Province of Drenthe can do little against wolves for years to come

It will probably take years before the province of Drenthe can actively manage the wolf. This became clear last week during the presentation of the plan ‘Approach to Wolf in Drenthe’.

Provincial Executive Egbert van Dijk (Nature, BBB) painted a bleak picture, in which the government cannot do much about the nuisance of the wolf for the time being. He states that only with a change in the law and adjustment of the protection status will management of the animal or a wolf-free zone, as included in the Drenthe coalition agreement, become possible.

‘A change in the law will certainly take three to four years and you have to do a lot to achieve that. But Drenthe as a wolf-free zone remains our goal. The province is not suitable for this animal, with many scattered nature reserves and many animal keepers in between who keep their animals outside’, says Van Dijk.

Van Dijk points out the uncertainties in the current policy: only when the wolf has achieved a favourable conservation status can management be started. When that is, and at what price, is up to the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to determine.

The neighboring German state of Lower Saxony recently thought it had come to that, but was overruled by the court. ‘If active management is not allowed there, it certainly is not with us.’

Regulate

Province of Drenthe studied the possibilities and impossibilities of regulating the wolf over the past two years. Based on the plan now presented, the harvest is extremely poor. More space for supporting livestock farmers and an information campaign for citizens, that’s about it.

This while the urgency is increasing. Since the return of the predator, there have been hundreds of attacks in Drenthe, a wolf was shot as an emergency measure last year (so far a unique occurrence in the Netherlands) and animal owners can receive subsidies for preventive measures. Two consultants have also been appointed to assist them.

Provincial budget

Van Dijk announces that the provincial budget for supporting livestock owners will increase and will be applicable to more animal species. For other possible additional measures, he refers to the new wolf plan of the joint provinces that should be released at the end of this year. For example, a contribution for the extra labor costs that livestock owners incur when placing and moving wolf-resistant fences.

‘It is now being investigated whether this is possible. Because it must not conflict with the European rules for state aid’, he adds cautiously. He also expects that compensation for victims of the wolf will be linked to the preventive measures that have been taken.

He says that the situation, despite the current powerlessness, does not experience it as disappointing. ‘There is a lot more clarity about how to deal with the wolf. Although I would have liked to have a framework for action, at the moment nothing is allowed. If you shoot the wolf, it is a crime. What needs to happen now is not in our power, but lies with Europe.’