Large Carnivores
This can help to explain the different attitudes towards large carnivores which sometimes divide society. In Europe’s densely populated multi-functional landscapes, humans and large carnivores need to find a way to coexist. This coexistence gives rise to challenges, as well as opportunities.
Recent data indicates that most large carnivore populations in Europe are stable or increasing. While this trend provides a reason to celebrate, many conflicts arise. This evokes a number of questions, for instance about current management and damage compensation schemes, as well as their legal status in certain geographic ranges.
The European hunting community is a very active player in large carnivore conservation, directly contributing to their monitoring as well as to the management of their habitats and prey across our continent. Hunters are one of the main stakeholders in Europe.
Hunters are - and must be - part of the solution.
With this in mind, FACE works at several levels and promotes large carnivore management and conservation based on scientific knowledge on populations, as well as taking into account the human dimension so as to effectively reduce conflicts.
EU LARGE CARNIVORE PLATFORM
FACE is active in the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores, which is a grouping of organisations representing different interest groups that agreed on a joint mission “to promote ways and means to minimise, and wherever possible find solutions to, conflicts between human interests and the presence of large carnivore species, by exchanging knowledge and by working together in an open-ended, constructive and mutually respectful way”.
PLATFORM MEMBERS:
- ELO – European Landowners’ Organization;
- Joint representatives of Finnish and Swedish reindeer herders;
- FACE – The European Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation;
- CIC – The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation;
- IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature, European Union Representative Office;
- WWF – Worldwide Fund for Nature, European Policy Office;
- EUROPARC Federation.
FACE POSITION ON WOLVES IN EUROPE
LIFE WILD WOLF: Concrete actions for maintaining wolves wild in anthropogenic landscapes of Europe. LIFE21-NAT-IT-4417 WILD WOLF
The project’s objective is to develop a solid technical baseline, developing operating protocols and to provide a significant contribution to the most adequate management of critical situations where wildlife approach humans in urban and peri-urban areas. We aim at improving the technical capacity of relevant authorities to manage and prevent human-related conflicts by encouraging practices that keep the wolf’s wild nature and improve people’s ability to cope with their unexpected presence.
Co-funded within the EU LIFE programme, the project enjoys a multidisciplinary team of 18 partners, including 7 Universities or research institutions, national and local management authorities and NGOs from the environmental and hunting areas of interest from 9 EU countries with the Italian Institute of Applied Ecology (IEA) being the coordinating beneficiary.
During the project duration, the Croatian Hunting Association and FACE will focus on analysing and tackling the issue of wolf-dog interactions with a special focus on wolf attacks on hunting dogs. Hunting of ungulates is in many countries conducted using hunting dogs that are of high economic, emotional and social value. Reports of hunting dogs killed by wolves are increasing in Europe and hunters will be involved in the project to implement tools for protecting their dogs. FACE will also facilitate direct involvement of hunters from the project areas where no hunting association is a project beneficiary and promote best practices developed.
The project, which started in January 2023 and will last for 4.5 years, will implement actions along the main following lines:
- Definition of wolves’ behavioural patterns in human dominated landscapes
- Identification of main drivers for wolf habituation and definition of best management intervention to neutralise them for avoiding wolf permanent presence in human settlements;
- Description of eventual patterns for wolf depredation on dogs and testing of protective devices;
- Technical training of relevant authorities in communication, monitoring and management of wolf presence in human settlements.
- Read more here
LIFE WILD WOLF is co-funded by the LIFE programme of the European Commission, the Croatian Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic and the Benrd Thies-Stiftung Foundation.
LARGE CARNIVORE KNOWLEDGE BASE
FACE Members encompass a great amount of knowledge and expertise for a better future for Europe’s large carnivores. For any large carnivore policy development and implementation – whether within FACE, the EU or Council of Europe levels – FACE ensures that it has adequate in-house expertise and knowledge base on ecological, legal and socio-economic aspects.
FACE LARGE CARNIVORE WORKING GROUP
FACE set up its network of large carnivore experts from all around Europe, forming the FACE Large Carnivore Working group. This Group is instrumental in maintaining and further developing FACE’s knowledge base and in coordinating the FACE position on large carnivore issues.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Partnerships lie at the heart of all FACE work on large carnivores. Through various fora (such as the EU Action on large carnivores and the Rural Coalition) and bilateral exchange, FACE collaborates extensively with the scientific expert community (e.g. the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe, LCIE) and various stakeholders such as the farmers and landowners (e.g. Copa-Cogeca and ELO) and environmental NGOs (e.g. WWF).
THE CONTRIBUTION OF EUROPEAN HUNTERS TO LARGE CARNIVORE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT [ EN ]
COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO LARGE CARNIVORE CONSERVATION: EXAMPLES FROM OUTSIDE EUROPE [ EN ]
FACE BIODIVERSITY MANIFESTO
See how hunting benefits conservation and share your project! - www.biodiversitymanifesto.com
