The wolf has hardly struck in Brabant in recent months, but resistance has only grown. The fact that the popularity of the wolf is declining may have a much deeper cause than previously thought.
In 2015, the wolf was seen again in the Netherlands for the first time after 150 years of absence. Since then, the discussion has been going on as to whether this predator belongs in the Netherlands. Especially when sheep are grabbed by the wolf again, the discussion flares up again.
According to environmental philosopher Martin Drenthen of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the discussion about the wolf symbolizes something bigger. “It’s about the discomfort that people experience due to a rapidly changing world,” he summarizes briefly.
“The wolf is like an intruder that many people don’t want.”
This requires explanation. Philosopher Drenthen: “Many opponents experience the wolf as an intruder that they do not want. Opponents are confronted with the wolf without their opinion being asked. They feel not heard and not taken seriously. This wolf is a symbol for other things that force people to change their familiar way of life. Consider asylum and migration, for example.”
According to Drenthen, the wolf also represents loss of control. “It disrupts the image of nature developed and controlled by humans. The wolf walks straight through all the different cultural landscapes, without anyone seeming to have any influence on it.”
“Wolf huggers see the wolf as a symbol of the restoration of nature.”
Proponents of the wolf explain its presence very differently. “There is a small group of wolf huggers who welcome its presence because the animal symbolizes untouched nature as it once was. Nature before it was ruined by humans.” For these people, the wolf represents the promise of a world without the power of big money, of which nature is often the victim.
According to philosopher Drenthen, these are the extreme positions, but most people are somewhere in between.
“You can shoot the wolf but it will come back.”
Drenthen is mainly in favor of practical and feasible dealing with the wolf. “The animal is just there. You can shoot it dead, but it will come back. Fences with electric wire protect livestock quite well. If the government and livestock farmers invest in it, the wolf will look for other easier prey.”
READ ALSO: Wolf is becoming less popular in Brabant, the number of opponents is increasing