The finding that the wolf is present in North Holland has been received with cheers by many people and authorities. But not everyone is excited about the predator’s arrival in the province. How happy should be with this presence?
Annemieke van Straaten of the Annemieke Foundation has been fighting against the arrival of the wolf since August last year. According to her, it is a threat to people, livestock, pets and nature itself. “We have to wait for the first child to be seized,” she says.
She is also convinced that the attention for the wolf by nature organizations and governments is about something completely different than an ‘addition to the diversity of nature’: “We are being cheated. It is a revenue model. The excursions will soon come and people will want wolf tracks. search,” she explains.
“In addition, this is also a way to get the farmers and hunters away in order to realize primeval nature again. That’s called rewilding. Soon, for example, the lynx, the moose and later the brown bear will come.”
Investment
Also Astrid Francis van Boeren in Actie Noord-Holland would rather lose the wolf than get rich. “I look out over the polder here and I have some sheep and lambs,” she says. “If you have even a little heart for your animals, you don’t want to see them get caught by the wolf.”
“I have foals and ponies here. They are easy to grab”
With her organization Francis tries to encourage farmers in the province. She also notices in her network that mainly livestock farmers do not like the arrival of the wolf. “You have a fence against wolves, but it’s a huge investment to fence your land.”
Sorrow
Chairman of agricultural organization LTO Noord Noord-Holland Marbel de Graaf emphasizes that this is still a one-off incident, but that they remain on their guard. “Suppose this happens more often, then we make an urgent appeal to the province to help keep the wolves away from our livestock,” she says.
“It is of course very unpleasant for a livestock farmer to see your animals being caught by a wolf. We are afraid of the suffering that can occur.”
And it is not only the livestock farmers who do not like the wolf, manager Ronald Beukers from Manage Beukers in Oudkarspel is also not happy with this. “The wolf isn’t here yet, but if it comes this way in large numbers, that’s a problem.” Beukers fears for the safety of his noble animals. “I have foals and ponies here. They are easy to grab.”