The numbers of wolves living in the wild in Europe is estimated to have increased to more than 20,000. But as the 'strictly protected' predators are responsible for killing significant amounts of livestock each year, landowners and farmers called to downgrade their protection.
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00:00A pack of wolves penetrating the Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands, and the result.
00:08In the light of day, we find only traces of them.
00:12So you can see some wolves' cut, hair everywhere. He's eaten wild boar, this one.
00:18And outside the park, they also eat a lot of wildlife.
00:21They attacked some horses and they attacked some cows.
00:25Park ranger Jacob Luidecker has watched wildlife change
00:29since wolves made a comeback in the Netherlands several years ago,
00:32crossing from Germany after the species was previously hunted out of existence here
00:36in the 19th century.
00:38The first wolf came in in the summer of 2021.
00:42Then we had pups, five pups in 2022.
00:45And then it went on.
00:46All mouflons were, for instance, killed by Christmas 2022.
00:51So in one and a half year, 300 mouflons dead.
00:54A few park visitors have also had close encounters, like this cyclist back in 2022.
01:00It's leaving farmers furious and some locals worried.
01:04If it's getting more dark, then I am more cautious about
01:10that I know the wolf is here and I teach my children to scream.
01:15The park owners were among those asking to weaken wolves' strict protection status
01:20to allow for some hunting.
01:22And they got their wish.
01:24Last year, the European Union pushed for international changes
01:28and can now start the process of downgrading EU legal protections.
01:32But the decision has been slammed by environmental campaigners.
01:36They argue wolves, which haven't caused human deaths here for decades,
01:40are important predators, keeping herbivores in check and helping more plants flourish.
01:45Activists also point to EU evidence showing most regional wolf populations
01:50still lack strong long-term survival prospects.
01:54It's definitely a political move. There's no science behind it.
01:58What really works and has proven to be effective is non-lethal methods,
02:01like electric fence and other what we call coexistence measure.
02:05That really works in terms of stopping the attacks,
02:07while culling and shooting, even if it seems the fastest, is really ineffective.
02:12Back in the Netherlands, the possibility of shooting some wolves in future is welcome here.
02:17Though not all park visitors are in favour.
02:20I understand that the farmers had a lot of troubles with it.
02:24But for me personally, I love the wolf.
02:28This enthusiast plans to keep her distance and keep an eye out
02:32for these controversial creatures,
02:34sometimes caught on camera and often caught up in political debate.