Dutch farmers urge radical policy shift to allow wolf culling
Dutch agricultural leaders are calling for a radical overhaul of wolf management, urging culling once the impact on communities becomes too large, as livestock attacks continue to increase across the Netherlands.
The Dutch farmers’ organization LTO Noord says the current policy is no longer sustainable. The Netherlands now has more than 100 wolves spread across 14 packs. Last year, they were involved in 888 confirmed attacks on sheep, goats, cattle, and horses. According to LTO, that number has risen every year since 2020.
“The wolf is a predator, not a cuddly animal,” Bruins, a dairy farmer in Dwingeloo, Drenthe, told AD. “We see dozens of sheep bitten to death at the same time. Children no longer dare to cycle to school. A livestock farmer nearby is almost daily confronted by four wolves behind his barn. These are no longer incidents; this is a structural problem.” "The wolf goes for the easiest prey, and that is not an adult red deer in the prime of its life but a tame sheep,” he added.
LTO Noord argues that the rising wolf population is creating growing pressure on rural communities. Bruins said that coexistence is becoming increasingly difficult. “The Netherlands is even more densely populated than Germany. It is therefore wise that we intervene before it is too late.”
In Voorthuizen, Gelderland, veterinarian Willem-Jan Last supports controlled population management, including culling, similar to practices used for wild boar and red deer. He said he has had to euthanize hundreds of injured sheep and other animals in the Gelderse Vallei.
“The injuries after a wolf attack are very severe. Often, the abdominal wall or windpipe of sheep is perforated. They gasp for air or walk around with their rumens hanging out of their bodies. It is a long suffering,” Last said. “At first, we tried to treat them. But experience shows that a shot is the most humane option.”
A Wageningen University study commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture about six months ago found that the Netherlands would need a significantly larger wolf population to meet the European Habitats Directive. Researchers estimated 23 to 56 packs would be required for a healthy population, compared with about 13 packs at the time of the study.
The organization has not specified how many wolves should be culled, saying regional management plans must determine limits. LTO notes that in Germany, estimates suggest 150 to 300 wolves could be shot annually from a population of about 1,600 animals across 209 packs.
Some conservation experts oppose culling as a solution. Sybille Klenzendorf from the German branch of the World Wildlife Fund told Deutsche Welle that removing wolves may not reduce livestock damage but could worsen it if pack structures are disrupted. “Culling will not solve the problem of damage to livestock,” she said. “They would have to completely eradicate the wolf, and they say they do not want that.”
