The situation of the wolf (canis lupus) in the European union :An in-depth analysis

Having been extirpated from most of Europe during the 18th and 19th Centuries, wolves started to recover in the 1970s and are now present in most of the EU Member States. With the return of the wolf, comes also the return of conflicts with livestock. Wolves in the EU are protected by the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive, but the strict protection of wolves may be derogated under certain conditions to, inter alia, prevent serious damage to livestock or in the interests of public safety. After the adoption of the European Parliament’s non-legislative resolution on the protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe in November 2022, the European Commission has committed itself to carrying out an in-depth analysis of available scientific and technical data on the wolf in the EU.