[quote]pushharder wrote:
What is the ratio of dogs to wolves? That would be one factor to consider when doing comparisons.
Why do you call it a witch hunt?
Are you not aware of the livestock depredation problem in the states where wolves have been reintroduced? Do you know ranchers who have suffered tens of thousand of dollars in lost income due to this experiment?
Do large numbers of humans have to die before this is worthy of your concern?
Do you live in an area like I do where the deer and elk numbers have been devastated by wolves?
Or are you a city slicker who likes to watch the Discovery Channel and read National Geographic and thinks he has these things all figured out?
Tell us a little about yourself and why your perspective should be considered valuable.
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The ratio of dogs to wolves is probably better phrased as “what is the ratio of interaction between dogs/wolves and people?” There might be thousands of wolves but how often do people interact with them? They are elusive pack hunters and most people don’t go into their territory.
It’s a witch hunt because wolves have existed for thousands of years prior to humans being here. Somehow the population of predator/prey balanced. All of a sudden, enter people and prey is getting wiped out. Maybe there is more here than just over-population of predators - what about bear, cats, etc.? What about other animals competing for territory, like grazing domesticated animals?
Livestock is an easy target. Cattle/sheep/etc are dumb and lazy and far from agile. Would you rather try to chase a collegiate athlete or a coach potato? I believe farmers have permission to deal with the problem and kill wolves that kill their livelihood. Could be wrong though.
Honestly, I think more dumb hippies and lazy people could stand for a breath of “you’re not top of the food chain.” Maybe people would change their mindset. Sadly, its the good country folk who would be most at risk, not the lazy people. We’ve done far more encroaching than any other species on this planet.
Deer and Elk herds survived long before mankind entered the picture. What most likely is harming the herds is their loss of space to move to avoid predators. That and wildlife moves in to suburban areas where they can’t be hunted because food is easier, its safer, and there they become over-populated. In the “woods” they are fewer and farther between, more pressure from hunters - including people. See a trend here?
I like watching National Geographic and Animal Planet. But I’ve lived in the country all of my life. Each area has their own problems for wildlife management. I would agree that a city slicker wouldn’t have a good grasp of things, because they probably never actually set foot in the woods.
As graphic as those images potentially are, you’ll find no less graphic images on the kills of any other predator. Is this meant to be something to stir our hearts? Do the farmers really care about the cattle, or just that they lost money because they didn’t do the killing, butchering, distribution? I have a hard time feeling for an animal whose only end is a bullet in the head while restrained in a small pen. Or however its done nowadays. Sensationalism.
