The arrival of the wolf also causes a lot of stress for participant Tjitse Terpstra, sheep farmer at the Drents-Friese Wold. He has already had a wolf visit three times. Fifteen sheep were killed. “If that wolf takes one sheep and eats it, that’s up to that point,” says Terpstra. “But he kills a lot. Those sheep fly everywhere. The last time they were standing on the road from Wolvega to Oosterwolde in the middle of the night. When a car arrives, it flies straight to the sheep.”
To be able to stop the wolf, Terpstra has purchased thousands of euros worth of wolf-resistant fencing. A big job to put up. “Normally I put up a fence in 2.5 hours. Now it takes me a day. And then it’s just a matter of waiting to see if they won’t come in.”
Meanwhile, Caroline Visser is also concerned about other animals in the countryside. She fears that farm animals will soon no longer be able to stand outside at all. “Then sheep and horses can no longer go out in the meadow. And what about the grazing by the urban herds? You can’t just bring them in in the evening. And walking in nature with your dog will soon no longer be possible.”
Both sheep farmers have a direct solution to the wolf problem. Tjitse Terpstra suggests shooting the problem wolves. “There’s a pack of wolves out there that just wants to kill.” He saw gruesome examples of wolf attack on his own sheep. “Then you arrive at the sheep, and then you see because the breastbone has been eaten away, the heart beats in the animal.”
Visser does not dare to make a statement. “I don’t know how they’re going to solve it, but we can’t provide the habitat that the wolf needs. You don’t make the wolf happy with it either.”
For weeks, Terpstra’s sheep suffered from stress after the wolf attack. “When strange dogs walked by, they flew in all directions. By going out with them every day, it got better and better.” Visser’s herd has not yet had that stress and is alert in the meadow waiting for the action of the dog. Then go back into the stable.