In 2018, thousands of dead animals, emaciated from starvation, lay strewn across a famous Dutch rewilding project. Was it animal cruelty or just nature taking its course?
In February 2018, train commuters travelling between the Dutch cities of Almere and Amsterdam were horrified to see animal carcasses strewn across the landscape. They were passing by the Oostvaardersplassen, one of Europe's most infamous rewilding projects, known for its diverse birdlife and wild cows, deer and horses.
For many years, beginning in the 1980s, the ethos at the Oostvaardersplassen was not to intervene and to allow nature to take its own course. The pioneering approach helped shape the conversation around rewilding and influenced nature restoration projects across Europe.
But this approach took a dark turn during the harsh winter of 2017-18 when thousands of cows, horses and deer ended up being shot before they starved to death, sparking huge public backlash. The landscape at that time more closely resembled a desolate wasteland than a vibrant conservation area. Bones were scattered across the blackened ground and there were no trees or shrubs to be seen.
"It was a completely different sight… a monotonous grassland," says Hans-Erik Kuypers, the park ranger from Staatsbosbeheer, the national forestry service, who is guiding me around the reserve.
Seven years later, I am walking through the Oostvaardersplassen. None of what Kuypers describes is visible. He points out an astonishing array of birdlife, wading through clear pools of water, and clusters of elder, willow and hawthorn trees dotting the landscape.
A white-tailed eagle glides through the sky. A herd of sleek wild horses roll in the grass. Large bulls graze on lush vegetation, against a backdrop of windmills. The air is filled with birdsong. It's difficult to believe that we are just a 40-minute drive from the buzzing centre of Amsterdam.
The events of 2018 led to a change in management; the rangers now actively intervene to prevent starvation. They plant trees, feed the animals if needed, and keep the overall numbers in check. But some still argue that this is unnatural – and that the reserve should be left free of human intervention.
"There are still some people who think we should be doing it differently," says Kuypers. "[Rewilding] depends on your aims, but also on your philosophy. What are the human goals which we project onto nature?"
It's a debate that goes to the very heart of rewilding, the nature restoration movement that has swept across the world in recent decades. Perhaps nothing illustrates the line that divides these two perspectives more than what happened at Oostvaardersplassen seven years ago.
