The amount of compensation paid to farmers whose land and livestock have been damaged by geese, wolves, and badgers rose steeply, from €18 million in 2014 to €50 million in 2023, the Telegraaf reported on Tuesday.

The figures were put together by provincial wildlife agency, BIJ12, which will publish its 2024 report next month.

BIJ12 said it expects the figures for 2025 to be higher still, with 1,718 sheep killed  in the first three and a half months alone.  However, not all the attacks on sheep have been proven to be carried out by wolves and not all farmers have taken adequate measures to protect their flocks .

In the whole of 2024, 2,293 farm animals were killed by wolves, including around 2,200 sheep and some 20 horses, BIJ12 said.

Wolves

Around 100 wolves have now settled in the Netherlands, primarily in Drenthe, Friesland and Gelderland, after an absence of 200 years.

However, according to BIJ12, geese are much more financially damaging than wolves.

“Thousands of geese descend on fields and leave them bare,” BIJ12 spokeswoman Myrna Fraters told the Telegraaf. “In money terms, geese cause about €34 million worth of damage compared to €400,000 worth of damage caused by wolves. But with the wolf attacks the emotional damage is greater.”