The Council of State, the Netherlands’ top advisory body and highest administrative court, has shot down a proposal to widen the definition of a “problem wolf” to make it easier for provinces to shoot the animals.

Caretaker junior agricultural minister Jean Rummenie not only wants to allow wolves to be killed if they behave aggressively towards people, but also if they attack` fenced-in cattle more than twice.

The European Commission has already downgraded the wolf’s status from “strictly protected” to “protected” to allow culling in “exceptional circumstances”, and only if no other solution can be found and the wolf population does not suffer.

The Council said in its ruling that Rummenie’s proposal would contravene European nature protection guidelines. The minister also failed to explain why the existing rules are not sufficient and how his plan would solve the situation.

MPs have said they want to declare the subject “controversial”, meaning the next cabinet would have to decide about the proposal.

In July, Utrecht provincial authorities gave the green light to kill a problem wolf known as “Bram”. Hunters have until January 1 to shoot the wolf, which attacked a woman walking on the Den Treek country estate in May.

DNA research confirmed she had been bitten by wolf GW3237m, which had also been involved in earlier incidents. So far, the wolf has remained under the radar.

Wolves have made a successful comeback in the Netherlands, doubling their number to over 100 in the last decade. This spring, some 45 wolves were born in Friesland, Drenthe, Gelderland and Utrecht.

According to the latest count by wolf monitoring point BIJ12, two new packs have made their home in Drenthe, bringing the national total to 16.