A quarter of the officially registered wolves in the Netherlands have disappeared, and experts believe they may have been killed by poachers, according to a report by the Volkskrant on Wednesday.

Out of the 91 wolves whose DNA was recorded between 2015 and 2023 through excrement, carcasses, and other traces, 23 are confirmed dead, the paper said. Two of these wolves were shot by poachers, 15 were hit by vehicles in the Netherlands, and one was run over in Germany and Belgium respectively.

However, 22 wolves have disappeared without a trace, with no further DNA samples detected, in the Netherlands or elsewhere, European wolf experts told the newspaper.

Maurice La Haye, a biologist with the Dutch mammal association Zoogdiervereniging, expressed concerns about parts of the Veluwe heathlands, where wolf monitoring is prohibited.

The management of Hoge Veluwe National Park has also been a vocal opponent of the wolf’s presence in the region.

Ecologist Glenn Lelieveld highlighted that several wolves in Zeeland have vanished under suspicious circumstances. Three other wolves known to have migrated from Belgium to the Netherlands have also gone missing.

The Volkskrant said many people it contacted are reluctant to discuss the disappearances and the involvement of poachers because the debate about the wolf in the Netherlands has become so polarised.