Researcher offers three reasons wolf debate divides Danes

The wolf debate is deeply divisive in Denmark, particularly on social media, where discussions sometimes descend into personal attacks, DR reports. Social media researcher Michael Bang Petersen of Aarhus University points to three possible explanations.

Comments on Facebook have included attacks such as: “We are in the middle of a country largely populated by unintelligent fools” and “You place an unpleasant animal above your fellow human beings. You are a beast and perhaps should be treated as such.”

The divide between cities and rural areas

The distance between Copenhagen and Christiansborg, where Denmark’s parliament is located, and the parts of Jutland where wolves are found plays a role in the debate, Petersen says.

He links the wolf issue to a broader discussion about whether politicians and people in large cities show enough solidarity with those living in rural areas. Politicians also use the wolf as an issue in the wider city versus countryside debate.

The influence of politicians

Politicians have a significant influence on public opinion, including attitudes towards wolves. People tend to listen closely to politicians they trust, Petersen says.

Social media can give politicians an incentive to make strong or unnuanced statements in order to attract attention. But Petersen warns that the harsh tone, including among politicians themselves, can have damaging long-term consequences.

Political parties may find it harder to recruit candidates if public debate becomes increasingly hostile. “The long-term consequences may be that we do not get politicians who are as competent as we otherwise could have had,” he says.

Strong views dominate comment sections

The third explanation is that people with particularly strong opinions are often the ones who take part in social media debates. This can contribute to an aggressive tone.

“Those most inclined to throw themselves into the debates are people who are angry,” Petersen says.

He describes the harsh tone as a major problem because public debate should include as many voices as possible. If large parts of the population are afraid to participate, the debate becomes less informed.

However, Petersen stresses that only a small part of the population contributes to the hostile tone and that it does not represent the population as a whole.

Wolves were long considered extinct in Denmark before returning from the south more than 10 years ago. They may only be shot if they are classified as problem wolves.