Press release: Wolves return: How to keep livestock safe?
No. 147 - 25.09.2025
Research team investigates farmers’ willingness to implement options to protect grazing animals on pasture
Wolves had long been extinct in parts of Central Europe. Thanks to strict regulations to protect species, in recent decades they have become more widespread again. This brings new challenges: in many areas, protecting farm livestock is essential to prevent animals such as sheep, goats and cattle from being killed by hungry wolves. An international research team at the University of Göttingen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), Dresden University of Technology in Germany, together with KORA in Switzerland, conducted a survey to find out how farmers feel about measures such as wolf-repelling electric fences or guard dogs, and whether the availability of subsidies influences this. The survey showed that the willingness to protect livestock depends primarily on social pressure. Financial support is associated with a greater willingness to use electric fences against wolves. The study was published in the journal People and Nature.
In order to investigate perceptions and intentions regarding protecting their herds, the research team conducted an online survey in 2022 among farmers with grazing animals in Bavaria in Germany. The researchers evaluated the responses of 353 people using the “Theory of Planned Behaviour”. This psychological theory maintains that whether someone does something or not depends primarily on how strongly the person is committed to it. Their intention is influenced by three factors: their own attitude (“Do I think it makes sense?”), social pressure (“What do the people around me think?”), and perceived control (“Am I able to do it?”).
According to the survey results, the drivers behind farmers’ willingness to protect livestock vary depending on the measures. However, social pressure plays the most important role. “This means it is most important that farmers learn about examples of successful grazing in areas shared with wolves, and exchange knowledge and experiences with each other,” says Dr Friederike Riesch at Göttingen University’s Institute of Grassland Science, who led the study.
The study also shows that financial support can create additional incentives: in certain areas around the wolves’ territories, Bavaria promotes specially designed electric fences that deter wolves, as well as dogs to protect the herds. In the survey, livestock owners in such areas were more willing to install fences. The intention to take action is highest among those whose grazing animals are located directly in wolf territory. This is because farmers must demonstrate they have installed basic protection in order to receive compensation payments for damage caused by wolves. “The results show that subsidies encourage farmers to take measures to protect their livestock. This means that it is advisable to extend the promotion of electric wolf-repelling fences to the whole of Bavaria,” explains Dr Malte Möck, at the Agricultural and Food Policy Group at HU. According to the survey, however, the subsidy scheme has no influence on the intention to use guard dogs to protect grazing animals. The researchers conclude that the associated challenges cannot be solved with financial resources alone.
In addition to networking and promotion, the researchers recommend offering practical support to protect livestock in order to reduce additional work. Such actions have the added benefit of promoting exchange between people with different perspectives, which can help to defuse conflicts about wolves and grazing.
This study was supported by the German government's Special Purpose Fund held at Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank – Germany’s development agency for agribusiness and rural areas – and by funds from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) for the GreenGrass project.
Original publication: Riesch, F., et al. “How to reconcile pasture grazing and wolf recolonisation? Perceptions of management options by livestock farmers in Germany”. People and Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.70141
Contact:
Dr Friederike Riesch
University of Göttingen
Institute of Grassland Science
Department of Crop Sciences
Von-Siebold-Straße 8, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)551 39-26789