Conservation of wolves in Europe – Wolves and Humans Foundation

The wolf is designated by the European Union as a species of “community interest” requiring protection and conservation, under the following agreements:

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (known as the Berne Convention): the wolf is included in Appendix II as a strictly protected species. However, amongst the countries that have signed the Convention, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey have made reservations excluding the wolf from this protection.

Council Directive 92/43 EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna(usually called the Habitats Directive): the wolf is listed in Annexe II (species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas), and Annexe IV (species in need of strict protection). Wolves in Spain north of the river Duero, in Greece north of the 39th parallel, in the Baltic countries and in the Finnish reindeer herding area are listed in Annexe V (species whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures). The directive is binding on all members of the European Union.

The Berne Convention has adopted an Action Plan for the conservation of wolves in Europe, which requires management of wolf populations across borders and the formulation of individual action plans for each country.

The wolf is, however, classified by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as being of ‘Least Concern’ in Europe, as although it is endangered or vulnerable at national level in several countries (Sweden/Norway, Germany, France), at European level it is increasing in both numbers and range.Wolves are however still legally hunted in a number of European countries that are not members of the European Union, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, FYR Macedonia and Albania. Limited legal hunting is also carried out in Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. Sweden has been investigated by the European Commission recently for attempting to reinstate limited hunting to control wolf numbers and increase tolerance amongst hunters and livestock owners.

In European culture, there is a deep-rooted negative image of the wolf, based on fear of wolf attacks on humans, and the loss of livestock, and therefore livelihood, to wolf depredation. These factors, together with loss of suitable habitat to development and agriculture, and reduction in numbers of prey species, are the main obstacles to conservation and recovery of wolves in Europe in the 21st century.