Whether fear among citizens is real or unreal (according to ‘wolf experts’) makes little difference. The impact of fear erodes the sense of security and limits personal freedoms. In Ermelo, a wolf walked past no fewer than three daycare centers on Wednesday morning. The predator was walking around in the garden of one of the locations where young children are cared for. Are daycare centers and primary schools, just like farmers, expected to protect their sites against wolves with high fences and/or electric wires? Narrow-minded advice from ‘wolf experts’ to exhibit ‘imposing behaviour’ (not panic, making noise and gestures) does not work for children and anxious people.
Politics must take (legal) measures to protect citizens. Keeps wolves out of built-up areas. If a child is grabbed by a wolf, politicians should not show obligatory indignation (shock). Politics is fully responsible, as it appears that the first human victim is awaiting. Incomprehensible politics.
Johan Sijtsema, Rosmalen
