The European Union's top court has ruled against a declaration by a region in Spain that allowed for a limited number of wolves to be hunted. 

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling stipulated that the wolf may not be designated as a species for hunting at a regional level as long as its conservation status at a national level is "unfavorable."

What did the ECJ say?

The regional government of Castile and Leon had allowed the regional hunting of the Iberian wolf. Monday's ruling means the court finds that decision violates the European Union's Habitats Directive.

The Association for the Conservation and Study of the Iberian Wolf (ASCEL) had initiated legal action against the regional government's plan.

"The Court answers that the regional Law is contrary to the Habitats Directive," the court said in a press release.

"Indeed, the wolf cannot be designated as a huntable species in a part of the territory of a Member State when its conservation status at national level is unfavorable."

The court argued that the regional government's 2019 hunting plan, that allowed a total of 339 wolves to be hunted, did not take into account a survey that showed that wolves in Spain had an unfavorable conservation status.

It argued that when a species' conservation status is this poor, national authorities could even ban hunting it.

The case will return to the Spanish court, which should in turn enact the ECJ's ruling against the hunting plan.

rmt/wmr (AFP, dpa)