Wolf hunting could be legalised in Germany in a bid to control numbers, under a proposal to be discussed in parliament Friday.

MPs concerned that the rapidly growing wolf population is beginning to impinge on human settlement areas want strict protection laws to be lifted.

“The wolf population is larger than the government admits. An uncontrolled increase is a serious danger for livestock and for people,” said Karlheinz Busen of the opposition Free Democrat Party (FDP), which is behind the initiative. “There are just too many wolves, they need to be hunted.”

But the party’s proposals have come under fire from conservationists who say they will do little to promote co-existence between farmers and wolves.

And they have been opposed by hunters who say the wolves pose no threat to the human population.

Just 20 years ago, there were no wolves left in Germany, after the species was hunted to extinction in the early 20th century.

They returned naturally after the fall of communism, crossing the border from Poland after fences were removed, and today more than 30 packs are believed to roam the German countryside.

In 2015, a wolf pack was photographed just 30 miles from Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, and wolves have been spotted wandering into villages and built-up areas in search of food.