Minister seeks social dialogue about wolf in Netherlands

Minister Van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) wants to start a broad social dialogue about the wolf in the Netherlands. In the House of Representatives, he announced that he would discuss this with the Animal Affairs Council, the advisory body of the Council of Ministers.

The increasing number of wolves in the Netherlands has sparked heated debate. Environmentalists are happy that the animal is back in the Netherlands, but others are concerned for the safety of people, livestock and pets and want it hunted or shot of ‘troubled wolves’.

“Messages designed to provoke fear are popping up, especially on social media. This worries me,” said Van der Wal. “The whole discussion is now about fear and excitement, and that’s not being careful. It’s also polarizing.”

The social dialogue, in which all concerned can participate, should address the questions of whether the fear of wolves is justified, how the animal can take a position in Dutch nature and how to prevent the conversion of livestock and pets into wolves.

enrichment of biodiversity

“It is a complex issue with many dilemmas and conflicting interests,” the minister said. He wants to do anything to dispel people’s fear that they or their animals will be attacked by a wolf. “But it is also the enrichment of biodiversity. The wolf is a domestic animal and has found its way back to our country. And it’s under species protection.”

Recently, there have been more and more reports of wolves not avoiding contact with humans or even looking for them. Parties such as the VVD, SGP and BBB see reason to intervene. “It’s only a matter of time before the wolf attacks a child,” warned BBB’s Caroline van der Plas. “Little Red Riding Hood? Soon there will be no fairy tales in the Netherlands.”

But, according to the minister, a troubled wolf can only be hunted or shot if there really is no other option. It is preferable to take precautions with good fencing or dogs guarding livestock and deterring wolves. They had good experiences abroad in this regard.

put meat for photo

Leonie Vestering, MP for the Animal Protection Party, fears that people will cause problematic behavior to intervene. She pointed out reports of meat being thrown into the Veluwe to lure wolves for a beautiful photo.

Wolf naturally shy, stressed Vestering. “How did an animal lose its shyness? It looks like he was trained for that.”

Bundestag Thom van Campen of the VVD is less than enthusiastic about his party colleague Van der Wal’s plan for a public debate about the wolf. “Everything is very noble, but what does it mean for a farmer who wakes up in the morning to see his sheep or calves bitten and battered?”

“I can imagine you were shocked by what a wolf did to the cattle,” said Vestering of the Animal Welfare Party. “But what people do to animals shocks me too. 600,000 sheep are killed every year for the farm.”