Wildlife losses cost farmers €50 million as geese devour fields, wolves kill livestock

Wildlife damage to Dutch farmland has tripled over the past decade, with geese and wolves causing record losses to crops and livestock, De Telegraaf reports. Compensation paid to farmers rose from 18 million euros in 2014 to 50 million euros in 2023 and is expected to increase further in 2024 and 2025, according to BIJ12, the agency that distributes funds on behalf of the Netherlands’ 12 provinces.

Geese are responsible for the greatest financial impact. Thousands of birds, including greylag, barnacle, white-fronted, and brent geese, descend on agricultural fields and strip grasslands meant for dairy cows. Damages caused by geese now cost roughly 34 million euros annually.

In Utrecht, where goose damage totals 4 million euros each year, officials have deployed drones and laser equipment to scare the birds away. The buzzing drones have cut damage by about 50 percent in some areas, including the Eempolder, said Sandro Broeke, goose coordinator at the Faunabeheereenheid Utrecht. “Geese are startled by the sound of drones and take off, while other meadow birds like lapwings, plovers, and redshanks are unaffected,” he told De Telegraaf.

Wolves, although less financially damaging, are inflicting increasingly severe losses on livestock. In 2023, wolf attacks killed 1,195 sheep. That number nearly doubled to 2,293 in 2024, including several dozen horses, goats, and cattle. In just the first 3.5 months of 2025, wolves killed 1,718 sheep. At this pace, the annual death toll could surpass 5,800 sheep by year’s end.

The provinces of Drenthe, Friesland, and Gelderland have been hit hardest since wolves returned to the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of 150 years. In February 2025, a wolf killed 39 sheep in a single attack in Haule, followed a week later by another killing 33. Similar large-scale attacks were reported in Makinga (29 sheep) and Nieuwehorne (33 sheep). According to BIJ12, more than 100 wild wolves have now been documented in the country. Estimated compensation for wolf damage stands at 400,000 euros annually.

To defend against attacks, several provinces have introduced mitigation programs. In Limburg, farmers can apply for subsidies of up to 20,000 euros for preventive measures against geese and wolves. In Friesland, Ko Maring, a shepherd and member of the provincial nature group It Fryske Gea, developed a mobile sheepfold to protect flocks at night. “So far, there have been no wolf attacks where the mobile sheepfold is used,” Maring told De Telegraaf.

The broader toll of wildlife damage now includes infrastructure. The Dutch farmers' association, Land- en Tuinbouw Organisatie Nederland, reports increasing destruction of roads, dikes, and buildings. “The costs of compensation and prevention are running into the tens of millions,” the group said in a statement, calling for reforms to the current wildlife management and compensation system. “We advocate flexible and responsible population control.”