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Exploring the Legal Status of Wolf‐Dog Hybrids and Other Dubious Animals: International and EU Law and the Wildlife Conservation Problem of Hybridization with Domestic and Alien Species
Author(s) -
Trouwborst Arie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
review of european, comparative and international environmental law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2050-0394
pISSN - 2050-0386
DOI - 10.1111/reel.12052
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , wildlife , hybrid , wildlife conservation , political science , biology , geography , law , ecology , archaeology , botany
Hybridization with domestic or alien species poses a threat to many species of wild fauna. However, hybridization is not explicitly addressed in the provisions of the principal international legal instruments on nature conservation. This article reviews the relevance, scope and substance of wildlife protection obligations under the B ern C onvention on E uropean W ildlife and N atural H abitats and the E uropean U nion's H abitats D irective with respect to this issue. The problem of wolf‐dog hybridization is singled out as a case study. The article concludes that addressing hybridization through preventive and mitigation measures is in conformity with the obligations of S tates under the C onvention and the D irective, and may indeed be essential in order to comply with these obligations. In the wolf‐dog context, this includes dealing with feral and stray dogs and captive hybrids, and removing hybrid animals from the wild. At the same time, it appears that the national prohibitions on the killing and capturing of wolves and other strictly protected species, as prescribed by the C onvention and the D irective, also cover free‐ranging wolf‐dog hybrids and similar hybrids living in the wild. This entails that the removal of such hybrid animals from the wild is subject to the rules concerning derogations from strict protection. These rules, however, do not appear to stand in the way of such removal. The article's central recommendation is for the S tanding C ommittee of the B ern C onvention and the E uropean C ommission to adopt express guidance concerning hybridization.