Killing Wolves Legally: Exploring the Scope for Lethal Wolf Management under European Nature Conservation Law

Abstract

This article seeks to identify to what extent, and under what conditions, lethal wolf management can be conducted in EU countries without violating applicable European legal frameworks, in particular the Habitats Directive. The analysis carried out to that end demonstrates that certain variables are tightly related with the options of EU member states to allow the killing of wolves under the Directive, namely (1) the conservation status of the populations in question; (2) the quality of the scientific evidence showing that the various conditions of the Directive's derogation clause are met; (3) the quality of supervision and regulatory safeguards in member states’ hunting regimes and wolf plans; and (4) the extent and quality of intergovernmental cooperation targeting transboundary wolf populations. As these variables improve, so does the scope for legally viable wolf hunting.