Trapping and re-educating bold wolves in the European Union: Obligatory and illegal at the same time?

Effective wolf conservation requires effective measures to prevent and address problematic behaviour displayed by wolves towards people (and pets) - and by people towards wolves. Such action appears to be required by European nature conservation legislation - the Bern Convention on European Wildlife Conservation and the EU Habitats Directive in particular - read in light of international best practice recommendations. To this end, 'soft-catch' leghold traps appear to be indispensable in efforts to capture, radio-collar and aversively condition 'bold wolves'. The 1991 EU Leghold Trap Regulation, however, contains a general leghold trap prohibition. This article explores both sides of the story and addresses the question of whether there is a way out of the apparent conflict of laws, and whether the use of soft-catch leghold traps for research and conservation purposes may be legally defensible after all.