Residents welcome drone search and shooting zone for problem wolf

Residents in a holiday-home area near Nørre Nebel have welcomed new measures against a wolf that has approached children in private gardens, DR reports.

Authorities will use thermal drones to locate the animal and have established an additional control zone where it may be shot.

Henrik Schultz, chairman of the Frydenlund Homeowners’ Association, which represents about 70 holiday homes in Houstrup, a town near Nørre Nebel, said the wolf’s behaviour was unsettling.

“They are coming a little too close. It is outrageous to have such large predators moving between houses where children are playing and pets are present,” he said.

The same wolf is believed to have been involved in three incidents in the Nørre Nebel area on 5 August, occurring within a short period, in which it approached children in private gardens.

Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare Christian Rabjerg Madsen told DR that it was unacceptable for the wolf to show a lack of fear and actively seek out people.

“It is good that the zone is being expanded. I do not think wolves belong here. They are coming too close,” Schultz said, adding that substantial efforts should be made to reduce the wolf population.

A control zone already exists in the Oksbøl area following previous incidents involving wolves approaching people. The newly established zone near Nørre Nebel extends to Hvide Sande, about 30 kilometres north of Nørre Nebel, and connects with the existing zone.