Journalists Wouter Hoving and Jeroen Kelderman worked last year on the podcast ‘Juichen or Jagen’ about the return of the wolf in the Northern Netherlands. “The wolf causes a lot of tension in society,” says Wouter. “Proponents and opponents are trying to kill each other,” adds Jeroen.
Jeroen and Wouter discovered that there is also a lot of fear of the wolf: “Some people don’t even dare to go into the forest anymore.” The podcast makers argue that a lack of good information is one of the causes of that fear. Jeroen: “Even more reason to make and listen to this podcast!”
Hunter, sheep farmer and forester
The podcast makers set out with a hunter, a sheep farmer and a former forester to find out what the wolf means to them. “We hope that everyone who listens to the podcast can form their own opinion about the wolf, based on reliable information,” says Wouter.
“I thought it was really incredible what the shooting of a wolf at Wapse did,” adds Jeroen. “It looked like war on social media.” In the final episodes, the journalists discover that things can be done differently.
German gründlichkeit
Nature organizations in Belgium and Germany help farmers to install good wolf-resistant fences. “With success it seems, because according to the Germans, a wolf has never entered one of their fences,” says Wouter.