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This next story begins with two women with two very different tales. Ursula von der Leyen is the head of the European Commission. Valeria Rosselli is an Italian wildlife tour guide. Both have lost a beloved pet to wolf attacks. The ways they responded, as NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports, takes us to the heart of a battle unfolding over the future for wolves in Europe.
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Under a nearly full moon on September 1, 2022, a male wolf slipped into a paddock in the country hamlet of Burgdorf Beinhorn in Germany. He was following the scent of an elderly chestnut pony named Dolly. She became his next meal.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: (Speaking German).
SHERLOCK: The problem is Dolly belonged to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking German).
VON DER LEYEN: (Speaking German).
SHERLOCK: A German media outlet BILD broadcast news of Dolly's murder. DNA samples were taken from the pony's carcass, which identified the killer wolf as GW950m. He was already wanted by others for preying on livestock. His protected status was stripped, and he was put on a kill list.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking German).
SHERLOCK: Then a year later, Von der Leyen championed plans to reduce the protection status for all wolves in the European Union.
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VON DER LEYEN: I'm talking about large predators and the threat they pose to our animals.
SHERLOCK: In this speech to farmers, she urged them to give examples of wolf attacks on livestock, to gather evidence for the cause.
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VON DER LEYEN: This will then guide further our action for wolf management.
SHERLOCK: This relentless pursuit was noticed in Brussels. The news outlet Politico called it a personal crusade in an article that quoted diplomats calling her focus on wolves, quote, "bizarre and pushy."
Hundreds of miles away, in the mountains of Italy's Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, wildlife guide Valeria Rosselli tells nature tourists her own story of personal tragedy caused by wolves.
VALERIA ROSSELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: It happened to her dog Walco, a Czechoslovakian wolf dog. He would pass the time exchanging howls from his garden with the wild wolves all around - not realizing, perhaps, the danger this put him in.
ROSSELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: One day, four wolves jumped the fence. Walco was no match for them.
ROSSELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: But losing her pet didn't turn Rosselli against wolves. She now uses Walco's story in her tour to promote adaptation and coexistence with these animals.
ROSSELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Rosselli says she and her neighbors learned not to leave food out for their dogs and to keep unattended pets indoors, and the wolf attacks stopped.
ROSSELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: She hopes that in teaching people about wolves, she can show them that coexistence is possible with these creatures who, in an era of massive decline of biodiversity, scientists say are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
But these two stories of what happened to Dolly and Walco and how their owners reacted reflects a political battle that's unfolding over the future of wolves in Europe. The European Union spent millions helping to secure the return of wolf populations. But in recent years, as the far-right has encroached into mainstream politics, this focus on nature has declined.
GAIA ANGELINI: Definitely, there is no scientific justification for weakening their protection.
SHERLOCK: Gaia Angelini leads Green Impact, one of several environmental groups now taking the European Commission to court over the decision to downgrade the protected status of wolves. Hundreds of scientists and experts are backing their submission.
ANGELINI: And it has been signed by more than 700 people since, basically, science is crystal clear on the fact that the populations of wolves in Europe are still at risk. Therefore, the highest protection needs to be maintained.
SHERLOCK: As apex predators, wolves help keep ecosystems in balance by keeping populations of deer, wild boar and other hoofed animals in check. And they keep those populations healthy too, hunting the sick and preventing the spread of disease. Angelini believes, yes, the experience of losing Dolly the pony likely impacted EU Commission President von der Leyen's views. But also, this is politics.
ANGELINI: It's obviously instrumentalized (ph) for very short-sighted political interest.
SHERLOCK: Von der Leyen is from a right-wing party that benefits from the support of the farming lobby. Her office declined our request for an interview and shared instead a press release with a statement from the EU commissioner saying this changed EU law will, quote, "help local authorities to actively manage wolf populations while protecting both biodiversity and our rural livelihoods."
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SHERLOCK: But the conservation group, Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, or I'm Not Scared of the Wolf, who provided this recording of wolf howls, says shooting wolves is not the best solution to protect rural livelihoods.
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FRANCESCO ROMITO: (Non-English language spoken).
SHERLOCK: Francesco Romito, the vice president of Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, says they recognize breeders' concerns about wolves killing livestock and help them gain the knowledge and tools they need to protect their animals. Strong electric fencing and dogs like the white abruzzo shepherd can be more effective than trying to shoot wolves. And overall, in reality, when it comes to European livestock, wolves only kill just about half of one-tenth of 1%.
LUCA DE ROSA: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Farmer Luca de Rosa shrugs and says he really doesn't care or think about the wolves in his area. He's in the rural Italian Abruzzo province, where wolves never went extinct, and so farmers have long lived alongside them. Protecting their flocks, for example, by keeping dogs with them just feels normal. Sometimes sheep die, but that's part of the reality of living in a rural area.
DE ROSA: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: "The wolf is just like other wild animals in this area. One day he's here, another he's gone to another part of the mountain," he says. "Why should we shoot them?" Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Abruzzo, Italy.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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