From a rewilding perspective, the crossing of international borders by free-roaming horses and bovines is perfectly natural. But Europe’s existing regulatory environment often means such behaviour poses significant legal challenges. In a new GrazeLIFE report, ARK Nature and Renée Meissner of Herds and Homelands propose a range of solutions.
Results from the ongoing GrazeLIFE project demonstrate that natural forests, complete with naturally occurring populations of free-roaming herbivores, can boost biodiversity and reduce the scale and impact of climate change. The EU should take account of this in all relevant strategy and policy going forwards.
Held in the Gelderse Poort area of the Netherlands – an early showcase of European rewilding involving natural grazing – the three-day meeting sees GrazeLIFE project partners come together for the first time. Coordinated by Rewilding Europe, the three-year project will hopefully lead to increased EU legislative support for more natural grazing systems.
The three-year, pan-European project will evaluate the benefits of various land management models involving domesticated and wild/semi-wild herbivores. It will hopefully lead to more supportive EU policy and legislation.