What's happening?

Carlo steps outside his hut in the Italian mountains. Suddenly he notices a dark shape among the trees. A wolf! It stops for a moment; then a strange sound fills the air: "Owww! Owww!" The howling freezes Carlo's blood.

Now, some people hope you could have this experience in Britain too. RewildingReturning developed or farmed land to its natural state by reintroducing species that once lived there. campaigners want to bring wolves back to the country. But sheep farmers worry about the danger to their animals.

The last wolves in Britain probably died out in the 1700s in Scotland. Campaigners say that wolves are more important than sheep. At the moment, two million deer damage trees in Britain. Wolves could control the number of deer.

Several European countries already have wolf packs. There are about 3,000 wolves in Spain and Portugal.

The animals are protected by EUEuropean Union. An economic and political union of 27 countries. lawA rule that everyone must follow. . But France, Finland and Norway have carried out cullsPurposefully killing animals to bring down their population. to control their numbers. In France around 15,000 farm animals a year are killed by wolves.

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In Germany, officials have tried to find a compromiseSolving a disagreement by both sides agreeing to meet in the middle. . "Wolf commissioners" work with farmers to protect their animals. If their animals are killed by wolves, they are given money to pay for their loss.

Should we welcome them?

Yes! Nature knows best. It is due to human actions that there are no wolves in Britain. We should return the land to how it was before humans changed it.

No! Britain needs its farms. The danger to animals is too great. And Britons are simply not ready to find a wolf on their doorstep when they go out in the morning.