1/2 Two of Marius van Daal’s alpacas (own photo).
It seems that Marius van Daal (70) from Haps can finally claim compensation for three of his alpacas that were bitten to death last year. BIJ12, an organization that investigates whether animals have been bitten by a wolf, and his own insurance company cannot do anything for him. “My hobby has been ruined.”
Last March, three alpacas and 24 chickens were mauled to death in Haps in just a few weeks. They walked on the grounds of the Alpaca Hacienda Holland, owned by Marius van Daal.
The animal lover had taken so many precautions. Yet a hungry animal had managed to get to the South American camelids. Not only that, three alpacas were grabbed by the throat. Part of the jaw of one of these animals was found some distance away in the meadow. Another part was eaten.
“They got that DNA from a dog turd!”
BIJ12 and an expert from Wageningen University say that a dog must have done this. Van Daal insists that it was a wolf. “And they don’t belong here! BIJ12 only informed me very matter-of-factly that DNA from a dog had been found. But they got that from a dog poop on my property. Has the DNA of my animals been tested? Of course I objected. But to this day I have not received any response. So rude.”
This appears to be a bit more nuanced: BIJ12 says that it has sent a confirmation of receipt of the notice of objection. Van Daal will also soon receive an invitation to a hearing in which he can explain his objection. The alpaca owner will ‘certainly’ use it, in the hope that he will still be proven right. BIJ12 regrets that the hearing is taking so long.
“The appraised value is far too low, a stud stallion costs many times that.”
The value of the three dead alpacas is valued at 26,000 euros. “Far too low,” says Van Daal. “They were studs. If I had to buy them they would have cost me several times over. I am at peace with the fact that my insurance cannot do anything for me. The policy conditions do not provide for compensation in these types of cases.”
This week it was announced that the province also wants to provide subsidies to keepers of horses, cattle, alpacas, llamas and free-ranging pigs to prevent damage from wolves. However, Van Daal has had his share. “I have already done enough around the hacienda to prevent worse. Moreover, I am now seventy and do not have eternal life.”
“They are such sweet animals, but I am not going to invest in them anymore.”
“Alpacas are such sweet animals. I once had 45 of them walking around, but there are fewer and fewer. I still have 23. I’m going to take it a bit easier. I’m not going to invest in a stud anymore either. No more breeding programs for me,” says the man from Haps, who cannot resist taking another swipe at BIJ12. “They killed my hobby. The death of my animals was really the work of a wolf.”
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