Will problem wolves be dealt with now that the hunting law has been amended?

Since the return of the wolf to Germany and Europe, the number of predator kills has increased significantly, which has also increased the “potential for conflict with the population”, according to the report. Livestock farmers had long pointed out that the costs of protecting grazing land – from supposedly wolf-proof fences to livestock guarding dogs – were no longer affordable.

Wolf attacks on grazing animals in 2024

• Around 1,100 assaults


• Around 4,300 farm animals killed or injured by wolves


• Expenditure on livestock protection measures in Germany approx. 23.4 million euros


• around 780,000 euros for compensation payments for livestock attacks


• According to the statistics of the Federal Documentation and Advisory Center on Wolves (DBB), 0.5 percent of the cracks concern “other livestock species”, which also includes horses.

In addition to the economic aspect, the psychological burden should not be overlooked. According to the German government, “in particular tearing incidents with sometimes still living, severely injured animals and the removal of carcasses” could be a heavy burden.

EU had scaled back protection status in 2025

The change in the law was made possible after the protection status of the wolf in the Bern Convention was downgraded from “specially protected” to “protected” on March 7, 2025. In June, the responsible EU bodies changed the protection status of the wolf. The predator was moved from Appendix IV (Animal and plant species of Community interest requiring strict protection) to Appendix V (Animal and plant species of Community interest whose removal from the wild and use may be subject to management measures).

Opponents of the now adopted inclusion of wolves in the Federal Hunting Act had feared that this amendment would open the door to the uncontrolled shooting of wolves. However, the motion for a resolution points out that the “draft law aims to supplement the existing measures to protect grazing animals from wolves, in particular preventive herd protection, with the option of hunting as part of population management, thus taking into account the need for a viable balance between the interests of economic operators in avoiding damage and the interests of the general public in protecting wolves.”

The first version of the draft bill that has now been approved was presented by the cabinet in December 2025. The German Equestrian Federation (FN) had called for improvements at the time.

Federal states to draw up guidelines for wolf management

The next step is for the federal states to draw up joint guidelines for the creation of cross-prey management plans. In addition, the federal government is to ask the federal states to make more budget funds available for herd protection measures. The background to this is grazing. This particularly species-appropriate husbandry of sheep and goats, suckler cows, dairy cows, young cattle, foals and horses as well as other grazing animals is also of great importance for the preservation of biodiversity.

Forest/wildlife” round table

In order to harmonize the sometimes diametrically opposed attitudes towards wolves, a “Forest/Wildlife” round table is to begin its work. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the federal states and forest, environmental and hunting associations are required to present their findings on the forest/wildlife conflict by the end of 2026.