Hunting wolves? Protected predators are becoming a nuisance to people

Farmers are reporting further cases of livestock being attacked by wolves. According to them, the predators are approaching buildings more and more closely and are increasingly difficult to scare away. What are the official data on such incidents? Is a change in the protection status of these animals possible?

Wolf attacks in the Bieszczady Mountains, Warmia and Masuria, and Podlasie

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as much as 25 percent of the European wolf population lives in Poland. Recently, their presence near farms has been becoming an increasingly serious problem.

Most reports of wolf attacks on livestock come from three regions. According to data from the Farmer.pl portal, 228 such cases were reported in Warmia and Masuria in 2024. There were also reports of a recent calf being killed in the municipality of Korycin in the Podlasie Voivodeship.

Wolves are appearing more and more frequently near buildings in the Bieszczady Mountains. In the municipality of Czarna, 34 incidents involving predators have occurred. And these are not only attacks on animals. Wolves are increasingly boldly entering properties and staying close to houses, reports the Bieszczady.pl portal. As reported by the Rzeszów branch of Gazeta Wyborcza, Jacek Przybyło, the head of the Czarna municipality, has already applied three times for permission to cull wolves. Despite protests from members of the Wild Carpathians Initiative, in December 2025 he received permission to kill one predator.

We are facing a crisis situation. Wolves are not afraid of people, they are appearing closer and closer to buildings, and they are killing farm and domestic animals – says the head of the Bieszczady municipality.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development published data on predator attacks on farms. Unfortunately, these data are outdated – they come from 2023. At that time, 2,000 such incidents were recorded. Wolves most often attacked sheep (69 percent of cases) and cattle, and less frequently goats and horses.

From strictly protected to protected? A possible change in the wolf’s protection status

Damage caused by wolves has been addressed by the European Union. In May, the European Parliament voted to lower the wolf’s protection status – from strictly protected to protected. This gives member states the possibility to manage the population of these animals. It also implements changes introduced by the 2024 Habitats Directive.

In Poland, the Ministry of Climate and Environment has so far not decided to lower the protection status.

Wolf culls in other European countries

Wolf attacks on farms are not exclusively a Polish problem. Reports of similar cases are also coming from Finland and Germany. In 2025, 1,100 incidents occurred in Germany (with a wolf population of 1,600). In December last year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz decided to include wolves in hunting law. This will make it possible to hunt these animals, provided that their population status is satisfactory – reports Deutsche Welle.

Finland has also decided to cull wolves. The first hunts were carried out on New Year’s Day, reports the Euroactiv portal. The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture estimated the optimal number of wolves in the country at 273, while currently there are (with 90 percent probability) 475.

In these countries, as in Poland, the decision to carry out culls has met with protests from environmental organizations.

Fewer wolves do not automatically mean fewer attacks – warns the German Nature Conservation Association. If pack structures are disrupted by culling, the number of attacks may even increase.