Portugal Moves to Strengthen Iberian Wolf Protection as Europe Loosens the Rules

Portugal is once again placing the Iberian wolf at the centre of Europe’s rural and environmental debate. According to Le Chasseur Français, the Portuguese government is preparing a new decree-law to strengthen protection for the species, a move that has renewed criticism from livestock sectors affected by attacks on their herds.

The measure was announced in early June by Portugal’s Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, according to Portuguese outlets including Ambiente Online and O Mirante. The minister said Portuguese law continues to protect the wolf and confirmed that the government intends to introduce a specific legal instrument to reinforce that protection.

A protected species in Portugal since 1988

The Iberian wolf has been legally protected in Portugal since Law No. 90/88 of 13 August. That regime was later developed through Decree-Law No. 54/2016 and amended, among other changes, by Decree-Law No. 64/2025, published in the Diário da República. The latest text recalls that the species has been protected since 1988 and that Portuguese law regulates both its conservation and compensation for damage to livestock.

The most recent official figures cited in Portuguese legislation point to a small and fragmented wolf population. Order No. 14505/2025 identifies four main population areas in Portugal — Peneda/Gerês, Alvão/Padrela, Bragança and south of the Douro — with 58 packs detected and an average estimate of around 300 wolves, within a range of 190 to 390 animals.

The same document states that Portugal’s wolf population accounts for about 15% of the Iberian population. The situation is especially sensitive south of the Douro River, where packs are more isolated and vulnerable. That helps explain why Portuguese environmental authorities are reluctant to lower the level of protection despite pressure from rural areas.

The conflict with extensive livestock farming

The new legislative initiative comes at a time of growing frustration among producers. The Union of Livestock Producers Affected by Wolves, cited by Portuguese media, has rejected any strengthening of protection unless it is accompanied by effective measures to reduce attacks, speed up compensation payments and protect extensive livestock farms.

The conflict is not new. Portuguese law provides compensation for damage directly attributed to wolves, but farmers frequently report practical difficulties, including administrative delays, evidence requirements, prevention costs and indirect losses of animals or productivity. In areas where extensive livestock farming remains economically and culturally important, the predator’s presence is seen less as an abstract conservation issue than as a daily challenge to farm viability.

Conservation organisations, meanwhile, argue that Portugal’s wolf population remains small, fragmented and dependent on connectivity with Spain. From that perspective, stronger protection, better prevention and reliable compensation are not contradictory measures, but parts of the same coexistence policy.

Portugal moves against the European trend

Portugal’s position stands out because it follows a major change in the European Union’s approach to the wolf. On 5 June 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted an amendment to the Habitats Directive changing the wolf’s protection status from “strictly protected” to “protected”, in line with the revision of the Bern Convention.

That EU-level change gives member states more room to manage wolf populations, while still meeting conservation obligations. Portugal, however, appears to be choosing a more restrictive route in its national legislation. The contrast highlights an increasingly visible divide across Europe: territories with expanding wolf populations and strong pressure from livestock farmers are demanding more flexible control tools, while other countries or regions are choosing to maintain or reinforce protection.

In Portugal, the debate centres on a difficult balance: a small, protected wolf population with high conservation value on one side, and livestock farmers on the other demanding prevention, faster compensation and a political response that does not place the full cost of conservation on rural communities.