Scare a wolf with paint? Authorities in the central Dutch province of Gelderland recently said they would be firing paintballs to ward off an overly friendly young wolf in a national park.
“In recent weeks, a wolf in the Hoge Veluwe National Park has come too close to hikers and visitors,” the province said in a statement. “To prevent the wolf from taming and to teach the animal to keep away from people, law enforcement will deter the wolf with a kind of paintball gun. »
A derogation put in place “as soon as possible”
The aim is to push the animal to keep at least 30m away from visitors, according to local media. The wolf is a protected animal in the Netherlands. Disturbing or chasing it is prohibited without special dispensation. An exemption has been put in place in this specific case and will be implemented “as soon as possible”, according to the province of Gelderland, without specifying the date.
Local authorities are still in consultation with the national park and the police. In the north of the country, wolves killed nearly 30 sheep in September according to BIJ12, the agency which records, among other things, the damage caused by wolves. The exact number of wolves in the Netherlands is not known. According to BIJ12, there are currently four packs in the country and eleven lone wolves.
Source: 20minutes
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
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