Human-wildlife coexistence with wolves in Europe requires a holistic approach.
In a Mongabay Newscast interview, social scientist Emu-Felicitas Ostermann-Miyashita said Europe's recovering wolf populations call for a combined approach to livestock protection, evidence gathering and public attitudes.
Gray wolves were practically extinct across Western and Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Strict protection measures have since allowed their numbers to rise, including a reported 58% increase between 2012 and 2022. The podcast host put the total at around 21,500 animals as of 2022.
Emu-Felicitas Ostermann-Miyashita, an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, discussed the social side of that recovery on the Mongabay Newscast. She has studied wolf-human conflict in Germany, where the first successful wolf reproduction in the modern era took place in 2000. She said recovery is uneven across Europe. Countries where wolves never fully vanished kept protection practices such as fencing and enclosing sheep overnight. Where wolves disappeared, that knowledge was lost, and livestock predation has fueled conflict since their return. She also said her studies show public attitudes are less polarized than European media suggest.
The European Union voted to loosen the protected status of the Eurasian gray wolf, and WWF warned this could jeopardize the fragile recovery. Ostermann-Miyashita said she partly agreed because recovery differs by country. She added that the decision was driven more by social pressure than by ecological evidence. She noted that the change shifts more decisions to national and regional authorities. The legal change only took effect this year, she said, so monitoring projects have not yet produced results.
On lethal control, she said the evidence is still thin. In her words, the available data suggest the issue is more complex than people assume. She said studies have found varying results, and removing the wrong animal could disrupt a pack and leave young, inexperienced wolves more likely to turn to livestock. She also said that "the effectiveness of reducing damage is definitely much higher by protection than by lethal control at the moment."
Her proposed approach is a shift in mindset from "wolves vs. livestock" to "livestock with wolves." She said this should not place the whole burden on farmers. Governments would need to provide financial support, technical help and expertise so livestock keepers can protect their animals. She also called for evidence on mitigation methods to be gathered in different settings and shared among EU member states. The suggestions come from a 2025 paper in the journal People and Nature, which she co-authored.
At a Glance
- Reported wolf numbers in Europe rose 58% between 2012 and 2022, reaching about 21,500 animals in 2022.
- The first successful wolf reproduction in Germany after a long absence took place in the year 2000.
- The EU voted to loosen wolves' protected status, and the legal change only began to take effect this year.
- Ostermann-Miyashita said protection measures reduce livestock damage far more effectively than lethal control does at present.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.