The European Union proposal was adopted after farmers — who have been increasingly angered by attacks on livestock by packs of wolves — pushed to allow culls.

Wolves in Europe will be less protected from hunting from 2025, after a majority of European countries on Tuesday accepted a proposal to downgrade their status due to their growing number and their impact on agriculture and farming livestock.

European nations have approved plans to scale back the protection for wolves in a victory for farmers over environmentalists that has caught the political limelight in the European Union

The Council of Europe is paving the way for tougher action against wolves as their numbers grow steadily in several countries in the bloc. The responsible committee on Tuesday approved a corresponding proposal by the EU member states to lower the creature's protection status.

The European Commission wants to change wolves' protected status, allowing nations to cull them.

Change in status under Bern Convention on nature protection could expose burgeoning wolf populations to culling and hunting for sport. View on euronews