Wolf Trophy Hunting: EU Bans as Farce

The offers read like wellness travel catalogs, except that the end result is not relaxation but a dead wolf.

Diana Jagdreisen promotes wolf hunting in Bulgaria with precise details: recreational hunting season from January to early March, hunting from blinds at bait sites, good populations thanks to 'particularly good populations of red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, mouflon and wild boar'. The hobby hunters reside in a 5-star hunting lodge with twelve double rooms, satellite television, fireplace, bar and trophy lounge. For those who want to increase comfort even further, there are luxury lodges with outdoor pools and wellness areas.

The recreational hunting itself is sold as an 'exciting' experience, where one waits for wolves from heated tree stands, lured by deployed baits. Additionally, there is the chance for wild boar, jackal and fox. The price for this package remains discretely unmentioned on the website, but the CITES fees of around 300 euros per trophy are explicitly stated, as well as the note that export permits 'can take up to six months'.

In addition to Bulgaria, Diana Jagdreisen lists other countries: Poland, Russia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine. The wolf is thereby placed in line with red deer, fallow deer and wild boar, as if it were an ordinary recreational hunting species and not a protected predator whose population remains critical in large parts of Europe.

The Ban: EU Species Protection Regulation and Bern Convention

Parallel to these commercial offers, European governments unambiguously declare in their official press releases: 'No trade in wolf trophies: The rules of the EU Species Protection Regulation continue to apply to the wolf: This means that display and trade of dead wolves remain prohibited in the future.'

The legal basis for this is EU Regulation 338/97, which implements the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) into European law. The wolf is listed in Annex A, which means: strict import, export and marketing prohibition. Additionally, the Bern Convention of 1979 protects the wolf, which Switzerland signed on March 12, 1981 and ratified on June 1, 1982. This international legal obligation fundamentally prohibits the intentional killing of wolves.

In October 2024, the Bern Convention explicitly confirmed: 'Proactive' culls, meaning preventive killing without concrete damage, are illegal. In December 2024, the Bern Convention Committee opened an investigation procedure against Switzerland because the current regulatory system is assessed as non-compliant with the convention.

In Switzerland, the intentional killing of a wolf is fundamentally prohibited under the Hunting Act (JSG) and can be prosecuted criminally. Exceptions are only possible under narrowly defined conditions. Nevertheless, in the 2025/2026 regulation period alone, 27 wolves were killed in Canton Valais, three through individual culling orders, 24 through so-called population regulation of entire packs.

The Loophole: 'Personal Use' Instead of Commercial Trade

How can it be that commercial hunting tour operators openly advertise wolf hunting? The answer lies in an exception provision anchored in species protection law: hunting trophies may be imported into the EU as 'personal items and household goods' if they are intended for personal use and a corresponding import permit is available.

Concretely, this means: A Swiss hobby hunter could travel to Bulgaria, shoot a wolf there, have its hide prepared and import it to Switzerland, as long as he credibly demonstrates that the trophy is intended for his own household and will not be commercially utilized. The import permit is issued by the responsible authority, connected with a marketing prohibition. The trophy may therefore not be sold, traded or publicly displayed, but may be hung, shown and possessed in a private setting.

This loophole allows commercial operators like Diana Jagdreisen to legally offer their services: They organize the trip, provide hunting guides and equipment, handle the necessary paperwork, and arrange for CITES export permits. The client pays for this service, not formally for the trophy itself. The end result is a dead wolf that officially is not a trade commodity but a 'personal item'.

The practice: Intransparency and lack of control

The problem is that there is no transparent procedure for granting such import permits. Animal welfare organizations like Pro Wildlife and Humane World for Animals have been criticizing for years that it remains unclear by what criteria authorities determine the 'harmlessness' of trophy imports. Is it verified whether the wolf population in the country of origin is actually stable? Is it controlled whether the killing was lawful and not, for instance, a pack leader from an already small population? What role does the favorable conservation status required by the FFH Directive play?

The available data suggests that these assessments are rather of a formal nature. Between 2014 and 2018, trophies from at least 15,000 internationally protected mammals were legally imported into the EU. Trophy imports increased by almost 40 percent during this period. Germany is among the five most important EU member states importing hunting trophies, alongside Spain, Denmark, Austria, and Sweden.

Although no specific import statistics are available for Switzerland, figures on Swiss imports and exports can be accessed via the CITES database (https://trade.cites.org/). The fact that commercial operators have been openly advertising these recreational hunts for years also suggests that corresponding permits are regularly granted; otherwise, this business model would have collapsed long ago.

The contradiction: Protection domestically, trophy recreational hunting abroad

The situation becomes particularly absurd when viewed in the context of current Swiss wolf policy. In Valais, a bitter debate rages over whether and under what conditions wolves may be shot. Christophe Darbellay (Ex-CVP Valais), himself a hobby hunter, promotes the 'Wolf Balance 2025/2026' as 'proactive regulation,' while nature conservation organizations speak of a 'politically desired massacre.' In the article 'Christophe Darbellay's Wolf War: Polemics against Facts' wildbeimwild.com shows how deliberately emotionalized individual incidents are inflated to create an atmosphere of permanent threat.

Parallel to this, Swiss hobby hunters could fly to Bulgaria for a few thousand euros, stay in a luxury resort, and shoot a wolf from a heated hunting stand, lured with laid-out bait. They would be allowed to legally import the trophy into Switzerland as long as they promise not to sell it. That they paid for the entire trip, accommodation, guidance, and export permit is no problem, as this is supposedly not 'commercial use of the trophy.'

This double standard is no coincidence but systemic. Species protection law protects animals from commercial trade, not from hobby hunters who are willing to pay large sums for the privilege of killing a protected animal. The distinction between 'commercial trade' and 'personal use' may be legally clean, but ecologically and ethically it is absurd.

Bulgaria: Wolf population under pressure

The situation in Bulgaria reveals how questionable this practice is. Bulgaria is promoted by Diana Jagdreisen as the 'Pearl of the Balkans', with 'strict wildlife management' that leads to 'strong trophies of high international standard'. In fact, Bulgaria is one of the few EU countries where wolf hunting is legal, albeit under conditions. The population size is estimated at around 1,000 to 2,000 animals, but reliable monitoring data is lacking. Conservation organizations warn that wolves belonging to cross-border populations are being hunted particularly in border areas, animals that are important for the genetic diversity of other countries.

Recreational hunting with bait at carrion sites, as promoted by Diana Jagdreisen, is particularly problematic from a wildlife biology perspective. It does not target individual problem animals, but rather those wolves that can be most easily lured, often inexperienced juveniles or curious lone wolves. Alpha wolves, which are crucial for pack stability, are killed just as much as animals that have caused no damage. This practice stands in stark contrast to the wildlife biology criticism that over 200 scientists have formulated: endangered species do not belong in hunting laws, because recreational hunting tends to exacerbate conflicts rather than solve them.

The hunting lobby: Between ethos and business

Hunting associations like to emphasize the 'hunting ethos', the responsibility towards nature and their role as 'advocates for wildlife'. In Switzerland, actors like Fabio Regazzi (former CVP Ticino), former hunting president, demand 'science-based' regulations while simultaneously promoting the Swedish wolf model as an example. Precisely that model which was stopped by courts for violations of rule-of-law standards and species protection.

At the same time, commercial hunting tour operators, who are often closely networked with hunting associations, organize luxury trips for wolf trophy hunting to countries where neither pack structures play a role nor wildlife biology criteria are decisive. It's about the experience, about the trophy, about the photo with the killed wolf. Talk of ethos sounds like an empty phrase in this context.

Diana Jagdreisen advertises that it has been in business since 1974, with 'more than four decades of experience in the hunting travel industry'. The company presents itself as a reputable provider that guarantees 'safety' and 'highly qualified advice'. The website shows images of dead wolves, elegant lodges and satisfied customers. Violence is aestheticized, the death of the wolf becomes a service.

Political hypocrisy at EU level

The EU Commission, which downgraded the wolf's protection status from 'strictly protected' to 'protected' in 2024, simultaneously emphasizes that favorable conservation status remains decisive. Ursula von der Leyen, who personally pushed forward the downgrading initiative after the death of her pony, speaks of a 'balanced approach' between species protection and agricultural interests. The fact that EU citizens can simultaneously legally hunt wolves in third countries and import their trophies is not addressed.

The European Parliament demanded an EU-wide import ban on hunting trophies from CITES-protected species in October 2022. Nothing has happened since. The Netherlands banned the import of hunting trophies from over 200 species in 2016. Belgium has had an import ban on hunting trophies from all Annex A species plus all import-permit-required Annex B species since 2024 (African elephants, white rhinos, lions, hippos, polar bears and seven species of argali wild sheep). This ban was recently upheld by court after legal challenges. Finland also has comparable import restrictions, though these explicitly apply only to trophies from outside the EU (presumably because control within the EU is difficult to implement – a convenient excuse often used by Germany when referring to the EU level instead of taking action).

For Switzerland, the situation is particularly explosive: While the Bern Convention has opened an investigation procedure against Switzerland because the 'proactive' culls are considered illegal, Swiss recreational hunters could simultaneously legally hunt wolves in other countries and import the trophies. This potential contradiction shows how selectively species protection law could be applied.

Demands: Close loopholes, create transparency

From wildbeimwild.com's perspective, the current situation is untenable. As long as commercial operators can legally advertise wolf hunting and trophies can be imported under the guise of 'personal use', the trade ban remains toothless. Necessary measures include:

Import ban on wolf trophies: Regardless of whether they are declared as 'personal items'. Anyone who kills a wolf should be required to leave the trophy in the country of origin.

Ban on commercial hunting trips for protected species: Anyone operating as an organizer advertising recreational hunting of species protected in the EU and Switzerland should face criminal prosecution.

Consistent implementation of species protection law: Instead of pushing for downgrading protection status, the EU and Switzerland should take their own obligations seriously and actually ensure favorable conservation status.

Compliance with the Bern Convention: Switzerland must take the ongoing investigation procedure seriously and adapt its wolf policy to international legal obligations.

When protection becomes a farce

The wolf trophy hunting offers from Diana Jagdreisen and other commercial operators are not a marginal phenomenon, but a symptom of a structural problem: species protection law being undermined by loopholes and lack of control. As long as it is legal to hunt wolves in Bulgaria and import their trophies to Switzerland, the trade ban remains a symbolic gesture without practical effect.

Wolf policy in Europe is characterized by contradictions: In Valais, entire packs are designated for culling under Christophe Darbellay, while simultaneously Swiss recreational hunters could legally shoot wolves from high seats in Bulgaria for money. Anyone serious about wolf protection must close these loopholes. Everything else is window dressing.

Particularly explosive: While Switzerland is being investigated by the Bern Convention for its wolf culling programs because these are considered violations of international law, the existing legal system would simultaneously allow Swiss recreational hunters to legally import wolf trophies from countries where recreational hunting of predators is barely regulated. This structural inconsistency shows how selectively species protection is practiced and how much commercial interests of the hunting lobby take precedence over ecological and ethical principles.

Further resources:

• Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting
• Valais Wolf Balance 2025/2026: Numbers of a Massacre
• Christophe Darbellay's Wolf War: Polemics Against the Facts
• Fabio Regazzi and the Wolf Politics of Quick Shots
• Wolf Hunt 2026 Stopped: How Courts Protect the Wolf
• Why Endangered Species Don't Belong in Hunting Law