Clare70 Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26926724 What's your stand point on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 haven't read all of it to be honest but I'm not a happy bunny Come on... sheep over wolves? There surely is another way to keep the wolves away without killing them. Plus, I hate to sound ignorant, but come on you kill one sheep and you can easily get another. Kill one wolf though and their population number would drop instantly =\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carly Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 legalised killing for the sake of killing if you ask me..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 I think its an overly sensationalized news report. First of all: do they have proof wolves have killed the sheep? I know that, in other places, mostly its the coyotes, or a cougar, that are responsible for the livestock killing. I wish they would have interviewed actual wolf experts, instead of a wildlife advocacy group. Perhaps if the electric fences were tall enough, and if they had dug concrete underneath (like we do with our huskies) it would have been enough. That, coupled with herding and protection dogs, should be enough. But, its hard to tell. The article doesn't give us any information besides: "wolves are attacking, France ordered a cull, and wolves are evil creatures that will eat your children, hiding under the bed at night." The 'fairy tale' reference at the end was completely unnecessary. Its nothing but fear-mongering. Especially 'love' the part where it says: "wolves killed 2,000 people in France between 1362 and 1918 - mainly five- to 15-year-olds.". That's a span of 556 years, which is roughly 4 people a year. That is NOT bad at all, considering: the wolf population in France was probably much higher than it is now, we and we had less knowledge, technology to deal with them, and resources in general during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotTheDogWhisperer Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Unfortunately it's a matter of Euros and Cents. As unpleasant as it may be it's far cheaper to shoot a wolf than to erect electric fences and other forms of fortification. It sucks but that's the way many see it. It's really easy to pick one side or the other. You gotta put yourself in the farmer's position. If you're losing your precious livestock, then you're gonna take drastic action because it's money lost for every dead sheep/ewe or whatever. It's not as easy as simply getting another sheep. That's more money spent. If your livelihood is at risk, then, you're probably gonna pull that trigger sooner than put up an electric fence spanning over kilometres. I don't know how much electric fences cost, but it's probably a whole lot more expensive than 1 bullet. It's possible that the wolves are simply scapegoats. We can't really know without all the facts. Livestock > Wild Animals is the way the world works. Money > Nature I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Unfortunately it's a matter of Euros and Cents. As unpleasant as it may be it's far cheaper to shoot a wolf than to erect electric fences and other forms of fortification. It sucks but that's the way many see it. It's really easy to pick one side or the other. You gotta put yourself in the farmer's position. If you're losing your precious livestock, then you're gonna take drastic action because it's money lost for every dead sheep/ewe or whatever. It's not as easy as simply getting another sheep. That's more money spent. If your livelihood is at risk, then, you're probably gonna pull that trigger sooner than put up an electric fence spanning over kilometres. I don't know how much electric fences cost, but it's probably a whole lot more expensive than 1 bullet. It's possible that the wolves are simply scapegoats. We can't really know without all the facts. Livestock > Wild Animals is the way the world works. Money > Nature I suppose. You're right. But, I thought the article said that electric fencing was being supplied by the government, free of charge?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotTheDogWhisperer Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 I can imagine the small-print that comes with it. It's never that simple. Farmers may still opt for the bloodier choice, especially if the electric fences are as easily bypassable as Caroline Bourda claims. Rather than take a risk, some may find a quick solution to be more effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingsolo Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Eylse read my mind then put it into words far better than I could. I will add that, like here with badgers and cattle, it is easier to blame then persecute the wild animal than put in prevention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted April 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 haven't read all of it to be honest but I'm not a happy bunny Come on... sheep over wolves? There surely is another way to keep the wolves away without killing them. Plus, I hate to sound ignorant, but come on you kill one sheep and you can easily get another. Kill one wolf though and their population number would drop instantly =\ Agreed, we need to look after our wolves, though I'm sure if I were a sheep farmer I'd have a different opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted April 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Where I live, between 2 forests there is a lot of deer. We don't have much in the way of sheep around here but a lot of cattel. At the moment the fields on each side of me are filled with calves, so a good place for wolves. Regardless of the fact I have huskies (close to the wolf) I still don't like the fact 'man' can dictate what happens to wild animals. It's our fault this poor creatures are pushed out of their natural habitat and then we complain when they interfere with our lives. We have to try and learn with wildlife rather than irradicate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 I'm sure most of you already knows, but a wolf's success rate in hunting is only 1:10. They are very unsuccessful hunters especially when farm dogs are present. They're also very shy and tend to avoid humans so if you pay someone to be a night watch the wolves would probably shy away anyways. I think putting on electric fences and shooting are too extreme of a measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBY Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 People will only start loving and helping the wolves when they're near extinction. People have been taking Little Red Riding hood too seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybeans Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 The problem with shooting wolves is that they actually keep a lot of other things in nature in check. Take for instance when they reintroduced the wolf into Yellowstone National Park, the entire ecosystem was altered for the better. Wolves are natural predators of the coyote as well and for areas where the wolf has been missing for many years the coyote is a big problem. The wolf doesn't typically bother humans unless we trek close to their young or their kill, people are afraid of them because of media portrayals mainly. I think it's wrong to kill wolves, especially if you're not sure that they're behind the killings, I've also never heard of wolves slaughtering entire herds just because they're there, from everything I know about wolves once they have a kill they don't particularly give a crap about the rest of the herd. It's rather upsetting to hear that they've allowed the culling of wolves, killing one wolf from a pack alters that pack forever, they lose hunting and mating potential, take into account that wolves typically bond for life with their pack and you're literally killing a family. A lot of the time coyotes can be mistaken for wolves too, so it might actually be coyotes doing the killing and not wolves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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