Wolf attacks on Montana livestock spike in '09

Associated Press ^ | January 14, 2010

[george76]

Gray wolves killed livestock in Montana at the rate of an animal per day in 2009, stirring a backlash against the predators in rural areas and depleting a program that compensates ranchers for their losses.

The sharp increase over 2008 livestock losses...

Such attacks — plus elk herd declines blamed on wolves in parts of Montana and neighboring Idaho — have renewed calls by many ranchers and hunters to reduce the predator's population.

"... They'll go out and hamstring a bunch of animals just for fun,"

wolves attract particular disdain because of their viciousness — many killed animals are left uneaten — and because of historic prohibitions against hunting the predators.

About 1,650 wolves roam the Northern Rockies, most of them descended from just 66 animals introduced to the region in the mid-1990s by the federal government.

[Godzilla]

Shoot, shovel and shut up.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Shoot, shovel and shut up.

That's what I tell my brother in Montana to do. Shoot 'em and leave 'em.

[beethovenfan]

Yet another effect of global warming!

[george76]

Look what happened when the imported Canadian Wolves left Yellowstone park.

[Noumenon]

Triple S works around here, too. Run my horses and die.

[Born to Conserve]

These ranchers own the land? Yes? No?

My understanding is that most of the ranching is done on public lands. That makes the ranchers rights nil.

[RedMonqey]

.... many killed animals are left uneaten —

But... But...But..ONLY (white)Man kills for the sport of it.

Must bne "Global Warming" turning off the wolves from their nature behavoir....

[jazusamo]

If the environazis convince another federal judge to put wolves back on the endangered species list for four or five more years we haven’t seen anything yet.

Losing one head of livestock a day to wolves will become two or three or more a day but the environazis will be happy.

[Baladas]

Yes, this is happening mainly still east of where I live, but I have friends that say those wolves are jamming everything up - there’s less elk ever here than I can remember.

[chessplayer]

“... They’ll go out and hamstring a bunch of animals just for fun,”

And Jews eat babies, too.

[T bench]

Grazing occurs during the summer months on public land, after grazing fees are assessed by the proper authorities. The Canadian grey Wolf has decimated the elk herds of central Idaho to the point that they will take a full generation to recover, but on the bright side more prairie land can be cleared for crops to feed cattle in the mid west. Convoluted logic went into the introduction campaign for these predators. Supporters of a non-native sub-species being foisted upon an ecosystem need to actually study ecology or simple biology.

[Luigi Vasellini]

Those wolves dont belong there. The yellowstone wolves were around 70 lbs. The feds brought in wolves from the Mckenzie range that max about 140 lbs. this is a different animal

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Triple S works around here, too. Run my horses and die.***

Compound 1080 used to work for coyotes till it was by our US government.

“I raise cattle, the wolves eat them.
When I defend myself I am arrested,
because a great man, who is above raising cattle,
would be in need of wolves.”

-modified from a middle age text.

[familyop]

Yes. They’re on their way down to us, george76. We only have a few already,...oops...oh, uh, German Shepherds! That’s right! ...feral German Shepherds, that’s all. Er, maybe giant coyotes. That’s it. Seriously, only seen up to a pair at a time so far.

[Scythian]

Well hell, if it’s cattle getting killed we ought to be outraged and cover this story all over the news like it’s big news, after all, it’s hitting sombodies pocketbook. But pitbulls killing kids, whats the big whoop, kids cost nothing ...

[jazusamo]

There are recorded attacks by wolves where they killed many animals. Whether it was for fun or not we'll never know but they sure couldn't eat what they killed.

Wolves devastate ranchers’ sheep

Wolves kill 23 lambs on Oregon ranch

[familyop]

"My understanding is that most of the ranching is done on public lands. That makes the ranchers rights nil."

There won't be many pests after the big government default then.

[Myrddin]

There were sightings of the Canadian wolves in Blackfoot and Soda Springs last Spring. That brackets an area north and south of where I live. It's just a matter of time before they move west into Pocatello. We have mule deer, elk and moose wandering the valley. The mountain lions have already come down into town to wander around the Idaho State University campus.

[SoDak]

That’s the ticket. I grew up on a ranch, and there were no wolves out here, but if there were, we certainly wouldn’t have put up with them killing cattle neither. They’d have disappeared, guaranteed.