Key Facts

• Eighteen wolves were found dead in Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise national park, Italy, within one week.
• Tests are ongoing to confirm poisoning as the cause of death, but other animals found dead nearby also suggest poison was used.
• Three foxes and a buzzard were also found dead in the same area.
• The park is home to the critically endangered marsican bear, raising concerns about the impact on other wildlife.
• Italian prosecutors are actively investigating the incidents as criminal acts.
• WWF Italy called these killings the worst wildlife crimes in the country in the last decade and condemned the use of poison.
• The European Union recently downgraded wolf protection status, allowing more hunting and management which some blame for increased attacks on livestock.
• Wolves were nearly extinct in Italy in the 1970s but are now protected under Italian law since then.