Supreme Court finds Environmental Board's 2020 wolf hunting quota illegal
Estonia's Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Board's 2020 order allowing 140 wolves to be hunted was unlawful as it did not consider the stricter protections of the Bern Convention in force at the time.
The Supreme Court of Estonia has declared the Environmental Board's 2020 order authorizing wolf hunting illegal because the agency failed to account for the Bern Convention, which at the time required strict protection of wolves. The order permitted 140 wolves to be hunted during the 2020/2021 season.
The NGO Estonian Large Carnivores challenged the decision, arguing the wolf population was not in favorable condition and that such a high quota would hinder recovery. Both the administrative court and circuit court dismissed the complaint, but the NGO appealed to the Supreme Court, which sought a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The central issue was whether wolf protection should be assessed under the EU Habitats Directive or the Bern Convention. Estonia joined the Bern Convention in 1992 and, unlike Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, did not seek an exemption for wolves. When joining the EU in 2004, Estonia obtained a derogation under the Habitats Directive allowing a less stringent regime. However, the Supreme Court ruled that this derogation did not relieve Estonia of its obligations under the Bern Convention, as EU law permits stricter national measures.
The court found that the Environmental Board made a significant error by relying solely on the more lenient standard of the directive and ignoring the convention's stricter requirements. In its 2025 preliminary ruling, the CJEU clarified that assessments must be based on the best scientific data and, if uncertainty remains, the precautionary principle applies. The Supreme Court noted that applying this principle could mean not using the most optimistic population estimates. Since 2025, wolves have been under a less strict regime in both the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive, but that does not affect the legality of the earlier order.
