Dyrenes Beskyttelse is calling for it to be made a criminal offense to feed wolves in Denmark. The appeal comes days after Naturstyrelsen shot a presumed problem wolf in West Jutland.
The animal welfare organization set out the demand in a press statement published Tuesday, Avisen Danmark reports. Michael Carlsen, a biologist with the organization, says wolves develop problematic behavior when they become too trusting of people. Any form of feeding or luring poses a risk to both humans and wolves, according to his statement.
The wolf was shot by Naturstyrelsen staff near Nørre Nebel on Thursday, August 13. The animal had been involved in several incidents in which it came close to people in private gardens. Politiken reports that staff with rifles and thermal drones had been deployed in the area since August 6, and that the wolf was shot from about 10 meters.
On Friday morning, the dead animal lay on the ground in Oksbøl, where Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare Christian Rabjerg Madsen and Naturstyrelsen took questions from the press. Authorities say the animal showed no particular shyness toward staff, making them highly convinced it was the identified problem wolf. DNA tests must still confirm the identification.
Thomas Søby, head of policy, nature and animal welfare at Dyrenes Beskyttelse, criticized that the dead wolf was placed on the ground in front of the minister during the press event. He acknowledged at the same time that the wolf in Nørre Nebel indisputably had to be shot.
In the new statement, the organization also urges authorities to issue recommendations and to screen off or close areas where wolves are found breeding. Carlsen compares this to keeping distance during the red deer rut and closing access to some areas with nesting birds. In nature, humans are guests, he states.
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Feeding is not banned
Miljøstyrelsen warned in 2024 that people should avoid feeding wolves, because it can create attachment between wolves and humans. The agency noted at the time that there is no general ban on feeding wild animals in nature. Researchers from Aarhus University wrote in a note in May 2026 that several episodes around Oksbøl suggest people may deliberately have fed the animals, as reported by Jyllands-Posten.
The same note stressed that it is only possible to guess at the causes of the observed behavior. Following the shooting, the two regulation zones at Oksbøl and Nørre Nebel have been lifted, according to the Ministry for Nature and Animal Welfare. There are now no active wolf regulation zones in Denmark, and shooting a designated problem wolf requires such a zone.
