January 24, 2024 at 9.40pm Update: one hour ago
The Fauna Protection Society has appealed against the judge’s decision that shooting domestic wolves with a paintball gun is allowed in the province of Gelderland. According to the organization, there is no evidence that the shooting leads to behavioral change.
The court in Utrecht ruled on Wednesday that the province of Gelderland can shoot a domesticated wolf with a paintball gun. Gelderland wants to be able to use such a gun to deter wolves that don’t appear to be afraid of people. The painful stimulus should make the wolf shy again.
But according to De Faunabescherming there is no evidence that the method causes behavioral changes among wolves. Niko Koffeman, president of De Faunabescherming, says it is unknown what a wolf learns when it is shot with paintballs. That’s why Faunabescherming is attractive.
According to Koffeman, the solution lies in supervision and regulation. For example, wolf habitat could be expanded so that it is closed to the public. According to Koffeman, the wolf never becomes domesticated on its own, so the manager of the nature reserve should ask himself whether everything has been done to avoid this change in behavior.
Furthermore, according to De Faunabescherming, the province does not have to deal with domestic wolves, because at the moment there are no reports. According to the organization, Gelderland’s ambition is to regulate the wolf population by shooting them.
Koffeman says De Faunabescherming will also go against other plans in Gelderland.
Gelderland and Faunabescherming have been at odds for a long time
Gelderland and De Faunabescherming have long been at odds over the firing of paintball projectiles at domestic wolves. Last year, Gelderland granted an exemption to fire projectiles at domestic wolves after a wolf on De Hoge Veluwe appeared not to be afraid of people.
The legal battle lasted a long time and the exemption is only valid until February 1st. This is partly because Gelderland has not found a good justification for shooting domestic wolves with paintball projectiles. The judge now finds that this basis exists.
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- January 24, 2024 at 10:19 am
Gelderland can now shoot a tamed wolf with a paintball gun
Image: ANP
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2024-01-24 20:40:05
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