with videoSome Drenthe and Frisian farmers are shocked by the recent wolf attacks on a pony and cows in recent weeks. And that while the anger was already great for many sheep that had been bitten to death. Today Frisians protested in front of a fence around the province. “We anticipate that everything will be up and running in a few years.”
Tom van der Meer
It is very unusual for wolves to attack large animals such as horses and cows, the organization BIJ12 said this week, which keeps track of damage reports. It is feared that it will not stop there. Since the first wolf was spotted in the Netherlands in 2018, the animals have been rapidly advancing to the west. And in doing so, they are increasingly feasting on animals kept by humans.
“Three young wolves are now growing up in Drenthe with the idea that a horse, pony or cow is natural food for them,” says Sijbe Knol of the Fryske Nasjonale Party (FNP). Like the activist, he wants to prevent this from happening. the cattle is targeted every night, when several wolf packs settle in the province.
Fence around the province
But his party is the target of the activists today. They walked in line with their horses through Bakhuizen in the Gaasterland region, past banners aimed against the FNP. “He wants nothing more than to roll out the red carpet for the wolf,” says activist Jehan Bouma of Wolvenhek Fryslân. He has been targeting party chairman Sijbe Knol for some time. At the heart of the discussion: a large fence around Friesland, to keep the animal out of the entire province.
You can already see a fence for hundreds of kilometers when you drive on the highway in the Veluwe. Give us the space to do the same here
“One solid grid around the Frisian meadow area, that is the solution,” says Bouma. “You already see hundreds of kilometers of fences when you drive on the highway in the Veluwe. Give us the space to do the same here.” According to his foundation, this is a better solution than enclosing each pasture separately. “The cattle run loose in the pasture everywhere in Friesland. That is one of the crown jewels of the Frisian identity. And that stops when a few wolves roam around here. is only a matter of time, it could take another two to three years.”
‘The iron Curtain’
According to him, the costs of a fence around the province are not the problem. ,,We calculated a few years ago that that would cost two million euros. Let it be four million now. That is still much cheaper than paying compensation every time. And you prevent a lot of suffering. You don’t want to know what a slaughter animal lovers see every day now.”
Frisian politicians see no point in this. “You can tell fairy tales, but we don’t do that,” says Knol of the FNP. “We know that fence, it is not a solution for anything and is legally untenable. If we put a fence around Friesland, they want it afterwards in Drenthe too, and in Groningen. And Lower Saxony. Just a little while and we’ll have the iron curtain back.”
The alternative is to shoot them en masse. We don’t want that, but if politics doesn’t do anything, people will resort to vigilantism
Lower protection status
The solution lies in Europe, he believes. His party wanted to solve the problems up to now with extra money: generous compensation for livestock farmers to take protective measures and good compensation for affected farmers. “That requires cooperation from two sides: the government, which provides the option of compensation, and the farmer to protect his own livestock.” But Knol’s concerns are also growing and this week he pleaded with the European Union for a lower protective status for the wolf. If the animal really causes problems, he wants action to be taken.
Today’s activists foresee that Frisians will take matters into their own hands if there is no solution against the wolf attacks. “The alternative is that we shoot them en masse,” says Bouma. “We don’t want that, but if the politicians don’t do anything, people will go for vigilantism.”
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