Environmental protection associations Dryade and Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen welcomed the decision of the Brussels Court of First Instance to condemn the Flemish government for its insufficiency in the protection of the wild hamster. The Flemish executive is enjoined to take concrete measures, in particular by guaranteeing a minimum area of habitat adapted to the species and ensuring the safeguard of its population.
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The wild hamster is a protected animal. Under the European Habitats Directive, this rodent has the strictest protection since 1994, but only a few dozen specimens are currently living in the Limburg commune of Widooi.
Maintaining the species requires 10,000 to 20,000 specimens and at least 600 hectares of habitat favorable to hamster, affirm environmental organizations.
Gain de cause
They had seized justice in August 2023. Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen hopes that the decision will be a “rocking point for the wild hamster”. For his part, Dryade is delighted with this judgment which “forces the government to take responsibility”.
Nature defense organizations still point out that the imposed measures will not only benefit Hamster, but also for biodiversity in general.
