Last May, the Dutch police made the puzzling discovery of a decapitated wolf carcass in the Veluwe. Two days later, the mystery came to a head: the missing body part was found… in a man’s home.
According to RTL Nieuws, the East Netherlands Police is still investigating the incident.
A morbid scene
As the first wolf specimen found without a head since the species made a comeback to the Netherlands, the decapitated carcass caused quite a stir.
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While the leading cause of death for wolves in the Netherlands is collision, this specimen appears to have died of natural causes, provincial organisation BIJ12 tells RTL Nieuws.
Its decapitation, then, would have occurred when the animal was already dead.
“It’s not permitted”
While the man found in possession of the wolf’s head is not accused of killing the animal, the Public Prosecution Services are investigating several other aspects of the incident.
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Firstly, he was not allowed to take home his morbid souvenir. “Without a permit, it is not allowed to have or transport a protected species,” an East Netherlands Police spokesperson tells RTL Nieuws.
Secondly, the location where the carcass was retrieved is part of a protected zone.
The area is a closed-off part of the 10,400-hectare Kroondomein Het Loo estate, the largest estate in the Netherlands, located in Gelderland, on the Veluwe.
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While portions of the state-owned estate, formerly a royal property, are indeed visitable, the part the man entered is forbidden to visitors.
As such, the man risks being prosecuted on at least two accounts.
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