protective measures, while monitoring the long-term effects of the relaxed protections on wolf populations
💬 One quote: “If we expect countries like India or Indonesia to protect their tigers... then we as relatively rich Europeans should be willing to tolerate some wolves,”- Laurent Schley of Luxembourg’s Wildlife department
📈 One stat: Wolves account for 0.065% of livestock losses in the EU, with 50,000 sheep and goats killed annually out of a total of 68 million
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