The move allows hunting to resume under strict regulation, which activists fear could result in a large number of wolves being shot dead.

Activists have said the measure will upset the recovery made by the species over the past 10 years after near extinction a century ago, but farmers say their growing numbers are a threat to their livestock.

Members of the Bern Convention, tasked with the protection of wildlife in Europe and some African countries, in December agreed to lower the wolf's protection status from "strictly protected" to "protected".

The decision "was set to enter into force three months later, unless objected to by at least one-third of the parties to the convention," the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe said.

Of the 50 parties to the convention -- an international treaty of the Council of Europe -- at least 17 would have needed to protest.

Instead, "three parties formally lodged objections: the Czech Republic, Monaco, and the United Kingdom. As a result, the decision to modify the protection status of the wolf does not apply to these three parties," it said.

The new "protected" status "mandates regulation of the species' exploitation to prevent endangerment, implementing measures such as closed seasons and regulating the sale, keeping, transport, and offering for sale of live and dead animal," the Council of Europe said.

- Revising EU rules -

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe 100 years ago but their numbers have practically doubled to the current population of 20,300, mostly in the Balkans, Nordic countries, Italy and Spain.

The parties to the convention include 45 members of the Council of Europe, four African nations -- Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia -- and the European Union.

The latter has been the driving force behind the push to lower the protection status, arguing that the increase in numbers has led to more frequent contact with humans and livestock.

On Friday, the European Commission immediately moved to revise related EU rules to reflect the status change.

"In some European regions, wolf packs have become a real danger especially for livestock," commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.

Lowering the protection "will help local authorities to actively manage wolf populations while protecting both biodiversity and our rural livelihoods", she added.

In late 2022, von der Leyen lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf that crept into its enclosure on her family's rural property in northern Germany -- leading some to suggest the matter had become personal.