A Wolf’s Right to the Surface of the Earth - The EU Habitats Directive, Animal Politics, and Kant

A Wolf’s Right to the Surface of the Earth - The EU Habitats Directive, Animal Politics, and Kant Wolthuis, Bertjan Author aut Text xx# 2025 Verfassungsblog 2025-07-02 eng The European Union recently changed the legal status of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected”. In this contribution, I advocate a different response to the problem that wolves prey on animals kept by humans: the further development of the European ecological network called Natura 2000. The premise of my argument, based on animal rights theory and Kant’s philosophy of law, is that wolves have the right to be on Earth. In the past, humans have tried to eradicate wolves, which is a clear violation of this right. I argue that this historical injustice generates the duty to restore the habitats and natural infrastructure used by wolves. CC BY-SA 4.0 Wolthuis, Bertjan Charta der Grundrechte | Europäische Union EU Charter EU Law Philosophy of Law animal rights animal welfare Charta der Grundrechte | Europäische Union 342 https://verfassungsblog.de/animalrights-charter-wolves/ Verfassungsblog 2366-7044 Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH 10.59704/a42a9ee10cbd6794 250702 10.59704/a42a9ee10cbd6794 Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.7 using MARC21slim2MODS3-7.xsl (Revision 1.140 20200717)