On 22nd October 2014 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the EU Regulation N. 1143/2014.

As foreseen by Article 4 of the Regulation, on 13 July 2016 the European Commission adopted by means of an implementing act a list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern

At EU level, there are now 66 Invasive Alien Species of Union concern, 30 animal species and 36 plant species, to which EU measures apply. The animal species consist of 4 fish species, 2 insect and rhabditophora species, 2 amphibian and reptile species, 6 crustacean species, 5 bird species and 11 mammal species.

Many of these species are brought into Europe intentionally, to be kept as pets or used as products of the fur or food industry. These animals can escape and some are deliberately released into the wild. Roughly 10-15 % of alien species arriving in Europe eventually become invasive. Invasive alien species are one of the major causes of biodiversity loss.

The IAS Regulation introduces an EU-wide system to tackle this issue, with the Union List at its core. This is the list of priority species which require EU action to prevent, minimise or mitigate their adverse impacts.

The EU is the biggest importer of Australian kangaroo meat and skins, accounting for 65% of this trade. Their meat is sold in European supermarkets or used in pet food and their skin is used for luxury sports equipment such as shoes. Between 2016 and 2019, EU imports of kangaroo skins almost doubled in quantity, and kangaroo meat increased by 11%. The EU has a very important role to play in stopping the cruel and unnecessary commercial hunting of kangaroos in Australia to safeguard this iconic species.

The UK is home to over half of the European Badger (Meles meles) population. A 2017 survey estimated the population in England and Wales to be 485,000. Since 2013, more than 140,000 badgers, a species listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention, have been killed under licence in England as part of the UK Government’s attempts to control bovine TB in cattle. In 2019, The Born Free Foundation, Badger Trust, and Eurogroup for Animals jointly submitted a Complaint to the Bern Convention, citing clear breaches of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Convention in relation to UK Government policy on badger culling in England.

The EU must take the responsibility in taking action on trade in wildlife and show that the painful lesson of COVID-19 has been learned. The European Commission is presently drafting the Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, a crucial component of the EU Green Deal and a great opportunity to take action. This document, if ambitious enough, can initiate a decisive change of direction for the EU policies on wildlife trade.

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the drafting of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 as a key delivery of the EU Green Deal. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report published in May 2019 exposed that biodiversity is declining globally at unprecedented rates. In the EU alone, unsustainable intensification of agriculture and fisheries have
left only 23% of protected species and 16% of protected habitats in good conservation, and therefore sustainable, status. Clearly, EU efforts to avert global biodiversity loss by 2020, as required by Target 6 of the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, have failed to meet their objective. There’s no time left for political disengagement and lack of commitment: the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy must be the tool to make the change needed to reverse biodiversity loss, also by securing adequate financial resources and adopting necessary new legislation.