2025, too, will be a year to forget for Europe's large carnivores. In Sweden, wolf hunting has already been under way since 2 January, following the green light from the Stockholm government, which has authorised the culling of five entire family groups, totalling – for now – 30 specimens. The total population of the species in the Scandinavian country stands at 375 individuals: of these, Sweden would like to kill 170, just under half and roughly a hundred more than those already killed in 2023. The wolf is, however, only the latest "victim" in Sweden, which in November 2024 also began a slaughter of bears, issuing 486 hunting permits to reduce the population by 20 per cent.

The official justification is the same one used by every country that embarks on a carnivore culling programme: protecting livestock and farmland. Farmers argue that the growth of the wolf population poses a threat to livestock such as sheep.

Wolves protected, but not too much

The species, which has found a tentative stronghold in Sweden after the country had no reproducing wolf population from 1966 to 1983, is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with the status of "vulnerable". The wolf also appears on the list of "strictly protected" species under the Bern Convention of 1979.

It is precisely this document that activists from the Swedish Carnivore Association are invoking to demand a halt to the killings. While it is true that the convention allows for derogations permitting the culling of strictly protected species where no other practicable alternative exists, it is equally true that the objective set out in Article 1 is to conserve wild fauna, with particular attention to vulnerable species. And the wolf currently is one.

"We filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, which led to infringement proceedings against Sweden, but with no result," said Magnus Orrebrant, president of the Swedish Carnivore Association. Sweden has, in practice, been disregarding the wolf's status since 2010.

Wolf hunting: a European issue

The fact is that in recent years several European countries have felt the need to loosen the constraints of protection in order to make it easier to kill wolves, whose constantly monitored populations are showing slight growth across the continent, particularly in the alpine and forested regions of Scandinavia and central Europe. Last September, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the governments of EU member states (Coreper) approved the proposal to downgrade the wolf from "strictly protected" to "protected" species.

More recently, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention also voted in favour of downgrading the protection status. The amendment will officially enter into force on 7 March 2025: from that date, wolves will be considered "merely" a protected species, effectively allowing for more killings. For Orrebrant, "If the EU follows through on the latest decision of the Bern Convention by amending the wolf's protection status in the Habitats Directive, the outcome will be very negative not only for wolves, but for all wildlife in Europe."

Where are the preventive measures?

The protests by animal welfare organisations – not only Swedish ones, but European ones too – hinge on a deliberately overlooked issue: that of preventing attacks by large carnivores and educating the public towards peaceful coexistence between human communities and wildlife. Why not use electrified fencing? Why not roll out awareness programmes and best-practice guidelines, instead of stoking fear of wildlife attacks?

"The wolf is, sadly, the latest political pawn, a victim of disinformation. Downgrading its protection will not resolve the challenges of coexistence, nor will it help farmers," said Léa Badoz, wildlife programme manager at Eurogroup for Animals.

At present, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has not issued any comment on the protests.