Editing Wolf (section)

=== Eurasia ===
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[[File:Wolf - populations in Europe.png|thumb|right|alt=Map showing the wolf's range in Europe and surrounding areas]]<!--[[wp:caption]] "Not every image ..."-->

The [[European Union]] has 20,300 wolves with breeding packs in 23 countries.<ref name=EUcomm2023/> In many EU countries, the wolf is strictly protected under the 1979 [[Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats]] (Appendix{{spaces}}II) and the 1992 [[Habitats Directive|Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (Annex{{spaces}}II and{{spaces}}IV). There is extensive legal protection in many European countries, although there are national exceptions.<ref name="iucn status 2 June 2024" /><ref>[[European Commission]]: [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/carnivores/pdf/task_1_part1_statusoflcineurope.pdf ''Status, management and distribution of large carnivores—bear, lynx, wolf & wolverine—in Europe December 2012.''] page 50.</ref>

Wolves have been persecuted in Europe for centuries, having been exterminated in [[Wolves in Great Britain|Great Britain]] by 1684, in [[Wolves in Ireland|Ireland]] by 1770, in Central Europe by 1899, in France by the 1930s, and in much of Scandinavia by the early 1970s. They continued to survive in parts of Finland, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=318–320}} Since 1980, European wolves have rebounded and expanded into parts of their former range. The decline of the traditional pastoral and rural economies seems to have ended the need to exterminate the wolf in parts of Europe.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=321–324}} As of 2016, estimates of wolf numbers include: 4,000 in the Balkans, 3,460–3,849 in the [[Carpathian Mountains]], 1,700–2,240 in the [[Baltic states]], 1,100–2,400 in the [[Italian Peninsula]], and around 2,500 in the northwest [[Iberian peninsula]] as of 2007.<ref name=EUcomm2019/> In a study of wolf conservation in Sweden, it was found that there was little  opposition between the policies of the European Union and those of the Swedish officials implementing domestic policy.<ref>''The Wolf Dilemma: Following the Practices of Several Actors in Swedish Large Carnivore Management.'' Ramsey, Morag (2015) https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:821120/FULLTEXT01.pdf Retrieved 30 September 2023</ref>

In the [[former Soviet Union]], wolf populations have retained much of their historical range despite Soviet-era large scale extermination campaigns. Their numbers range from 1,500 in Georgia, to 20,000 in Kazakhstan and up to 45,000 in Russia.<ref name=Goldthorpe2016/> In Russia, the wolf is regarded as a pest because of its attacks on livestock, and wolf management means controlling their numbers by destroying them throughout the year. Russian history over the past century shows that reduced hunting leads to an abundance of wolves.<ref name=Baskin2016/> The Russian government has continued to pay bounties for wolves and annual harvests of 20–30% do not appear to significantly affect their numbers.<ref name=Russia/>
[[File:Desert wolf 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Image of a wolf at night with glowing eyes|A wolf in southern [[Israel]]]]

In the Middle East, only Israel and Oman give wolves explicit legal protection.<ref name=Fisher2019/> Israel has protected its wolves since 1954 and has maintained a moderately sized population of 150 through effective enforcement of conservation policies. These wolves have moved into neighboring countries. Approximately 300–600 wolves inhabit the [[Arabian Peninsula]].{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=323, 327}} The wolf also appears to be widespread in Iran.{{sfn|Busch|2007|p=231}} Turkey has an estimated population of about 7,000 wolves.<ref name=Sekercioglu2013/> Outside of Turkey, wolf populations in the Middle East may total 1,000–2,000.<ref name=Fisher2019/>

In southern Asia, the northern regions of Afghanistan and [[Pakistan]] are important strongholds for wolves. The wolf has been protected in [[India]] since 1972.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=327}} The Indian wolf is distributed across the states of [[Gujarat]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name=Yadvendradev/> As of 2019, it is estimated that there are around 2,000–3,000 Indian wolves in the country.<ref name=Sharma/> In East Asia, Mongolia's population numbers 10,000–20,000. In China, [[Heilongjiang]] has roughly 650 wolves, [[Xinjiang]] has 10,000 and [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] has 2,000.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=328}} 2017 evidence suggests that wolves range across all of mainland China.<ref name=Larson2017/> Wolves have been historically persecuted in China{{sfn|Busch|2007|p=232}} but have been legally protected since 1998.<ref name=Xu2015/> The last [[Japanese wolf]] was captured and killed in 1905.<ref name=Ishiguro2009/>