Carnivores on the rise
28 March 2025
As someone who grew up in a small town surrounded by the forest, I am used to seeing paw prints in the mud or snow and wildlife wandering through the streets. I've seen foxes and deer, once even a bear cub wandering through the garden. Now Latvia is reconsidering its bear population and may cap the number of bears allowed in the country.
After centuries of near extinction, brown bears, wolves, and lynxes are making a comeback across Europe. Today, around 25,000 brown bears live across Europe, 17% more than in 2016. Meanwhile, wolves have increased by 35%, while the population of golden jackals has risen by 46%.
While conservationists celebrate the return of these carnivores, farmers and rural communities face more pressing problems, like losing livestock to the predators. This presents a difficult reality: how to balance ecological recovery with human livelihoods and safety.
To deal with the growing wildlife populations, countries such as Sweden, Romania, Latvia, and Slovakia have expanded their policies on predator culls and count on carefully regulated input from hunters. But it is not easy, as many of them are protected species both on the European and local level, such as bears and lynxes, among others. Wolves, well, their level of protection was reduced just recently, because their overpopulation is threatening other protected species.
 | Nikola Veisberga Politics alone won't solve the tensions between humans and predators. A recent study from York University reveals a deeper problem: Europe lacks a clear definition of "local" communities, making it much more complicated to issue effective policies. In Europe, except for the Sami people, no other indigenous or rural group has an officially recognised status, leaving other "local" communities without a clear voice in predator management. However, having their input is crucial – not just for conservation but also for coexistence. According to experts, to coexist with the predators, we must combine policy-making with scientific research and local knowledge, and consider non-lethal solutions like electric fences and livestock guard dogs. But beyond policy, we must also shift our mindset – and start considering these animals as part of European nature's heritage. |
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