Dutch authorities allow firing of paintballs to scare ‘too tame’ wolves

European grey wolves. The Netherlands is believed to be home to at least 20 adult wolves. Photograph: Arterra Picture Library/Alamy

Dutch provincial authorities have authorised the use of paintballs to scare wolves they say have grown so unafraid of humans that they could become a serious danger.

“We’re dealing with wolves that have become too tame,” a spokesperson for Gelderland province in the eastern Netherlands told the broadcaster Omroep Gelderland. “We have to make them frightened of people again.”