Platform News
The platform's most recent workshop was organised on 15 October 2024 in Skradin, Croatia. The workshop aimed to agree on methods and codes of cooperation, discuss challenges and solutions in animal husbandry related to the presence of wolves, and identify key activities for a future action plan.
You can find the outcomes of all meetings held here.
Overview
Platform location: Dalmatia, Croatia
Geographical size: 10 754 km²
- Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija: 1 290 km²
- Splitsko-dalmatinska županija: 3 607 km²
- Šibensko-kninska županija: 2 829 km²
- Zadarska županija: 3 027 km²
Target species: Wolf (Canis lupus)
Human population: 800,000 (inland population)
Wolf Population: Part of Dinaric-Balkan wolf population
Main stakeholders: Hunters, livestock breeders, local/regional/national authorities (Nature Protection, Directorate for professional support in agricultural development in four Dalmatian counties), IT, damage experts, tracker network coordinators, communal wardens, inspection services, nature conservation NGOs, protected area experts and rangers, Croatian forests enterprise
Co-organisers: Croatian Hunting Association (HLS) and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM)
Co-financing: LIFE WildWolf project with input from the municipality and hunter’s organisation
Context
Impact of large carnivores: Dalmatia is an area with a high level of livestock depredation and attacks on hunting dogs. The livestock farming has changed since 2015 from small livestock production (sheep and goats) to large livestock production (cattle and horses) due to EU subsidies. Despite this change, livestock husbandry practices for large livestock, have not adapted to the presence of large carnivores, increasing the risk of predation due to closer proximity to wolves.
Additionally, the illegal disposal of carcasses and garbage in the area attracts wolves and stray dogs. This not only raises the risk of hybridisation between wolves and dogs but also the possibility of wolves becoming habituated to human presence, further complicating the situation.
Regional economy: Only 1.5% of the population is employed in agriculture mariculture, forestry, and fishing, while the most important economic sector is tourism.
Work carried out so far: Wolves in Croatia are part of the larger Dinaric-Balkan wolf population. Attempts to conduct nationwide wolf censuses based on the collection of sufficient DNA samples from wolf scats, have had limited success.
This lack of accurate information results in inadequate management of the wolf population. The development of a wolf “trackers” network may help with monitoring.
The former project LIFE III CROWOLF (2002 – 2005) in Croatia laid the groundwork for wolf management by developing a management plan, establishing annual monitoring and reports, training an intervention team, damage inspectors and the network of wolf monitoring trackers. The Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion funded species and habitat conservation, including wolf monitoring, but faced setbacks due to limited stakeholder engagement. The LIFE WILD WOLF project contributes to the revival and expanding of the network of wolf trackers. Additionally, the SMART information system for recording wolf occurrences was developed.
Local conflicts associated with large carnivores
- Damages caused by wolves: Conflicts arise from damages such as depredation of wolves on livestock and game, leading to tensions with farmers, hunting dogs, and hunters. Annually, up to 2,000 wolf attacks on livestock occur, with sheep being the most common prey (68.2%). Dogs make up 3.8% of domestic animals killed.
- Illegal killing of wolves including shooting, trapping and poisoning.
- Mistrust among stakeholders, and towards authorities, scientists and experts has led to reluctant cooperation. This is due to inadequate communication about monitoring efforts, resulting in a perception of non-transparency of wolf-related data. The platform “EasyWolf” aims to improve this by publishing updated information collected on wolf presence and wolf management.
- Fear of wolves
- Lack of active wolf management
- Wolf proximity to settlements: The individual wolves that are occasionally seen near settlements are often believed to be hybrids contributing to the negative perception of wolves. Historical instances of wolf-dog hybridization, occurring in the late 1990s and early 2000s, have been documented, and “unusual” wolves are still occasionally observed today.
- Inadequate compensation for damages.