Case C-436/22, ASCEL: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León – Spain) – Asociación para la Conservación y Estudio del Lobo Ibérico (ASCEL) v Administración de la Comunidad de Castilla y León (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora – Directive 92/43/EEC – Articles 2, 4, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 – System of strict protection for animal species – Canis lupus (wolf) – Cynegetic exploitation – Assessment of the conservation status of populations of the species concerned – Conservation status of that species unfavourable-poor – Exploitation incompatible with the maintenance or restoration of the species at a favourable conservation status – Taking into account of all the most recent scientific data)
Date: 2024-07-29
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Castile-Leon, Northern Portugal, Portugal, hunting, hunting regulations, protected species, wolf








C_202405591EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5591


30.9.2024






Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León – Spain) – Asociación para la Conservación y Estudio del Lobo Ibérico (ASCEL) v Administración de la Comunidad de Castilla y León


(Case C-436/22,
                (1)
ASCEL)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - Directive 92/43/EEC - Articles 2, 4, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 - System of strict protection for animal species - Canis lupus (wolf) - Cynegetic exploitation - Assessment of the conservation status of populations of the species concerned - Conservation status of that species ‘unfavourable-poor’ - Exploitation incompatible with the maintenance or restoration of the species at a favourable conservation status - Taking into account of all the most recent scientific data)
(C/2024/5591)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Asociación para la Conservación y Estudio del Lobo Ibérico (ASCEL)

Defendant: Administración de la Comunidad de Castilla y León

Operative part of the judgment

Article 14 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, as amended by Council Directive 2013/17/EU of 13 May 2013,
must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State under which the wolf is designated as a species whose specimens may be hunted in a part of the territory of that Member State where it is not covered by the strict protection provided for in Article 12(1) of that directive, whereas the conservation status of that species in that Member State is classified as ‘unfavourable-poor’. It is appropriate to take into account, in that regard, the report drawn up every six years pursuant to Article 17 of that directive, all the most recent scientific data, including those obtained from the surveillance provided for in Article 11 of that directive, and the precautionary principle enshrined in Article 191(2) TFEU.


(1)  
            OJ C 359, 19.9.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5591/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)