Rewilding on the backs of the most vulnerable?
Currently, the families who can least afford it are footing the bill for EU's ecological goals. While we support conservation, the cost of "coexistence" shouldn't fall on small farmers.
The Real Cost of Rewilding
The current system allows the State to implement "Rewilding" on the cheap because the actual costs are dumped onto the vulnerable, small-scale farmers. It is simple math: As long as (not) paying for damage is cheaper than preventing it, the State has zero motivation to invest in prevention infrastructure.
Your donation helps offset this flawed policy and pays for the proactive prevention.
The Policy Gap
Wolf protection laws are written in offices in Brussels and Zagreb. They are lived, and suffered, on the violent frontier of the Dinarides.
The 24-hour Clock
The burden of evidence falls entirely on the farmer. If a sheep is dragged away and no carcass is found with 24 hours, or if the inspector arrives too late, the damage is often written off as "natural causes."
Meat vs Value
The State pays for a fixed price per dead animal. They ignore the lost future milk production, offspring and existing contracts.
Replacement Deficit
Raising a trained guardian dog costs upwards of €2,000. State compensation for a killed guardian dog is capped at €400. This leaves the shepherd with a massive financial deficit just to restore security.
Invisible Damages
The damage doesn't end with the kill. Stress causes abortions and dries up milk production in the surviving herd. These "secondary losses" surpass the value of the dead animal, yet go uncompensated.
"I don't hate the wolf. Only a few years ago, I rescued two cubs, nurtured them and released them back into the wild where they belong. But I cannot sacrifice my children's health for them."
- Saša Štrbac, Shepherd & Father
The 160 Centimeter Trap
Designed to Disqualify.Croatia’s draft ordinance reads less like a protection plan and more like a loophole to avoid paying damages.
The Impossible Standard: To qualify for full compensation, farmers are required to install 1.6-meter high electric fencing. In the solid limestone rock of the Dinarides, driving stakes to that height is often geologically impossible.
The Reality: Without upfront funding for this expensive infrastructure, the regulation effectively disqualifies the poorest farmers from receiving aid. It is a bureaucratic trap.
This is Rewilding by Bankruptcy.
Direct Aid for the Frontline.
The return of the wolf is an ecological success, but the cost is borne entirely by families like the Štrbacs. We are crowdfunding the critical infrastructure gap to prevent their economic collapse.
- ✅ Secure: Payments processed safely via Stripe/WhyDonate.
- ✅ Transparent: You are funding solutions (fences & dogs), not paperwork.
- ✅ Direct: 100% of net proceeds go to the Štrbac family.
Tell us what you think
Have advice on herd protection? Or just want to share your experience? We'd love to hear from you!