The wolf was shot dead earlier this month in woodland near Utrecht has been identified as problem wolf GW3237m, also known as Bram, provincial officials said on Friday after DNA testing.

The province gave the green light to a local hunting organisation Faunabeheereenheid Utrecht to shoot the wolf in July after it attacked a woman out walking on the Den Treek estate near Leusden. The wolf is also known to have attacked a child.

The decision to allow wolves to be shot has met resistance from animal welfare organisations.

Animal Rights condemned the killing of the wolf Bram, calling it a “disgrace”. Faunabescherming, Animal Rights and Fauna4Life launched legal action in July to try to prevent the shooting, arguing that it was not sufficiently clear which wolf was responsible for the incidents.

Meanwhile, a wolf was killed by a car on Friday morning on the provincial road between Apeldoorn and Ede.

The animal was hit while crossing the road at around 8 am, police told Omroep Gelderland. The carcass will be taken to the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre at Utrecht University for examination.

It was the third day in a row that a dead wolf has been found in the Dutch countryside. Wolves were also found dead on Wednesday and Thursday in the province of Drenthe, one of which was also hit by a car. DNA testing will determine which animals were involved.

Caretaker junior nature minister Jean Rummenie (BBB) told the Telegraaf on Friday he thinks he has found a loophole which would enable more wolves to be shot. The BBB favours a complete wolf cull in the Netherlands.

According to Rummenie, the European Commission should regard the Netherlands as “a small country” instead of a “medium-sized” one. Small countries only have a so-called “best efforts obligation” instead of a more stringent duty to protect the wolf. Managing the wolf numbers would include culls, he told the paper.

The Netherlands is home to 13 to 14 packs but monitoring organisation BIJ12 said the total number of wolves is difficult to ascertain. According to research by Wageningen University, the Netherlands has a legal duty to be home to at least 23 packs to ensure their survival.

Officials have also issued a licence to kill another problem wolf, GW4655m, also known as Hubertus. That wolf was involved in a series of incidents on the Veluwe heathland area, including biting a jogger in April and approaching other visitors around the same time.