The meeting about the wolf that Natuurmonumenten was to hold this Sunday in the Dwingelderveld visitor center is cancelled. The center itself in Ruinen will also remain closed on Sunday. According to Natuurmonumenten, messages on social media show that a group of people at the meeting want to protest against the wolf. The tone of these messages is intimidating and threatening, according to the organization.
During the meeting, director Cees van Kempen would talk about the nature film Wolf that he recently released. The film is about the return of the wolf to the Netherlands.
The announcement that Van Kempen would come along caused a lot of discussion, says press officer Fred Prak of Natuurmonumenten. “Physical threats are being made towards us, including the director. We take them so seriously that we cancel Sunday’s meeting.” Natuurmonumenten does not want to elaborate on what the physical threats are.
Natuurmonumenten calls it a downer, but there is no other option. “Since the announcement there has been a lot of commotion on social media. We have received signals that a protest might take place, but it goes much further than that,” Prak continues. “The physical threats we receive have made us make this choice now. Otherwise, it is not possible to guarantee the safety of employees, volunteers and visitors.”
Natuurmonumenten also closes the visitor center in Ruinen on Sunday. A choice they made themselves, after discussions with the Drenthe Safety Region. “Sunday is often a busy day, with many people passing by. They often go for a walk and sometimes have questions about a mushroom or something else. They can go to the visitor center with those questions. However, we don’t think it is wise to open the center That’s just not justified with what’s going on now.”
Prak says he regrets that it had to come to this. “We are an organization that wants to educate people about nature. We do that in an objective way, but the wolf has a very polarizing effect. It is difficult to meet that mission.”
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