Visser’s sheep have never been a victim of the wolf, but fellow shepherds have had to deal with it. “Emotionally, it’s a big blow when your animals are hit. It’s a traumatic experience when your animals die or get seriously injured. I’m not happy about that, but if we can get the wolf to be here and sheep, cattle, horses and other small livestock are sufficiently protected, then I can be happy with the wolf. It can be an addition, the landscape can change because of the wolf. You see very interesting things about that.”
In exchange for the positive yields of the wolf, Visser would like to see speed in the protective measures that shepherds can take. “I can imagine that people say: it takes a lot of money to have the wolf here. But I think that sheep farmers should be helped to properly implement the preventive measures. For example, applying for a subsidy and properly setting up the grids, so that sheep can be prevented from being caught.”
