The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criticized the Bern Convention’s decision to downgrade the wolf’s protection status in Europe. Maud Lelièvre, president of the French IUCN committee, voiced concerns about the ecological implications and the pressure from agricultural sectors advocating for easier hunting of wolves. Despite the EU’s data showing a stable wolf population, Lelièvre emphasized the essential role of wolves in ecosystem regulation and questioned the effectiveness of culling as a method for conflict reduction with livestock.