Wolves at a Dutch national park can be shot with paintball guns to scare them off, a court has ruled

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court says that authorities can use paintball guns to shoot at wolves in a popular national park. The plan is to scare the animals after at least one of them began approaching human visitors. The decision Wednesday was a victory for the eastern province of Gelderland that has sought to frighten the wild wolves using paintball guns. Wolves are protected in the Netherlands and can’t be hunted. A wildlife protection organization that opposes the plan said that it would appeal. Wolves have been spreading across Europe in recent decades and increasingly roaming in populated regions including Germany and the Netherlands.