Dutch authorities want to scare off wolves with paintballs
In the Netherlands, authorities want to scare off wolves using paintballs. The non-lethal deterrence method is intended to defuse conflicts.
Wolves in Gelderland are becoming too tame.
For this reason, the province of Gelderland will soon permit the use of paintball guns to frighten the animals.
The provincial government in Arnhem made this decision last week after a video circulated on social media showing a wolf confidently strolling past a visibly frightened young family in the 5’400-hectare Hoge Veluwe National Park.
«We are dealing with wolves that have become too tame«, said a spokesperson for the province of Gelderland in the east of the Netherlands to broadcaster Omroep Gelderland. «We need to restore their fear of humans.»
The provincial government spokesperson explained that the paintballs had been selected to give park rangers the ability to see which animals had been targeted. The sole aim is to frighten the animals and ensure they remain at least 30 metres away from people. Young wolves in particular are said to be curious about humans. Ultimately, this measure serves to protect flora and fauna, according to the province.
According to a report from June, at least 20 adult wolves are believed to be present in the Netherlands: one pack and two pairs in the Veluwe, one pair on the border between the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland, and 11 lone individuals roaming the country.
This summer, at least 16 pups were born, 13 of them in the Veluwe region and three in the park itself.
The animal welfare organisation Faunabescherming accuses the park management — which has consistently opposed the presence of wolves on the grounds that they prey on sheep and other animals — of deliberately feeding the wolves, reports gln.nl.
Wolves are generally shy around humans, and conservationists consider their behavior in the park highly unusual. The animals are protected, but can be removed or culled if they become a problem – which could be the case if they come too close to humans.
«We have reason to believe that the owner of the park is responsible for the taming of the wolves«, said the president of Faunabescherming, Niko Koffeman. «If there is a wolf population in the Hoge Veluwe that behaves significantly differently from others in the Netherlands and surrounding countries, that is suspicious«.
