Gelderland can't shoot wolves with paintball guns, court rules

The province of Gelderland is not allowed to use paintball guns to deter wolves in the Hoge Veluwe national park, the Midden-Nederland district court ruled on Wednesday. According to the court, the province did not sufficiently substantiate the measure's necessity, nor did it explore alternatives.

The Provincial Executive permitted Gelderland enforcers to shoot wolves in the Hoge Veluwe with paintball guns on October 27. Animal rights organization Faunabescherming fought the measure in court. The court suspended the practice immediately and now banned it in its ruling.

According to the province of Gelderland, enforcers need to be able to take action to prevent unsafe situations between wolves and people in the Hoge Veluwe. A wolf there seemed to be getting tame and approaching people because it associates them with food. The province thought that shooting the wolf with a paintball gun would be the best way to make it people-shy again.

Faunabescherming argued that it concerns a young wolf that is curious, which fits with its natural behavior. The organization also argued that the wolf would not associate people with food if people in the park did not feed it. The problem lies with the people, not the animal.

The court stressed that it is not its task to get involved in the social discussion about wolves’ future in the Netherlands. The starting point is that wolves are a protected species in Europe, and exemption to disturb the animal must be very well found. According to the court, Gelderland did not do that.

The court takes the signals about the wolf very seriously, but the province has not clarified precisely what incidents have occurred in Hoge Veluwe. It is also unclear whether the alleged incidents all involved the same wolf or whether it was a young wolf displaying natural curiosity.

“Furthermore, options other than the paintball gun have not been carefully considered, in which not humans but rather the wolf is protected,” the court said. “For example, part of the national park could be closed off to the public so that the wolf no longer associates food with humans.”

The court also pointed out that using a paintball gun to deter wolves has never been done before and is, therefore, experimental. “It is unclear if the paint bullets will injure the wolf and if a paint mark will cause him to be ostracized by his pack.”