Livestock farmers in the province of Drenthe have been confronted with wolf attacks more often than sheep and goat farmers elsewhere in the country in recent months.
In Wapserveen, among other places, close to the place where a wolf was shot last week, wolves killed sheep and a horse. Animals were also injured, one of which had to be put down. This is evident from the new wolf figures for May and June, which BIJ12 published on Tuesday.
In Drenthe there have been ten attacks in those two months, of which it has been proven that it concerns a wolf. Three of them were in Wapserveen. In Friesland, there are four wolf attacks, in the Drents-Friese Wold.
After each suspected wolf attack, DNA is collected from the attacked animals by an expert or a veterinarian. A research institute at Wageningen University is investigating that DNA. The results of the research are announced every two to three months. If it was indeed a wolf, it can also be determined where that wolf came from and from which family the animal originates. The provinces compensate for determined wolf damage.
Wolves hunt game in the Veluwe
There is a wolf pack in the Drents-Friese Wold and at least a pair of wolves is still walking around near Assen. There are at least four wolf packs in the Veluwe, but far fewer sheep and goats are attacked there because the wolves have a lot of game to hunt. In May and June there was only one proven wolf attack here.
Since a wolf was shot dead in Wapse last week after biting a livestock farmer, there have been calls for more wildlife to run loose in Drenthe. Shooting, chasing or disturbing a wolf is strictly prohibited, as the animal is protected at European level. An investigation is underway into the circumstances under which the wolf was killed in Wapse.
In other provinces in May and June it was not uncommon for a dog to kill sheep or other animals. Striking is an attack on a sheep in Rilland in Zeeland. It is not yet known which animal did this, but until now there was only a wandering wolf in that province last spring.