This classic fairytale could be damaging Europe's wolf rewilding efforts

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"Wolves are returning across Europe but not to the UK and Ireland, where public support is lukewarm at best. Ecologists point out their benefits, while farmers worry about their livestock. But another influence on public opinion is rarely discussed: Hollywood's obsession with the wolf as a monster. This is a particular issue in places where wolves are native yet have been extinct for centuries. Though wolves once roamed across Britain and Ireland, for most people there today they exist only in stories or on screen."

"The tropes we absorb through entertainment can carry far more weight than scientific facts, and have an outsized impact on how we think and feel about these animals. Think of the big bad wolf or Little Red Riding Hood. Nearly every child in the English-speaking world is introduced to the villainous wolf from a young age. They're cunning, cruel and ravenous. However, we don't leave that imagery behind us in childhood. Horror cinema keeps our nightmares full of wolves, drawing on familiar and often entirely false tropes. Recent films offer some particularly clear examples."

Reporters cover major issues from reproductive rights to climate change and Big Tech, supported by donations to maintain on-the-ground journalism without paywalls. Investigations include political funding and documentaries highlighting American women fighting for reproductive rights. Wolves are recolonising parts of Europe but remain absent from the UK and Ireland where public support is limited. Ecologists emphasise ecological benefits while farmers fear livestock losses. Cultural portrayals in stories and films, including childhood tales and horror cinema, shape public perceptions and amplify fear of wolves despite scientific evidence.

Read at www.independent.co.uk