The number of wolves present in France in 2024 is estimated at 1,013, the prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region announced on Thursday, a figure that is almost stable compared to last year but based on a new counting method.
This figure was particularly expected since the slaughter quota depends on it, currently set at 19% of the recorded population. The number of wolves that could be killed in 2025 was therefore set at 192, according to the regional prefecture.
This is the first estimate established using a new wolf ‘counting’ system, introduced in the National Wolf Plan 2024-2029. It is based on the analysis of genetic data collected during the winter of 2023-2024, according to a territorialized sampling plan.
In 2023, the lupine population in France was estimated at 1003 individuals.
The wolf, which was exterminated at the beginning of the 20th century in several countries, has made a comeback in recent years, arousing the anger of breeders who denounce attacks on herds.
According to the prefecture, wolf attacks increased by 4.6% nationally, leading to an increase in victims of 10.6%, mainly in territories where wolves are newly present.
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Nearly 7.5% of attacks affected cattle farms. Regulatory changes to protect them are being considered.
This document is published ahead of a meeting on Monday in Lyon of the National Wolf Group (GNL), a consultative body which brings together elected officials, representatives of the agricultural world, shepherds, hunters, protected areas, administrations and nature protection associations.
At the beginning of December, the European Union lowered the level of protection for the wolf, which was until then a ‘strictly protected’ species, thus going in the direction of breeders despite the outcry from environmental associations.
At EU level, the number of wolves was estimated at 20,300 individuals in 2023. And in Switzerland, according to the latest monitoring by the Foundation for Carnivore Ecology and Wildlife Management KORA, we currently has 35 packs made up of a pair of parents and at least one cub. Nine of these packs move between Switzerland and neighboring countries.
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