Controversy continues
The arrival of the wolf is also controversial in our province. For example, one of the statements from the Kieskompas was: There is no room for the wolf in the province of Utrecht.
That question caused a lot of division among Utrechters. 40 percent of Utrecht residents prefer to see the predator stay away from the region. Almost the same percentage – 39 percent – believes that we should create space for the wolf.
Biologist Ad van Gestel told RTV Utrecht last year that various factors are important in how much people like to see the wolf come to the province. “The most important thing is how people see themselves in relation to nature. In science we call that the human-nature relationship,” said van Gestel, who researched the perception of the wolf. According to him, the place where someone lives also makes a lot of difference. “People in the city will be less ‘bothered’ by a wolf than people who live in a wooded area.”