Community Ecology SESSION T4
NEW Proposed and added for the 4IJS by Dr Hiroshi Tsunoda
Conservation Policy and Carnivore Dynamics: Divergent Strategies in Wolf–Golden Jackal–Red Fox Communities Across Greece, Italy, and Romania
Giorgos Giannatos*, Luca Lapini, Ovidiu C. Banea
an overview
• Three wild species (i.e. wolf, golden jackal and red fox)
• “vermin” status since 1992 persecuted by all means, including systematic poisoning with strychnine until mid ‘80s
• since lifting of ”vermin” status, the populations of these canids start to rebound and expanded.
• Wolf:
- expanded since mid-1980s. Widespread in all continental Greece / historic disstribution
• Jackal:
- expanded since late 1990s and early 21st century/ Widespread in all continental Greece out of historic distribution
Canids in Greece
Jackal: 2025. Georgiakakis P., Papaioannoy D.H., Papamichael G., Hatzirvasanis V., 2025. Deliverable 7.4.1. “Mammal species reference forms and accompanying geographic records”, GEOANALYSI SA., pp. 18.
Jackal in Greece
Opportunistic attack. Video Youtube University of Sassari
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�Luca Lapini��Gojage - Golden Jackal informal study Group Europe; ATit - Associazione Teriologica italiana; GLAMM - Group for Large Mammals Conservation and Management (formerly Zoology Section of Friulian Natural History Museum, Udine)���Carnivore Dynamics in Wolf-Golden Jackals-Red fox Communities Across Greece, Italy, and Romania� ��
�4° International Symposium on Golden Jackal and correlates species (4I JS) Tulcea, Romania, 7-10 October 2026� ��
Golden jackal�
Canis aureus is considered species of Communitary Interest by EU, that protect the species in the V Attachment of the Habitat Directive 43/92. In Italy it is also integrally protected by the National Law 157/92 (at present in revision). In this country the species suffer high rates of road mortality and poaching, these last mainly conducted with the distribution of poisoned baits. In Italy the golden jackal cause low level of social alarm, similar to those caused by the red fox. Damage prevention with electric fences and sheperd dogs easily riduce these local conflicts.
From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .
Belvedere editions.
(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been
Only partially updated)
Canis aureus Golden Jackal (Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)
-Population: Probably less than 700 specimens
-Problems: road mortality, poaching
-Conflicts: livestock farming (poultry and sheep), hunting (hunters fear that it will affect roe deer and hare populations)
-Legal Protection: V annex of the Habitat Directive 43/92 CEE, National Protection Law 157/92 (in revision)
-Social Alarm: low (mainly poultry and sheep predation)
Canis lupus is considered species of Communitary Interest by EU. Formerly Strictly Protected, has been recently downlisted to the V Attachment of the Habitat Directive 43/92. In Italy it remains strictly protected by (National Law 157/92), but this law at present is in revision, because grey wolf causes quite high social alarm. In Italian Peninsula the species suffers high rates of road killing and poaching, mainly conducted with the distribution of poisoned baits. To reduce conflicts with livestock farming, the Italian government has recently established low culling rates of wolves, but the fixed values (3-5% of the local regional population) don’t solve any problem. Damage prevention with electric fences and sheperd dogs surely remains the only possible measures to adopt to ensure pacific cohabitation with wolves.
From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .
Belvedere editions.
(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been
Only partially updated)
Canis lupus Grey wolf (Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)
-Population: At present probably about 40.000 specimens
-Problems: road mortality, poaching
-Conflicts: livestock farming, hunting
-Legal Protection: V annex of the Habitat Directive 43/92 CEE, National Protection Law 157/92 (in revision)
-Social Alarm: High (livestock predation, recent increase in number of «problematic confidential wolves»)
Vulpes vulpes in Italy is common, ubiquitous and widespread. Considered protected as inalienable state property, in some periods of the year and in various Regions it is considered a game species, subject to game control for both cynegetic and zooprofylactic reasons (National Law 157/92). In Italy the species suffer high rates of road mortality and poaching, conducted using firearms, traps and poisened baits. Damage prevention with good fences and dogs usually riduce local conflicts, which are quite well tolerated.
Vulpes vulpes Red fox
(Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)
-Population: no available estimates, probably about 200.000 specimens
-Problems: road mortality, poaching
-Conflicts: livestock farming (mainly poultry), hunting (hunters fear that it will affect hare and pheasant populations)
-Legal Protection: limited (National Law 157/92)
-Social Alarm: low (mainly poultry, hares and pheasants predation)
From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .
Belvedere editions.
(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been
Only partially updated)
Intra-guild competition between wild canids in Italy is increasingly clear in the whole Italian Peninsula. This phenomenon seems to be trirangular, involving Wolves, Jackals, Foxes, but sometimes include domestic dogs. The wolf kills all these wild and domestic canids, sometimes consuming their carcasses. At least 7 golden jackals and various foxes and domestic dogs have been recently killed by wolves between Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige (northeastern Italy). In these Regions, anyway, fox densities also seems to be impacted by local high number of jackals. The interrelations between carnivores modified by Canis aureus arrival is surely one of the most interesting topic of future research.
EU Protection strategies will to be recalibrated also in light of this new framework of ecological correlations.
Golden jackal
Red fox
Grey wolf
Canis aureus, female, probably killed by wolves on the tourist beach of Caorle, Venezia (Veneto Region), February, 28th, 2026, Courtesy of M. Cappelletto.