Wolf experts are greeted with snorts and laughter in the village hall of Elspeet: “You are stupid!”

It can become quite emotional, says the moderator this evening. “That is also possible,” he says. From their seats, with their arms folded, about two hundred people in the village hall in Elspeet stare at him. For them, the subject of the evening is certainly emotion. This will become clear later in the evening, when they talk about the animal that concerns them every day: the wolf.

The province of Gelderland is organizing such a meeting for the second time. A week earlier it was the turn of the neighborhood village of Ermelo. There are signs everywhere with wolf information. The mayor and deputy Harold Zoet (BBB, Nature and Agriculture) are walking around.

It is no coincidence that this evening is held here. Elspeet is an agricultural enclave, an island consisting of agricultural land, completely enclosed by forests and heathlands of the Veluwe. The Veluwe is wolf territory and Elspeet is exactly that. A wolf pack lives on either side of this village. Not the best combination with the more than a hundred animal keepers, not all of whom have taken wolf-resistant measures. Dozens of sheep and other animals have been killed since August, with the grisly apotheosis being the recent death of the Shetland pony Lucky Boy. At 35 years old, he was a household name in Elspeet.

DNA research is being done into the circumstances of the attack, but the animal keepers know for sure: they were wolves. What else bites a pony to death? The attack stirs up fear and worry. And the main theme of the evening is exactly that: expressing those concerns.

New promises every time

“Am I a wolf expert?” Mayor Céline Blom says to the audience, “No, I am certainly not. But as a citizen, I watch over people who are concerned.” Blom receives messages about attacks every day, she says. “Someone told me: I’m going to sell my animals. I can’t bear to see them lying dead in the meadow.”

Last week, Blom requested the province to be allowed to kill wolves in a small area around Elspeet for six months. That was mainly a statement, because the wolf is so well legally protected that the chance of granting that request is small.

When Deputy Harold Zoet speaks, he makes a promise to the audience again and again. “My commitment is that we will soon be able to manage the wolf, just as we do with deer and boars. Preferably in the short term.” Zoet also knows that this is a bold statement. Because even he cannot keep that promise himself. This must happen in Brussels, where international rules on the ‘strictly protected’ wolf were agreed.

We never wanted this!

Jan de Zwaan sheep farmer from Emst

Zoet lobbied in Brussels last week, the European Commission is currently examining whether it is possible to adjust the protected status of the wolf. “I really got a good feeling from that conversation,” he tells the audience. People listen attentively.

Just in front of Zoet is a row of (experienced) experts. “There are now seven packs, about seventy wolves in the Netherlands,” says Zoet. Later he mentions that the Netherlands has a healthy population of 100. There are grumblings in the front row. “That’s just what I get,” says Zoet. There is debate about the number of wolves. The last official measurement counted thirty. “I can now say: protect your animals,” the deputy continues. He appoints a subsidy for fences. “And we have emergency grids available. You can borrow it from us.”

Loud applause

There is a lot of resistance to the wolf-resistant measures. Sheep farmer Arjan de Zwaan from Emst believes that it is “very easy” for the province to say that animal keepers must protect their animals. “People are now saying: farmer, there is a subsidy, so just do your work. That’s not fair.” Loud applause follows.

Answers from the experts are often met with snorts and laughter. A man from Elspeet asks how the wolf ended up in the Netherlands. Ecologist Erwin van Manen tells a story about the route from Eastern Europe through Germany. An animal keeper wants to know what will happen now that all the “game is gone, the sheep are behind grids and the cows are in the stables.” “Then whose turn is it?” Erik Koffeman, from the province’s wildlife affairs department, says he currently sees no measurable effect of the wolf on wildlife populations. Heads are shaken with sniffles.

Several people say they no longer let their children cycle to school alone. “When my sheep were grabbed by a wolf, I asked the damage appraiser if my six-year-old child can still play in the forest,” says a hobby farmer. “He said no. This does something to our sense of security. Can you guarantee me 100 percent that nothing will happen to my children?” she asks ecologist Erwin van Maanen. He tries to reassure her: he recently camped among wolves – but he cannot give a 100 percent guarantee.

The man who first asked a question takes the microphone again. “I asked how that wolf got here. But I know. It was released here!” The audience applauds loudly. Van Maanen’s categorical debunking cannot count on a response.

Also read this article: Nunspeet wants to be allowed to kill the wolf – what are the rules?

Mouflons and sheep

After 45 minutes, the plenary part makes way for an information market. And enthusiasts can follow a lecture by the ecologist in a small room.

The tall wildlife management employee, Erik Koffeman, is standing at a standing table. Earlier in the evening, he was accused of not knowing “from behind his desk” that “two hundred mouflons” have disappeared here. “Then you can say that there are only forty mouflons, but the fact is that they are indeed gone,” he says. Koffeman explains that mouflons and sheep are easy prey. “You also know,” he says to sheep farmer Jan de Zwaan from neighboring Emst, “they are a bit stupid. “But you too,” shouts the sheep farmer, jabbing his finger in Koffeman’s direction. “We never wanted this!” Koffeman remains calm. “I didn’t ask for this either, did I? You may attack me. I understand that it is very emotional.” The Swan shakes his head. “That has nothing to do with it!”

The circle around Koffeman is expanding. People fire all kinds of questions and accusations at him. Why are wolves fed here? “Well, I certainly don’t do that,” says Koffeman, almost jokingly.

It doesn’t bother him that no one wants to listen to his account of facts. “On an evening like this, facts are not really that interesting. People want someone to listen.”

Also read this article: Suppose you come across a wolf during a run – what should you do?