Wolf protection in Germany: Relaxation too premature

While the wolf population in Germany continues to expand, favourable conservation status under the Habitats Directive (FFH Directive) and the case law of the European Court of Justice has by no means been achieved for the majority of the federal territory or the relevant biogeographical regions.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild · 9 July 2025

This applies in particular to the west, with the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and the southwest of Germany with Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

In view of the current political debate and efforts to downgrade the protection status of the wolf in Germany, leading nature conservation organisations are warning against prematurely declaring a “favourable conservation status” for the wolf population in Germany. Such a declaration would contradict scientific facts and could have serious consequences for species protection in Europe, explains Lovis Kauertz of Wildtierschutz Deutschland.

The determination of favourable conservation status is a complex criterion under the Habitats Directive that goes far beyond the mere number of individuals. It encompasses aspects such as the long-term viability of the population, genetic diversity, the connectivity of populations, and the availability of suitable habitats. Favourable conservation status for Germany can only be considered achieved when the majority of suitable habitats are inhabited by wolves. This is by no means the case, as extensive settlement of adequate habitats exists only for large parts of the federal states of Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, and Lower Saxony.

Wolfs-Angriffe gehen in Brandenburg stark zurück

The European Court of Justice has clarified in numerous rulings that the assessment of conservation status must be based on reliable scientific data and that socioeconomic arguments – such as the impact on livestock farming – do not constitute valid grounds for downgrading protected status under the Habitats Directive.

The wolf population in Germany, while growing, is part of a larger European network. The claim that wolf populations are stable across the board is contradicted by current data.

A pending case before the ECJ is currently examining the legality of the EU Commission's decision to downgrade wolf protection. A premature amendment of the Federal Nature Conservation Act before these rulings have been issued would not only be preventively precarious, but could later prove incompatible with EU law. The Federal Government should use the granted adaptation period of 18 months to await legal certainty.

The Habitats Directive explicitly allows member states to maintain stricter protection standards, particularly where scientific evidence indicates a continued need for protection. This is the case for the wolf in large parts of Europe and in Germany as well.

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More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on the criticism of recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.

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