Hybridisation between wolves and dogs is increasingly reported in Europe. Nonetheless, no systematic survey has ever been attempted at the continental scale. The authors of this paper carried out the first assessment of wolf-dog hybridisation occurrence in Europe and analysed how the phenomenon is addressed by international legislation and managed at the country level.

The study found that hybridisation is reported in all nine extant European wolf populations. The two main international legal instruments (i.e., the Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention) do not explicitly mention the threat posed by hybridisation but do provide guidance promoting control of free-ranging wolf-dog hybrids. However, poor compliance with such recommendations in most European countries was recorded as well as a lack of coordination the issue.