In 2024, France was leading the call for a reduction in the level of protection for wolves, downgrading them from a "strictly protected" to a "protected" species. Just months after the change took effect at the European level, the French government is set to clarify how it plans to implement this new status. It is expected to announce new measures, including granting all livestock farmers the right to kill wolves in order to defend their herds. The proposals have satisfied neither agricultural organizations nor environmental protection groups, the latter of whom argue that France is "trampling its international commitments" regarding the species' conservation.

The prefecture of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which is overseeing the issue, was to confirm these plans during a meeting of the Groupe National Loup ("National Wolf Group"). The informal organization, which is meant to foster dialogue among all stakeholders, has been boycotted for two years by environmental charities, which oppose the government's decisions.

Among the "main guidelines for future wolf management," the "most revolutionary," according to the lead prefect Jean-Paul Celet, is the shift from a permit system to a declaration system for defense shootings. Currently, killing a wolf is prohibited. Farmers must first obtain authorization from the prefect to protect themselves or to ask a hunter to defend their herd after an attack. This permit can only be granted as an exception to the rule, and only if the herd is protected (by guard dogs, electrified fencing, shepherds, etc.).

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