Mont. aims to reduce wolf numbers for first time
By MATT VOLZ (AP) – 16 hours ago
HELENA, Mont. — Montana wildlife commissioners approved a plan Thursday that aims to reduce the gray wolf population for the first time since the once-endangered animal was reintroduced to the region 15 years ago.
The proposal approved by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission calls for at least doubling the number of wolves that hunters can kill and introducing an archery season to go with the rifle season.
The population of wolves in the northern Rockies has increased every year since they were reintroduced to the region in 1995 after being nearly wiped out in the last century due to conflicts with humans and loss of habitat.
There were at least 524 wolves in Montana at the end of last year, and 1,706 wolves in the combined northern Rockies region of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of Washington and Oregon, wildlife officials estimate.
Ranchers and hunters say the wolf population has now grown too high, which has led to more attacks on livestock and game. Read More
Wildlife management is essential for the health of the wildlife involved. I’ve shared with you before about what happens if humans don’t manage these populations. When those numbers get too high, Mother Nature causes them to starve to death or unleashes devastating diseases that wipe out significant portions of them. That certainly doesn’t appear to be the humane option to me. Along with that, human safety and that of our domesticated animals needs to always be a priority in this equation. No wolf is worth a human life. Keeping a viable controlled population needs to be the goal.
Showing posts with label wolves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wolves. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
How Wolves Are Affecting a Family Ranch
October 5, 2009
Dealing with wolves on an Oregon ranch
Curt Jacobs
On Good Friday morning three generations of Jacobs got to experience firsthand the havoc two wolves could wreak.
Just a two-minute jaunt from our sleeping households, four of the five documented wolf attacks occurred on what we call the "Home Ranch," a 640-acre chunk of farm and pastureland, just a part of what we make a living on in this high desert country.
From that day in April until today, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Animal Damage Control confirmed 29 lambs, a pet goat and one calf killed on two ranches. This act stirred and spread the hotbed of debate in our small ranching community of Keating Valley to the Legislature in Salem and beyond.
We not only suffered the loss of these confirmed cases, but that of five more non-confirmed kills on both the Moore Ranch north of us and our own ranch. Our livestock has been harassed and chased through fences, and now our dogs display behavior that signifies "Beware, 'they' are out there!" We have tracked the wolves coming right down the road by our corrals behind my mom and dad's house. The feeling of being watched for a weak spot in the line is not a pleasant one.
Read More
It’s easy to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and support the current rules that don’t allow ranchers to protect their livestock or themselves from wolf attacks. But until you are in the position of going to bed every night wondering if your livelihood will still be there when you wake up, you probably can’t understand what that’s like. So even though these wolf advocates don’t seem to care about these affected families, they should at least read this account of the fear and agony this is causing.
Dealing with wolves on an Oregon ranch
Curt Jacobs
On Good Friday morning three generations of Jacobs got to experience firsthand the havoc two wolves could wreak.
Just a two-minute jaunt from our sleeping households, four of the five documented wolf attacks occurred on what we call the "Home Ranch," a 640-acre chunk of farm and pastureland, just a part of what we make a living on in this high desert country.
From that day in April until today, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Animal Damage Control confirmed 29 lambs, a pet goat and one calf killed on two ranches. This act stirred and spread the hotbed of debate in our small ranching community of Keating Valley to the Legislature in Salem and beyond.
We not only suffered the loss of these confirmed cases, but that of five more non-confirmed kills on both the Moore Ranch north of us and our own ranch. Our livestock has been harassed and chased through fences, and now our dogs display behavior that signifies "Beware, 'they' are out there!" We have tracked the wolves coming right down the road by our corrals behind my mom and dad's house. The feeling of being watched for a weak spot in the line is not a pleasant one.
Read More
It’s easy to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and support the current rules that don’t allow ranchers to protect their livestock or themselves from wolf attacks. But until you are in the position of going to bed every night wondering if your livelihood will still be there when you wake up, you probably can’t understand what that’s like. So even though these wolf advocates don’t seem to care about these affected families, they should at least read this account of the fear and agony this is causing.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wolf Management is Necessary, Not For Fun
September 8, 2009, 4:12 pm
Killing Wolves for Fun
By Randy Cohen
The Issue
The Interior Department has ruled that wolves have sufficiently increased in numbers in the Western continental United States to allow some wolf hunting there. The Idaho hunt began on September 1; Montana’s starts on the 15th. A case might be made for the right to hunt for food and to manage wildlife populations, but surely some of the more than 14,000 people who bought wolf-hunting licenses are interested in neither wolf sandwiches nor animal husbandry: they simply enjoy hunting. Is it morally acceptable to kill a wolf for the fun of it?
The Argument
Unsurprisingly, I believe it is wrong to inflict pain and death unnecessarily on a creature capable of suffering. (Peter Singer more broadly examines the moral standing of animals here.) While this belief might not compel us to be vegetarians, it does demand significant changes in the way we raise animals for food, and it forbids wolf hunting as a form of entertainment. To be clear, I concede all putatively practical justifications for hunting and repudiate only the idea that hunting is a legitimate recreation. It is the person who claims as much who bears the burden of proof — a wolf need not make a case for its not being shot in Montana. I’m not persuaded that hunters have made their case. Read More
The hunting of these wolves is a necessary thing. I’m sure from an office in New York it’s hard to imagine wolves being anything but warm and cuddly but in the real world they need to be managed. These wolves are an apex predator that can severely threaten a family rancher’s livelihood. The population level of these wolves has increased drastically and if they are not managed properly, disease and starvation will threaten them. If this reporter is worried about unnecessary suffering, he should be favoring this hunt.
Killing Wolves for Fun
By Randy Cohen
The Issue
The Interior Department has ruled that wolves have sufficiently increased in numbers in the Western continental United States to allow some wolf hunting there. The Idaho hunt began on September 1; Montana’s starts on the 15th. A case might be made for the right to hunt for food and to manage wildlife populations, but surely some of the more than 14,000 people who bought wolf-hunting licenses are interested in neither wolf sandwiches nor animal husbandry: they simply enjoy hunting. Is it morally acceptable to kill a wolf for the fun of it?
The Argument
Unsurprisingly, I believe it is wrong to inflict pain and death unnecessarily on a creature capable of suffering. (Peter Singer more broadly examines the moral standing of animals here.) While this belief might not compel us to be vegetarians, it does demand significant changes in the way we raise animals for food, and it forbids wolf hunting as a form of entertainment. To be clear, I concede all putatively practical justifications for hunting and repudiate only the idea that hunting is a legitimate recreation. It is the person who claims as much who bears the burden of proof — a wolf need not make a case for its not being shot in Montana. I’m not persuaded that hunters have made their case. Read More
The hunting of these wolves is a necessary thing. I’m sure from an office in New York it’s hard to imagine wolves being anything but warm and cuddly but in the real world they need to be managed. These wolves are an apex predator that can severely threaten a family rancher’s livelihood. The population level of these wolves has increased drastically and if they are not managed properly, disease and starvation will threaten them. If this reporter is worried about unnecessary suffering, he should be favoring this hunt.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wolf Lawsuits
Lawsuits over wolf hunting filed in Mont., Wyo.
By MATTHEW BROWN and BEN NEARY – 14 hours ago
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A pair of federal judges will decide which states in the Northern Rockies have enough gray wolves to allow public hunting, as the bitter debate over the region's wolves heads to courts in Wyoming and Montana.
Environmentalists filed a lawsuit in Missoula on Tuesday seeking to restore protections for more than 1,300 wolves in Montana and Idaho. The Obama administration in April upheld a Bush-era decision to take wolves off the endangered species list in those two states.
The lawsuit could block regulated wolf hunts slated to begin this fall and scuttle a plan to remove all the predators from part of north central Idaho.
Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, after they had been wiped out across the lower 48 states in the early 20th century by hunting and government-sponsored poisoning. Following an intensive reintroduction program, there are now an estimated 1,645 wolves in the Northern Rockies, not including this year's pups. Read More
The original intent of the Endangered Species Act was to bring a population back to a certain level and then get it off the list. It wasn’t intended to protect species at all costs, indefinitely. If the wolf population grows unchecked, then Mother Nature will take over and control it for us. You see, she doesn’t like it when any species becomes overpopulated. In order to correct the situation, she introduces disease or starvation to kill some of them off. This method is much more painful and cruel than anything humans could use to control them. These wolf packs have grown faster than anyone predicted they would. It’s time to get the population in balance so all species can thrive.
By MATTHEW BROWN and BEN NEARY – 14 hours ago
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A pair of federal judges will decide which states in the Northern Rockies have enough gray wolves to allow public hunting, as the bitter debate over the region's wolves heads to courts in Wyoming and Montana.
Environmentalists filed a lawsuit in Missoula on Tuesday seeking to restore protections for more than 1,300 wolves in Montana and Idaho. The Obama administration in April upheld a Bush-era decision to take wolves off the endangered species list in those two states.
The lawsuit could block regulated wolf hunts slated to begin this fall and scuttle a plan to remove all the predators from part of north central Idaho.
Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, after they had been wiped out across the lower 48 states in the early 20th century by hunting and government-sponsored poisoning. Following an intensive reintroduction program, there are now an estimated 1,645 wolves in the Northern Rockies, not including this year's pups. Read More
The original intent of the Endangered Species Act was to bring a population back to a certain level and then get it off the list. It wasn’t intended to protect species at all costs, indefinitely. If the wolf population grows unchecked, then Mother Nature will take over and control it for us. You see, she doesn’t like it when any species becomes overpopulated. In order to correct the situation, she introduces disease or starvation to kill some of them off. This method is much more painful and cruel than anything humans could use to control them. These wolf packs have grown faster than anyone predicted they would. It’s time to get the population in balance so all species can thrive.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wolves Attacking Livestock
Oregon ranchers seek freedom in handling wolves
Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:07 PM PDT
By The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is working to persuade lawmakers to change the current Wolf Management Plan and allow them to kill or capture wolves that harass or attack their sheep.
Curt Jacobs, a cattleman who operates a ranch outside Baker City, told a legislative committee Thursday about how wolves killed 24 of his lambs and injured three others. The association brought pictures of the attacks to further their point. One showed a lamb split in two.
Under current law ranchers can only haze wolves. An association lobbyist says the change would give ranchers more “tools” to work with. Read More
A rancher needs the ability to protect their livestock. Being forced to sit there and watch your livestock suffer needlessly and see your livelihood threatened is asking a lot for our food producers to do. Hopefully these elected officials will realize how important it is to change these rules.
Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:07 PM PDT
By The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is working to persuade lawmakers to change the current Wolf Management Plan and allow them to kill or capture wolves that harass or attack their sheep.
Curt Jacobs, a cattleman who operates a ranch outside Baker City, told a legislative committee Thursday about how wolves killed 24 of his lambs and injured three others. The association brought pictures of the attacks to further their point. One showed a lamb split in two.
Under current law ranchers can only haze wolves. An association lobbyist says the change would give ranchers more “tools” to work with. Read More
A rancher needs the ability to protect their livestock. Being forced to sit there and watch your livestock suffer needlessly and see your livelihood threatened is asking a lot for our food producers to do. Hopefully these elected officials will realize how important it is to change these rules.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Caribou Benefit From Wolf Hunting
Helicopter wolf-kills help caribou calves
SURVEYS: Survival rate soars after shooters thin a herd's predators.
By CRAIG MEDRED cmedred@adn.com (11/11/08 22:53:19)
Slaughtering wolves on the Alaska Peninsula appears to have had the desired effect -- more caribou got a chance to live, according to biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
As ugly and as politically incorrect as the wolf killing might seem to some, they said, the helicopter gunning that took place earlier this year saved caribou, especially young caribou, from being eaten alive.
Fall surveys of the Southern Alaska Peninsula caribou herd completed in October found an average of 39 calves per 100 cows. That's a dramatic improvement from fall counts of only 1 calf per 100 cows in 2006 and 2007. Read More
I have talked before about the importance of managing wildlife to keep populations in check. Gov. Palin received her fair share of criticism for the aerial hunting of wolves, but now it shows that the strategy is working quite well. People might not like this type of hunting, but it’s obvious that the caribou really appreciated it.
SURVEYS: Survival rate soars after shooters thin a herd's predators.
By CRAIG MEDRED cmedred@adn.com (11/11/08 22:53:19)
Slaughtering wolves on the Alaska Peninsula appears to have had the desired effect -- more caribou got a chance to live, according to biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
As ugly and as politically incorrect as the wolf killing might seem to some, they said, the helicopter gunning that took place earlier this year saved caribou, especially young caribou, from being eaten alive.
Fall surveys of the Southern Alaska Peninsula caribou herd completed in October found an average of 39 calves per 100 cows. That's a dramatic improvement from fall counts of only 1 calf per 100 cows in 2006 and 2007. Read More
I have talked before about the importance of managing wildlife to keep populations in check. Gov. Palin received her fair share of criticism for the aerial hunting of wolves, but now it shows that the strategy is working quite well. People might not like this type of hunting, but it’s obvious that the caribou really appreciated it.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Managing The Wolf
States will discuss wolf strategy
By JOAN BARRONStar-Tribune staff writer
CHEYENNE -- Representatives of the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will decide their strategy on the wolf decision Friday during a telephone conference call, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg said Wednesday.
Last Friday U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, in Missoula, Mont., granted a preliminary injunction sought by environmental groups to restore the protection for wolves in the three states and halt wolf hunts.
In March, the estimated 2,000 gray wolves in the region were removed from the endangered species list. Read More
The wolf population has recovered quicker than probably anyone thought it would. It is to a point now that it needs to be managed in order to maintain a proper balance. The increased interaction between wolves and livestock and livestock owners shows the need for a management plan rather than just letting them over-populate. With a more than stable population, now is the time to put that management plan into place so those that are feeding these wolves don’t become endangered.
By JOAN BARRONStar-Tribune staff writer
CHEYENNE -- Representatives of the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will decide their strategy on the wolf decision Friday during a telephone conference call, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg said Wednesday.
Last Friday U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, in Missoula, Mont., granted a preliminary injunction sought by environmental groups to restore the protection for wolves in the three states and halt wolf hunts.
In March, the estimated 2,000 gray wolves in the region were removed from the endangered species list. Read More
The wolf population has recovered quicker than probably anyone thought it would. It is to a point now that it needs to be managed in order to maintain a proper balance. The increased interaction between wolves and livestock and livestock owners shows the need for a management plan rather than just letting them over-populate. With a more than stable population, now is the time to put that management plan into place so those that are feeding these wolves don’t become endangered.
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