In the Central Drenthe research area there were 2395 sheep. Nearly 87 percent stood behind a grid. A year earlier, 1328 sheep were counted. The fact that this number is much lower may be due to the bluetongue virus. 38 percent were protected.
The 2395 sheep from last year lived in 96 groups. Just over half of them were behind a wolf-resistant fence.
Several dozen ponies, horses, cattle and fallow deer also received protection. The increase compared to a year earlier in these farm animals is several percent. Goats, pigs, alpacas and donkeys had to make do without grids in Central Drenthe.
The fact that more farm animals are being fenced is an ‘important signal’ for deputy Henk Emmens (BBB) that preventive measures are being applied. “In the coming years we will monitor whether the better protection of animals is related to the decrease we see in the number of damage cases,” he says.
Figures from BIJ12, the organization that keeps track of wolf attacks, show that at least 116 farm animals were killed by the wolf this year. The dates have been updated through March 9. In the same period last year, the wolf was responsible for 154 dead farm animals.
It is not yet possible to say whether the decrease is because there are more animals behind fences. The fences also do not offer guaranteed safety. The Drenthe ‘problem wolf’ has managed to pass an approved fence several times. A wolf also crawled under a fence by digging.