307 wolves are allowed to be hunted in the new hunting season

This limit was also supported by the Ministry of the Environment in a discussion between scientists and social partners during a conference on wolf population management. It was attended by scientists, representatives of non-governmental organisations, the Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Forest Enterprise, representatives of municipalities, and hunting organisations.

The wolf hunting season lasts until 31 March. The wolf hunting season is closed earlier if the wolf hunting limit is exhausted. Last year and the year before, the wolf hunting limit was 341 wolves. The number of wolves hunted was 281 and 326 respectively, including wolves taken from the wild under special permits after the end of the hunting season, hit by cars or killed for other reasons.

The hunting regulations provide that the limit for the hunting of wolves shall be approved by the Minister of the Environment on the basis of the principles set out in the Wolf Conservation Plan, in order to ensure a favourable conservation status for the wolf species.

According to the results of the survey of wolves hunted in 2024-2025 by the Academy of Agriculture of Vytautas Magnus University and the results of the winter surveys of 2024-2025 based on the traces in the snow and the year-round registration of reports of the presence of wolves, it is estimated that there were at least 82 families of wolves on the territory of Lithuania, and that there were at least 91 wolf families in the years 2022-2023.

The Wolf Conservation Plan stipulates that if the number of wolves exceeds 62 families, a hunting limit equal to or higher than the annual projected population growth shall be set, after consultation with independent scientific institutions.

The damage caused by wolves to farm animals has remained relatively high in recent years. This year, €151,000 has been paid out in compensation to livestock farmers to compensate for damage caused by wolves to farm animals until 1 October 2025.

Information from the Ministry of Environment