France is set to increase the number of wolves that can be shot in 2026, according to Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard, who announced the change on October 8 during the Livestock Summit in Auvergne. The quota will rise from 21% to 23% of the overall wolf population, a provision already included in the law. This increase had been previously announced in January following pressure from agricultural unions. At that time, eight Alpine departments requested a higher ceiling of 30%, including Isère, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Drôme, and Vaucluse. In 2025, the quota was 19%, resulting in the killing of 190 wolves. Genevard stated that the two additional percentage points would be activated soon, but emphasized that conditions for shooting would be in place to prevent the 23% threshold from being reached too early. This would ensure that no one would have the right to shoot until necessary. Farmers report losing more than 10,000 animals each year due to wolf predation. In France, killing wolves in the wild is generally prohibited except to protect livestock. A procedure allows for "sampling shootings," which can be conducted independently of an ongoing attack on a herd. A decree published in December will accompany the increase in the shooting ceiling. Genevard noted that if the shooting ceiling is not reached in a given year, the wolves not eliminated can be added to the ceiling of the following year. The decree is expected to be presented by October 12 for publication in December and should be accompanied by the implementing text of the agricultural emergency law adopted this summer. This law provides for equipping authorized farmers with defense tools such as night vision or thermal sighting glasses. The minister also announced that other implementing texts of this controversial law will be published before the next Agricultural Fair, scheduled for the end of February. These texts include a decree that aims to reform the environmental authorization system for livestock farming. The new system creates a specific regime for farmers, who were previously treated like other industrial installations classified for environmental protection (ICPE). The text was submitted to public consultation this week and has been welcomed by the affected sectors. In practice, it will allow lowering the thresholds for poultry and pigs from which a permit is required and will ease the registration regime, already less restrictive than a permit, by replacing it with a "simplified permit".