Room for the wolf or not? This is also an electoral issue

In the run-up to county council elections, it’s not just about major topics like nitrogen, immigration, and housing. In seven of the twelve provinces, one of the data in Kiskombassa was about the wolf. The question is: Should the wolf be given space in the Netherlands or not?

The return of the wolf to Dutch soil leads to political debates and sometimes polarization. “The wolf has become, among other things, a symbol of the gap between the countryside and the city,” says environmental philosopher Martin Drenthen, affiliated with Radboud University Nijmegen.

Here and there in the provinces, passions run high when it comes to the wolf. “There have been threats in the lectures at the visitor centers and there are groups that drive each other crazy. People who covet each other rather than listen to each other,” says Drenthen.

The environmental philosopher believes that in the Netherlands we should give place to “difficult” natures such as the wolf.

Emotions run high, especially in Friesland. Fryske Nasjonale FNP is under attack. The party had done little to reduce the inconvenience caused by the wolves.

FNP chairman Sijbe Knol says his party has already tried to reduce nuisance in the past four years. “Three years ago, a wolf was already declared an ‘unwanted stranger’, but no coyote was ever shot. That’s because you ran into laws and regulations.”

According to him, “the whole political playing field” requires you to shoot. “To have that option at all, you first have to be somewhere else (European Law and Regulations, ed.). You have to be honest with people about what is and isn’t possible.”

Fimke Wiersma, BBB’s Boer Burger movement drive-thru in Friesland, has no patience for the wolf. The BBB in Friesland wants stricter rules and a shooting policy for the foreseeable future. She thinks of the “formed wolves” who repeatedly prey on other animals.

“Not enough has been done to prevent the wolf from spreading. If you look at 2021 and 2022, you will see the number of prey doubling. So you have to have an active policy,” Wiersma says.

Nature BIJ12, which tracks data on wolves and the damage they cause, concluded at the beginning of this year that the number of wolf populations may have doubled. The number of animals killed by wolves has also increased.

“The wolf has a rare knack for sharpening things up,” says environmental philosopher Drentin. “It’s a resilient animal that not only stays orderly in its territory, but also moves across cultural landscapes. More than other animals, the wolf forces us to adapt.” . “Many studies show that the wolf has become a symbol of changes in the world that were not prompted.”

In the province of Friesland, this “unwanted alien” has also been added to the already existing nitrogen problems, power grid capacity problems and the space battle, says FNP chairman Knoll.

Environmental philosopher Drenthen sees solutions to the wolf problem. “We have to deal with it in a very practical way and protect livestock, for example.”

Polarization doesn’t help, Drenthen stresses. “The more polarization and more ideologically motivated it is, the more people will go after it. We’re not going to solve the problem that way. Those wolves are not going away.”

FNP’s Knol also hopes that the political parties will not be diametrically opposed to each other, but rather work together. “We are not far apart at all, we have to make sure that we achieve what we want together.”