Yeah this is a bit premature. I dunno why we don't just pay the ranchers for livestock killed (it's pretty rare) and everyone goes home happy? Apex predator reintroduction is a good litmus test for how much conservation we can stomach, so I think it's important that we get this right.
Why should we even pay? There's no constitutional right to be able to leave your livestock basically unprotected on vast tracts of land where they're vulnerable to predators. I mean, if it makes it more palatable it's probably worth it to pay farmers... but I viscerally dislike the idea that any industry has the right to: 1. Destroy the environment for their convenience 2. Be indemnified by the government for their i…
Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
31–40 of 255 posts
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
That would be wealth redistribution, which a critical mass of Americans are pathologically opposed to.
> which a critical mass of Americans are pathologically opposed to Presumably this is a joke?
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#33Hope they continue to do well, and are added to a limited hunting season in my state, creating a balanced population and a new game animal.
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#34Hope they continue to do well, and are added to a limited hunting season in my state, creating a balanced population and a new game animal.
I can't fathom how people enjoy killing for sport (for food, sure, but solely for pleasure?). That must be some kind of pathology?
We are literally the best hunters in the known universe. Its not a pathology.
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#35Yeah this is a bit premature. I dunno why we don't just pay the ranchers for livestock killed (it's pretty rare) and everyone goes home happy? Apex predator reintroduction is a good litmus test for how much conservation we can stomach, so I think it's important that we get this right.
I think the answer is that while there is not currently a federal program, many states already do pay ranchers for animals killed by wolves. Searching for "wolf depredation reimbursement" pulls up many details. Here's a High Country News article on the topic: https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.12/wolves-when-cattle-go-missi....
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#36Hope they continue to do well, and are added to a limited hunting season in my state, creating a balanced population and a new game animal.
Why your first reaction to the recovery of this species (that your own hunter breed almost completely erased), is to think about them as moving targets? Can't you find something more productive to do than to shoot innocent animals?
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#37Yeah this is a bit premature. I dunno why we don't just pay the ranchers for livestock killed (it's pretty rare) and everyone goes home happy? Apex predator reintroduction is a good litmus test for how much conservation we can stomach, so I think it's important that we get this right.
Why should we even pay? There's no constitutional right to be able to leave your livestock basically unprotected on vast tracts of land where they're vulnerable to predators. I mean, if it makes it more palatable it's probably worth it to pay farmers... but I viscerally dislike the idea that any industry has the right to: 1. Destroy the environment for their convenience 2. Be indemnified by the government for their i…
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#38Hope they continue to do well, and are added to a limited hunting season in my state, creating a balanced population and a new game animal.
I can't fathom how people enjoy killing for sport (for food, sure, but solely for pleasure?). That must be some kind of pathology?
It also helps keep the various wild herds/packs from exploding in size, reducing the number of wild animals that die from starvation.
(Bias disclaimer: I don't hunt, but I live in a state where I'm a minority)
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#39This is part of the Trump administration's agenda to remove or dismantle anything they can that the Obama administration implemented or put in place. It is the same with all the other environmental regulations and protections they are removing such as the prohibition on drilling for oil in the arctic wildlife refugee, etc. It's very unfortunate for Americans that this administration's policies are not based on ration…
Re: Gray Wolves to Be Removed from Endangered Species List
#40Yeah this is a bit premature. I dunno why we don't just pay the ranchers for livestock killed (it's pretty rare) and everyone goes home happy? Apex predator reintroduction is a good litmus test for how much conservation we can stomach, so I think it's important that we get this right.
Wolves do relatively little predation of livestock. https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/HSUS-... I’ve also seen it said that wolf populations do two positive things for livestock: keep grazing wildlife to manageable levels (so that fields are replenished for livestock) and outcompete coyotes, who are more likely to prey on livestock than wolves.