The reputation of the wolf is worsening in the Netherlands and a quarter of the population say they would avoid visiting parts of the country where wolves are known to live, according to a survey by research bureau Motivaction on behalf of the agriculture ministry.

In 2020 a clear majority said wolves are welcome in the Netherlands but that has now shrunk to 42%. And the percentage of people who say the Netherlands should have nothing to do with wolves has more doubled in four years to 18%

Four in 10 people say wolves are causing widespread damage and more people – 35% compared with 20% –  are calling for action to control their number. Some 16% go as far as to back shooting them, even though the wolf is a protected species.

Nature minister Christianne van der Wal told MPs in a briefing that an increasing group of people fear coming face to face with a wolf. She is now planning to work with the provincial authorities to develop a national wolf centre to give better information to people visiting reserves where wolves have made their homes.

The Netherlands is now home to at least nine separate wolf packs, according to provincial wildlife agency BIJ12 which monitors wolf sightings.

Wolves have been slowly returning to the Netherlands after an absence of 200 years and the nine pairs of wolves which have made the Netherlands their home  had at least 39 cubs last year.

Seven of the packs are in the Veluwe region, two in Drenthe and two on the border between Drenthe and Friesland. There have also been confirmed sightings in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug region, BIJ12 said.

In March, forest rangers in Drenthe and Friesland said they are planning to use klaxons and firecrackers to scare off a wolf that has become too accustomed to humans.

The young wolf has been seen approaching people in a nature reserve that spans the two provinces. Rangers believe the animal may have lost its fear of humans after being offered food.

It is not the first time wardens have resorted to unusual measures to deter wolves. In January Gelderland province won the latest stage of a long-running legal battle to be allowed to use paintball pellets to stop the animals getting too close to humans.