Ursula von der Leyen's pony killed – then the EU takes action against the wolf

Published 4 April 2024 at 11.47

EU. The EU wants to allow wolf hunting and reduce the wolf population – after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's pony Dolly was killed by a wolf.

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Then In 1992, it was forbidden to kill or capture wolves within the EU, except in exceptional cases.

However, the wolf population has increased greatly, from 11,000 twelve years ago to 20,000 wolves today. This has led to the issue becoming increasingly relevant, especially among farmers whose livestock have been attacked.

However, it was only in September 2022 that the political turn came. Then a wolf felled top bureaucrat Ursula von der Leyen's beloved pony Dolly.

In a press release from the European Commission a year later, Ursula von der Leyen warned that the wolf poses a “real danger to livestock and potentially also to people”. In December, a proposal was presented to lower the wolf's protection status and allow hunting within the EU.

Sweden, which allows some license hunting of wolves, has previously been criticized by the European Commission for shooting too many wolves. Now the Swedish government welcomes that the EU has turned the issue after Dolly's tragic fate.

– That is very good. Many more countries than Sweden experience problems with too large a wolf pack, says Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren (KD) to the Foreign Office.