Wolves shot with paintballs by Dutch officials ‘to make them frightened of people again’

Local authorities believe the wolves have become ‘too tame’

(AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities in the Dutch province of Gelderland have authorised firing paintball guns at wolves in order to make them “frightened of people again” over fears the wild canines could become too familiar to people and possibly attack them.

The decision taken by the local authority comes after a video, in which a “seemingly tame” wolf walks past a concerned looking young family at close range in the Hoge Veluwe national park, was shared widely on social media.

Separate footage circulated at an earlier date captured a number of photographers surrounding a wolf in the national park.

“We’re dealing with wolves that have become too tame,” a spokesperson for the eastern province told the broadcaster Omroep Gelderland. “We have to make them frightened of people again.”

The Veluwe park management have been accused by environmental campaigners of feeding the wolves in a bid to tame them. This would mean the canines would be classified as “problem animals”, warranting their removal.

“We have reason to believe the park owner is responsible for taming the wolves,” the Faunabescerming president, Niko Koffeman, said.

“If the Hoge Veluwe has a wolf population that is behaving significantly differently from others in the Netherlands and in surrounding countries, the situation is suspicious.”

The allegations have been vehemently denied by park owner Seger Emmanuel baron van Voorst tot Voorst, who has frequently said the animals have no place in the Netherlands.

The Gelderland authorities have explained that the paint marks will enable them to see which animals had been shot out. The distance between wolves and people should be at least 30 metres, a spokesperson said.

But Van Voorst tot Voorst has agreed to cooperate with the new measures, but insisted it was “a fake solution.”

“They want to scare wolves so they don’t attack people, so they’re going to shoot them with paintballs,” he said. “It’s a fake solution so they don’t have say ‘shoot them dead.’”