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January 24, 2024 at 9:40 p.m. Update: 20 hours ago
The Fauna Protection Society is appealing the judge’s decision to allow Gelderland province to shoot native wolves with a paintball gun. According to the organization, there is no evidence that the shooting leads to a change in behavior.
The Utrecht court ruled on Wednesday that the province of Gelderland can shoot a domesticated wolf with a paintball gun. Gelderland would like to be able to use such a weapon to scare off wolves that don’t seem to be afraid of people. The painful stimulus is supposed to make the wolf shy again.
However, according to De Faunabescherming, there is no evidence that the method leads to behavioral changes in wolves. Niko Koffeman, chairman of De Faunabescherming, says it is unknown what a wolf learns when it is shot at with paintballs. That’s why fauna bescherming is attractive.
According to Koffeman, the solution lies in oversight and regulations. For example, the wolf’s habitat could be expanded so that it is isolated from the public. According to Koffeman, a wolf never becomes tame on its own, so he thinks the preserve manager should ask whether everything has been done to prevent this change in behavior.
In addition, according to De Faunabescherming, the province does not have to worry about native wolves as there are currently no reports. According to the organization, Gelderland’s goal is to regulate the wolf population through shooting.
Koffeman says De Faunabescherming will also run counter to other plans in Gelderland.
Gelderland and Faunabescherming have been at odds for a long time
Gelderland and De Faunabescherming have been at odds for some time over the firing of paintball bullets at native wolves. Last year, Gelderland granted an exemption to shoot bullets at native wolves after a wolf on De Hoge Veluwe appeared to be unafraid of humans.
The legal battle took a long time and the exemption is only valid until February 1st. This was partly because Gelderland could not find a good justification for shooting native wolves with paintball bullets. The judge now finds that such justification exists.
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- January 24, 2024 at 10:19 am
Gelderland is now allowed to shoot a tame wolf with a paintball gun
Image: ANP
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