Research BriefingPublished: 02 January 2026Nature Ecology & Evolution (2026)Cite this articleSubjectsConservation biologySocietyA Europe‑wide survey of 10,000 respondents shows strong backing for the recovery of wolves, lynx and bears, as well as opposition to hunting and culling, but also shows that a majority opposes any further population growth. Many respondents remain neutral, which indicates that large carnivore recovery is far less polarizing than commonly portrayed.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess optionsAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 digital issues and online access to articles118,99 € per yearonly 9,92 € per issueLearn moreBuy this articlePurchase on SpringerLinkInstant access to the full article PDF.39,95 €Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutFig. 1: Public opinion in the EU concerning the conservation and management of large carnivores.ReferencesChapron, G. et al. Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes. Science 346, 1517–1519 (2014). A review that describes the European continent-wide recovery of large carnivores.Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Di Bernardi, C. et al. Continuing recovery of wolves in Europe. PLoS Sustain. Transform. 4, e0000158 (2025). A review that presents an update on the continuing recovery of wolves in Europe.Article Google Scholar Fleurke, F. & Trouwborst, A. On an anti-wolf mission, commission ignores science and law. Eur. Law Blog https://doi.org/10.21428/9885764c.a25018f4 (2025). A blog post that discusses controversies about wolf downlisting in the Habitats Directive.Article Google Scholar Swedish Government. We prioritise reducing the wolf population (in Swedish). regeringen.se https://www.regeringen.se/debattartiklar/2025/04/vi-prioriterar-en-minskad-vargstam/ (2025). An opinion piece by Swedish ministers that announces their intention to halve the wolf population.Liddell, T. M. & Kruschke, J. K. Analyzing ordinal data with metric models: what could possibly go wrong? J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 79, 328–348 (2018). A paper that explains how type I and II errors can arise when treating ordinal data as metric.Article Google Scholar Download referencesAdditional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.This is a summary of: Chapron, G. et al. Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02914-1 (2025).Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article