EU Platform on Coexistence between People & Large Carnivores

The European Commission’s data gathering exercise on the wolf has focused attention again on the protection status of the species and the facts and figures available on population numbers, range and damages called to livestock. While this debate polarises, including within the EU Platform, there are certain topics that all platform members agree upon. 

Depredation of livestock remains the most controversial issue related to the presence of large carnivore species. No matter what you think about the wolf’s protection status, we will need to coexist with wolves in the EU landscape and protection of livestock remains important in the future. For this reason, the EU Platform has been active in collecting up to date information and as far as possible, comparing the situation in different member states. At the same time as the Commission releases their report on the wolf status, we are also pleased to release our report on livestock protection. To mark the event, the Platform organised a regional workshop in Waimes, Belgium where local and EU-level stakeholders, the European Commission (DG ENV and AGRI) and even a livestock guarding dog came together to discuss livestock protection.  

We hope that in addition to this newsletter, the results of the workshop as well as the report itself will provide you with interesting reading. However, even more importantly, we would like to wish you a relaxing seasonal break and that you come back refreshed to start 2024.

Jurgen Tack

Secretary general at European Landowners' Organization (ELO)

Co-chair of the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores

The Commission is tabling a proposal for a Council Decision to adapt the protection status of the wolf under the international Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, to which the EU and its Member States are parties. The wolf's protection status under the Convention was established based on the available scientific data at the time of negotiation of the Convention in 1979. On the basis of an in-depth analysis on the status of the wolf in the EU also published today, the Commission proposes to make the wolf ‘protected' as opposed to ‘strictly protected'. It follows the Commission's announcement in September 2023 that on the basis of the data collected, it would decide on a proposal to modify, where appropriate, the status of protection of the wolf and to update the legal framework, to introduce, where necessary, further flexibility.

Changing the wolf's protection status under the Bern Convention, subject to the agreement of the EU Member States and other Bern Convention parties, is a precondition for any similar change to its status at the EU level. The proposal corresponds largely to the position that the European Parliament expressed in its resolution of 24 November 2022.

The commission has produced a supporting questions and answers document on changing the protection status, available on the website. For more information on the large carnivore conservation status, see also the EU LC Platforms Q&A and Common Misconceptions page. 

The EU Platform regional workshop took place on 7 December in High Fens Natura Park, Waimes Belgium and was co-organised between the Platform members WWF Belgium and European Landowners Organisations as well as the LIFEstockProtect project and Wolf fencing team. It focused on demonstrating examples of livestock protection in different geographical, climatic and agricultural contexts and discussing what lessons can be drawn from them.

Large carnivores come into conflict with livestock raising and this is one of the main causes of conflict related to large carnivores. Data on depredation of livestock is not easily comparable across the EU. There is no one system for collecting incidents used in all countries and the reliability of reporting depends on the compensation system in place. Ideally in order to be able to say something about the causes of depredation, data should be available on a regional level and comparable across years.

The EU Large Carnivore Platform has just launched a report based on individual case-based data collected in a comparable way across the EU. Such an approach allows a fine level comparison of where incidents occur and how they vary with time. The report: Livestock depredation and large carnivores in Europe: Overview for the EU Platform and supporting case studies are available on the platform website.

As committed to in its response to the European Parliament Resolution of 24 November 2022 on the protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe, the Commission published on 20 December 2023 an in-depth analysis on the situation of the wolf in the EU.

The In-depth analysis on the situation of the wolf in the EU shows that the populations of the wolf have significantly increased in the last two decades. There are today more than 20,000 wolves in the EU with generally increasing populations and expanding ranges across all mainland EU Member States with breeding packs in 23 EU Member States. This is a conservation success, made possible by the protective legislation, more favourable public attitudes and habitat improvements. The continued expansion has in parallel led to increasing conflicts with human activities, notably concerning livestock damages caused by the wolf.

The meeting held from 27th November to 1st December 2023 in Strasbourg agreed a list of decisions and adopted texts. Section 5.4. focused on the Conservation of Large Carnivores. Following a report on the Carpathian lynx conservation efforts, parties were recommended to “strengthen their monitoring and management efforts to restore the different subpopulations of the Eurasian lynx, especially in those areas in which its extinction risk is becoming more serious.” The Convention was informed about the establishment of the Dinaric Balkan Pindos Regional Platform on Large Carnivores, recognised as an important tool for fulfilling the provisions of the Berne Convention. In addition, the Standing Committee of the Berne Convention adopted a Strategic Plan to 2030, which recognized the importance of habitat connectivity and improved conservation status of threatened species as one of the main goals to be achieved.

The COR is planning on drafting a report on large carnivores and local and regional authorities in by April 2024. Mr Csaba BORBOLY (RO/EPP), President of Harghita County Council, is rapporteur. A first meeting with stakeholders was held 12 December. 

The 6th Benelux+ Transboundary wolf meeting took place 27-28 November in Luxembourg. The meetings are focused on developing and deploying a common policy with regards to wolves in the Benelux countries and adjacent regions (Niedersachsen, Nord-Rhein Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, N-France). The participants to this meeting are the regional policy representatives plus parties involved in monitoring of wolves in the respective regions.  

The sixth annual meeting started with an update on the common wolf monitoring program (https://wolvesmap.zoogdiervereniging.nl/). Denmark has expressed an interest in joining the initiative. Participants shared updates of wolf distribution, evolution of the population and regional damage statistics and discussed specific conflict situations that arose in the past year, and how these were dealt with. Establishing a common reporting strategy across members of this platform for the Habitats Directive art. 17, and converged on reporting jointly in 2031 (for the period 2025-2030) was discussed.

The second day was focused on wolf-human coexistence management and the further development of a shared policy. The call by the EU Commission in September for the requested update on wolf distribution and damage statistics was discussed and the issue of lethal wolf management (change from Annex IV to Annex V, trade-off with livestock protection measures). Cryptic mortality causes (poaching, disease, ...) and wolf behaviour in urban landscapes was discussed. The meeting ended with a great demonstration of search dogs trained to track wolves and identify wolf kills. 

The foundation “Oso Pardo” reported in September that a male adult bear had been found in the Spanish province of León with its head stuck in a big plastic container for dispensing corn while searching for food. Fortunately, the story came to a happy end, with the local technical and veterinary team being able to tranquilise the animal, remove the container and fit it with a GPS collar to monitor its movements. The incident shows the importance of having trained Intervention Teams ready and available to react (for both animal welfare and human security) to incidents involving bears of which there are reported increases in many countries.

Several countries are currently updating their wolf management policies. In France, the National Action Plan 2024-2029 was presented to stakeholders and a consultation closed 7 December. The plan should increase scientific exchange; better reduce damages; recognise the importance of pastoralism and improve governance. Nonetheless, the proposed changes have been criticised by stakeholders from a number of angles. From livestock breeders, there was criticism, amongst other things of insufficiently planning financing livestock protection and clarifying responsibilities for livestock guarding dogs. The six nature protection organisations included in the national wolf group (WWF, LPO, FNE, Ferus, ASPAS, Humanité & Biodiversité) walked out of the group due to the perception that the new conditions for “defensive shooting” would mean that wolf removal could occur even where damages are not significant and the focus on protection of stock would be weakened. The scientific council of the wolf plan regretted that they were not consulted on its formulation and that important details on the actions are lacking. The IUCN Committee for France stated that further evaluation of the previous plan would be desirable and that there was too much focus on wolf removal in the new plan.

In Germany, the ministry of environment, recently announced proposed changes in reaction to growing wolf numbers and increasing conflict to facilitate the shooting of wolves in certain cases. In the future, any wolf within the radius of one kilometre from the site of livestock damages up to 21 days later, can be removed. A shooting permit is still required, and it applies to "previously defined regions with increased incidences of livestock damages." Additionally, the wolf must have overcome "reasonable herd protection measures". The proposals are laid out in more detail in a background paper.

In Switzerland a temporary change in the regulations allows easier removal of individuals and packs to limit growth of the population. A consultation is planned in early 2024.

In Slovakia, following a two-year ban on hunting, a wolf hunting quota has been allocated for 2023-24.

The toolkit resulted from exchange between the different platforms upon their extensive experience with regional dialogue platforms on large carnivores in different European countries and drew out lessons learned. The Toolkit supports anyone interested in establishing national and regional/local platforms on large carnivores, providing guidance based on lessons learned and good practice. Already launched early this year, the toolkit has now been added to with a presentation in all EU languages.

A survey, commissioned by a consortium of wildlife and animal welfare organisations aims to explore the attitudes and perceptions of residents in rural communities towards large carnivores and hunting practices. It seeks to gather valuable insights into the complex relationship between rural populations and the coexistence with large carnivores (wolves, bears and lynx). The survey was conducted by a polling organisation in November 2023 among a sample of 10,000 inhabitants of rural areas in the following Member States: Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Romania (1000 per Member State). Results indicated that most rural inhabitants including hunters and farmers do not feel well represented by hunting or farming lobby group positions. A majority supported more attention to be given to biodiversity and nature.

The paper by Salvatori et al. (2023) examines methods to centre the experience and knowledge of farmers in implementing livestock protection measures. Through the LIFE MEDWOLF Project, implemented 2012-2017, local authorities, environmental associations, farming unions and individual farmers worked together to develop tailor-made damage prevention measures and assess their technical impact. Collaboration with farmers resulted in multiple modifications to the original project plan and an overall 50% reduction of livestock preyed upon on farms. This indicates the benefits of a collaborative approach to damage prevention.

The foundation “Oso Pardo” has been continuing its information campaign targeted at visitors of the Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa over the summer months. The campaign promotes appropriate behaviour in areas inhabited by bears and has published the brochure Compatibility of wildlife tourism with the conservation of protected natural areas and the brown bear.

The paper by Kutal et al (2023) measured the impact on a regional level of hunting of wolves on livestock depredation. The authors did not observe a relationship between the number of killed wolves and livestock losses. However, a negative relationship between wild prey biomass and livestock losses was found. The authors argue that regulation of livestock depredation should not be used as a reason to justify recommencement of wolf hunting in Slovakia.

In early 2023, the WISO platform in collaboration with the LIFE Wolfalps project will release a report entitled National Schemes for the Use of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The report compares use of the Rural Development Programmes across Alpine countries.

During the summer, LIFE CARPATHIA has released a report on wolf monitoring using non-invasive DNA sampling in the Carpathian mountains of Romania.

The autumn-winter edition of Carnivore Damage Prevention news, focusing on bears in Europe and Asia will be released by the end of the year. CDP news is also looking for articles for future editions. If you have relevant news, please read the call for submissions and detailed guidelines for authors for more information.

The LIFE Lynx project is ending in March next year. The project has reached its main goal: the translocation of 18 lynxes to Slovenia and Croatia has improved the genetic and demographic outlook of the Dinaric-SE Alpine Lynx Population. Most translocated individuals were successfully included into the population and to date, 19 reproductions were detected. The whole process was a joint effort of project team members and key stakeholders; hunters, local inhabitants, nature conservationists, and foresters. In addition to lynx translocations, the international team was also monitoring the lynx, preventing illegal killing of wildlife, and promoting acceptance of the large carnivore among the local people. For more information see the project website.

During November and December 2023, the project is offering multiple online and offline trainings related to herd protection, fencing and livestock guarding dogs. See an overview of the trainings here.

The 20-month long project is targeted at brown bear population and habitat connectivity conservation in the transboundary area between Albania, North Macedonia and Greece under the coordination of EURONATUR. It has engaged relevant governmental and civil society stakeholders in order to build joint understanding of the project’s goals. Additionally, the project has worked towards a) finalizing common monitoring protocols which have been also communicated to the Dinaric -Balkan-Pindos Regional Platform b) identifying and mapping hot spots of present and future habitat fragmentation. In November and December 2023 two additional technical workshops with participation of stakeholders from various GOs and NGOs from the three countries were organized in Greece on Bear Emergency Teams operation and relevant protocols. The overall outcome from the TBB project (ending December 2023) will be diffused to all interested parties including the Dinaric-Balkan-Pindos Regional Platform. 

The event, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the EUROPARC Federation took place from 3-6 October in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, brought together a range of park actors and interest groups for three days of discussions and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the EUROPARC Federation. The EU Large Carnivore platform was present at the conference and co-organised a workshop presenting the Platform-developed Toolkit: Supporting the establishment of regional/local platforms on large carnivores. The workshop, entitled The return of large carnivores: a toolkit to facilitate coexistence, took place afternoon 4 October and was attended by more than 30participants, mainly EUROPARC members from different countries. It was led by Federico Minozzi, Managing Director at EUROPARC Federation, Tasos Hovardas, from the EU Platform Secretariat, presented the toolkit in an interactive format supported by the professional facilitator Eva-Maria Cattoen who also presented the related Erasmus + project entitled New European training curricula for facilitating environmental conflicts where partners developed tools and methods to facilitate/mediate environmental conflicts and training modules based on these methods. The participants discussed the main challenges in dealing with large carnivore presence and the extent of the conflicts that can be generated. A range of good practices from the parks present were discussed and compared. 

Next year’s conference in October has the theme “Revisiting What is Wild for Coexisting”, focusing on topics related to native and non-native wildlife and how to deal with future challenges regarding coexistence. Attendees are encouraged to submit an organised session and/or an individual abstract or poster. Guidelines for and all other information related to submission can be found on the conference’s website. Submission deadline is on 12 March 2024.

The fourth conference of the Dinaric-Balkan-Pindos Platform took place 16-17 November 2023, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. The conference brought together managing authorities and stakeholders from participating countries to discuss the establishment of a long-term collaboration through an international agreement and practical measures to improve large carnivore management (monitoring, dealing with incidents, working with hunters, improving connectivity). Through a series of break out groups, topics such as monitoring, bear intervention teams, hunters involvement and institutional structure were examined in detail. These groups will continue to meet outside the main platform meetings.

December 5-6 a smaller capacity-building event brought together large carnivore managers from Croatia, North Macedonia and Bosnia Herzegovina to exchange on the establishing of a national large carnivore committee on day 1 and management of intervention teams for large carnivores on day 2. The activities contribute towards North Macedonia’s plans to establish a bear management plan.

More information on the initiative is available online.

Communication on large carnivores is often focused around conflict and addressing those who are strongly opposed to large carnivore presence. This however risks losing the broader public who perhaps have less strong feelings around large carnivore presence but have the potential to be interested by their biology and behaviour. As part of the EU LIFE WolfAlps project, this public is addressed through a range of actions. One innovative approach is collaboration with artists and museums.

The project has designed and presented an immersive exhibition using video and audio effects, which tries to see coexistence from the perspective of a young wolf in dispersal (leaving his home pack to find a new territory and mate). The exhibition was hosted at Muse from 4 November to 28 May, then travelled to the St. Francis Monumental Complex in Cuneo (10/06/2023 - 2/09/2023).

The openings of the exhibition where both times preceded by an educational event where speeches on coexistence, study and prevention of threats to conservation where held. Both openings also included a dialogue with Italy’s leading wolf expert Luigi Boitani. From September till October, the exhibition moved to Milan. In all locations, the exhibition was complemented by conferences on wolves, activities for children, teacher’s training, and in Cuneo also bicycle excursions including a visit to the Centre for People and Wolves.