Almost 20,000 sheep are killed by wolves every year in Europe, a new report has found.
Between 2012 and 2016, the annual average number of sheep killed by wolves was 19,500 in a sample of 19 European countries.
John D C Linnell and Benjamin Cretois from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research produced the report ‘The revival of wolves and other large predators and its impact on farmers and their livelihood in rural regions of Europe' at the request of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
They found that there are an estimated 17,000 wolves in continental Europe, divided into nine main populations.
High losses
The report found huge variances between the number of livestock killed by wolves in different European countries.
Norway and France lose over 30 sheep per wolf each year, whereas most countries lose between one and 14.
The very high losses experienced in Norway and in parts of France and Switzerland are because sheep graze freely in forest and mountain habitats without fencing, shepherds or dogs to protect them.
Geographic distribution of wolves in Europe, 2012-2016. The maps show areas of permanent presence in dark blue, and of irregular presence in light blue.
The report, which also studied livestock losses to brown bears, lynxes and wolverines, showed that large carnivores account for the deaths of just 0.05% of the 31m-strong sheep flock in the countries they studied.
There are an estimated 1,000 to 1,250 wolverines, 8,000 to 9,000 Eurasian lynx, 15,000 to 16,000 brown bears and 17,000 wolves present in continental Europe (excluding Russia and Belarus).
Protected carnivores
Wolves, and other large carnivores like brown bears, are dealt with by two main European legal instruments, the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive.
These legal instruments do not allow open culling of large carnivores, but still over 900 wolves are deliberately killed each year in the EU.
Wolves in Ireland
Last October, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan called for wolves to be reintroduced in Ireland, some 250 years after the last wolf in Ireland was reportedly killed in 1786.
However, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said her department had no plans to reintroduce wolves in Ireland.
“The reintroduction of a large predator which has been absent for 250 years might undermine existing conservation programmes and would do considerable damage to farming,” she said in a tweet at the time.
Read more
Green Party leader calls for the reintroduction of wolves
The reintroduction of wolves would be 'crazy' – IFA
Is Eamon Ryan a wolf in a woollen suit?
Almost 20,000 sheep are killed by wolves every year in Europe, a new report has found.
Between 2012 and 2016, the annual average number of sheep killed by wolves was 19,500 in a sample of 19 European countries.
John D C Linnell and Benjamin Cretois from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research produced the report ‘The revival of wolves and other large predators and its impact on farmers and their livelihood in rural regions of Europe' at the request of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
They found that there are an estimated 17,000 wolves in continental Europe, divided into nine main populations.
High losses
The report found huge variances between the number of livestock killed by wolves in different European countries.
Norway and France lose over 30 sheep per wolf each year, whereas most countries lose between one and 14.
The very high losses experienced in Norway and in parts of France and Switzerland are because sheep graze freely in forest and mountain habitats without fencing, shepherds or dogs to protect them.
Geographic distribution of wolves in Europe, 2012-2016. The maps show areas of permanent presence in dark blue, and of irregular presence in light blue.
The report, which also studied livestock losses to brown bears, lynxes and wolverines, showed that large carnivores account for the deaths of just 0.05% of the 31m-strong sheep flock in the countries they studied.
There are an estimated 1,000 to 1,250 wolverines, 8,000 to 9,000 Eurasian lynx, 15,000 to 16,000 brown bears and 17,000 wolves present in continental Europe (excluding Russia and Belarus).
Protected carnivores
Wolves, and other large carnivores like brown bears, are dealt with by two main European legal instruments, the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive.
These legal instruments do not allow open culling of large carnivores, but still over 900 wolves are deliberately killed each year in the EU.
Wolves in Ireland
Last October, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan called for wolves to be reintroduced in Ireland, some 250 years after the last wolf in Ireland was reportedly killed in 1786.
However, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said her department had no plans to reintroduce wolves in Ireland.
“The reintroduction of a large predator which has been absent for 250 years might undermine existing conservation programmes and would do considerable damage to farming,” she said in a tweet at the time.
Read more
Green Party leader calls for the reintroduction of wolves
The reintroduction of wolves would be 'crazy' – IFA
Is Eamon Ryan a wolf in a woollen suit?
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