“We are afraid of the wolf, because we know so little about the animal,” says psychotherapist Marlies Vos from Assen. Fear plays a major role in the discussion surrounding the return of the wolf, as podcast makers Wouter Hoving and Jeroen Kelderman note in the podcast Cheering or Hunting, the wolf in the Northern Netherlands.
Listen to the third episode of Cheering or Hunting, the wolf in the Northern Netherlands below. We will publish a new episode every Wednesday for the next six weeks. You can also find the episodes at Spotify and with Apple Podcasts .
Most people are first introduced to the wolf through a fairy tale such as Little Red Riding Hood or the wolf and the seven goats. “Killing for the image of the wolf,” says Hoving. Lack of knowledge about wolves increases the fear that we already have without noticing. Sheep farmer Lambert Pijl knows them: the people who illegally shoot the wolf with guns.
“This is just a lust killer and we are waiting for the first child,” a man responds to a wolf attack in Appelscha. “The wolf must die, the wolf must go. That is often the first thing that comes to mind,” says Kelderman.
Fear leads to roughly three responses, fight, flight or freeze. Therapist Vos: “One of the reactions to fear is that you fight against danger. That is why there are many people who want to shoot that animal.”
Listen below to all published episodes of the podcast Cheering or Hunting, the wolf in the Northern Netherlands.