Zeeland reopens wolf-protection subsidy as Gelderland moves to shoot problem wolf

A wolf that reportedly killed about 60 sheep in Barneveld has prompted Gelderland authorities to prepare a shooting permit, while in Zeeland, farmers are being urged to apply for subsidies to install wolf-proof fencing as attacks on livestock rise nationwide.

In Gelderland, the Barneveld wolf reportedly jumped fences nearly 20 times to reach sheep, despite the enclosures meeting BIJ12 standards (guidelines for protecting against wolves).

DNA analysis confirmed at least four attacks were by the same wolf, with additional tests still pending. Footage released by the province shows the wolf leaping over barriers at night—the first time such behavior has been clearly documented in the Netherlands.

The wolf has been classified as a “problem wolf,” which under interprovincial agreements allows culling if it repeatedly attacks livestock behind wolf-proof fences. Gelderland expects to issue the shooting permit soon. A spokesperson said, “The wolf-proof fences were already a preventive measure,” and that correcting the wolf’s behavior was not realistic.

Earlier this year, Gelderland authorized the killing of another wolf that bit a runner in the Hoge Veluwe, while Utrecht also issued a shooting permit.

Animal rights organizations, including Animal Rights and De Faunabescherming (The Fauna Protection Society), plan to challenge the Barneveld permit. They claim the province has not provided proper damage reports and that in some cases sheep were fenced with nets on plastic posts, not true wolf-proof barriers.

“We are of the opinion that this does not count as wolf-proof fencing at all,” Animal Rights said. De Faunabescherming chair Niko Koffeman added, “There are very good solutions to prevent this, but the province simply did not apply them.”

Meanwhile, farmers in Zeeland failed to apply this spring for subsidies to install wolf-proof fencing. The province said no valid applications were submitted and will reopen the program on September 1 with 95,000 euros available.

Farmers can receive up to 20,000 euros each for equipment such as electrified fencing or nets. Deputy Wilfried Nielen of the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) urged farmers not to wait. “But if one settles here, then you have a serious problem if you have taken no measures,” he said.

Nationwide, nearly 500 wolf attacks on sheep and other livestock were recorded in the first half of this year, compared with 360 in the same period last year. BIJ12 found that about 85 percent of those cases involved insufficient preventive measures.