Fears of a doubling the number of wolves in Europe

The return of wolves to Europe and the doubling of their numbers, a continent where this animal was practically exterminated a century or more ago, is provoking diverse reactions, more than many other wild animals.

In 2023, wolves reappeared in 23 countries of the European Union, with an estimated number of 20,300 wolves. According to the European Commission, "the number of wolves in the European Union is generally increasing."

This increase in numbers is not without negative aspects, mainly due to wolf attacks on livestock, which sometimes leads to heated debates between wolf advocates and opponents.

In the fall of 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who lost her horse Bonnie to a wolf at her family home in northern Germany, called for a reduction in the level of protection for grey wolves, which are now "strictly protected".

"The relationship between humans and wolves is very old, because our current dogs are descended from wolf packs, the result of the oldest domestication of animals," says Nicolas Lescureau, a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier (southern France), whose work focuses on the relationship between humans and animals.

"Wolves have been and continue to be of interest to many human societies," adds Lescureau, adding that several myths have dealt with the relationship between them and humans, such as the wolf Fenrir in Scandinavian mythology.

“These relationships undoubtedly became more complex with the domestication of certain animal species (sheep, goats, cows and pigs) some ten thousand years ago,” the researcher says, noting that “wolves are opportunistic predators, and wherever there is outdoor animal husbandry, predation on livestock is recorded.” In Europe, the former Frankish king Charlemagne established in the ninth century an agency responsible for “eliminating” animals considered harmful, most notably wolves.