A new study has warned that Europe’s last few, free-ranging wild wolf populations could be bred out of existence by domestic free-ranging dogs, creating “swarms” of wolf-dog hybrids that would sweep over the continent. According to a media report, habitat destruction and human penetration into wolves’ territories was bringing them into greater contact with domestic free-roaming dogs, in turn leading to cross-breeding. The researchers agreed that people should be educated about the impact of free-roaming dogs, and that governments should remove wolf-dog hybrids from small and recovering wild wolf populations. However, they were divided on how such dogs and wolf-dogs should be removed.
