Cabinet wants to weaken wolf's protected status; Dog maybe involved in recent incident

The recently installed Cabinet of PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB wants to lower the protected status of the wolf, BBB State Secretary Jean Rummenie (Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature) said through a spokesperson. On Wednesday, there was an incident with a wolf and a child on the Utrechtse Hevuelrug for the second time in a short period. A stray dog may have been involved in the incident, the province of Utrecht said after receiving new information.

There is already a proposal in Brussels to lower the status of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected.” That will create more space to shoot wolves in some cases. It is not yet clear when the proposal will be voted on. Rummenie’s predecessor, Christianne van der Wal, also expressed support for the plan in May.

Rummenie is also investigating whether there are “other legal options” to take action against problem wolves. The spokesperson could not say which ones.

On Wednesday, a girl was knocked over by a large animal, believed to be a wolf, in Austerlitz. Earlier, a girl was bitten by a wolf at an estate in Leusden, sustaining minor injuries. The province of Utrecht believes the same animal is involved in both incidents and has filed for a permit to shoot it. It also urged locals not to take small children or dogs to the forests of Utrechtse Heuvelrug and closed the Leusden estate to visitors.

On Thursday, the province revealed that a stray dog may have played a role in Wednesday’s incident - the wolf may have been going after the dog and hit the girl in passing. “The believed wolf forcefully ran over the young child,” a provincial spokesperson reported based on new information received.

Wolf expert Dick Klees, one of the province’s advisors, told NOS that the new information is a reason to withdraw his previous advice to shoot the wolf. If the wolf went after a dog and did not target the child specifically, “the incident seems less serious than expected,” Klees said.

The province is still awaiting the full written advice from the Mammal Society about what to do about the wolf but sees no reason to stop preparing a permit application for shooting the animal. “It appears that this is a wolf that is displaying problematic behavior, namely by making contact with people, including young children, and dogs in several cases,” the province said. “Due to the seriousness of the situation, we want to be maximally prepared in any case to be able to intervene when necessary.”

A provincial spokesperson reiterated the “urgent advice” not to take small children to the forests of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. “But we also advise to be extra alert when you want to enter the forests near Zeist, Woudenberg, Leusden, and Utrechtse Heuvelrug with dogs. At least keep dogs on a leash and close by.”

He added that the province and municipalities are not checking whether people take small children to the forest. Enforcement is in place on part of the Den Treek estate.