BC Wolf Cull

[steel_dreamin]

Wow - quite the opposite of what I was expecting on here considering the very Liberal posts about Halibut, etc.

People don't realize the implications wolves are causing on both individual and industry revenues in addition to the wildlife population. A kill em all attitude is not the correct method of employment in all areas of the province but, I hate to say it..., it is in some.

I fully support this cull program and would love to here the PROVEN SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE behind anyone objecting it. This stretchs beyond the let mother nature work itself out - we are WAAAYYYY past that point. For example, take a look at the recently developed Peace Northern Caribou Management Plan - wold culling is a management strategy to facilitate herd recovery. If nothing was done wolves would decimate the population and move onto the Moose, Elk, etc. There would be no rabbit and coyote relationship as a supplimental food source is present.

Think about it.

 

[Degree of Freedom]

My post was a cynical attempt at humour...nothing else.

I don't know enough about the facts to comment one way or the other.

 

[straightup]

Something that has not been brought up is if there isn't hunting or a bounty then we pay somebody to do it.Currently we pay to have approxamently 1500 bears killed each and every year culled.Coyotes and problem wolves too.

 

[Charter Tofino]

There goes Kelly's dwindling wildlife population statement. In fact the annual harvest of deer in some MU's on Vancouver Island increased this year due to over population.Wild life in general is doing just fine in North America with a few exceptions in a few area's.


Get informed or involved with who is looking out and doing something for the wildlife instead of posting uneducated emotional opinions that do nothing for the wildlife.

Cheers,
John

You really think North Americas wildlife populations are doing just fine? Look at the historic ranges of a lot of animals but most notably predators. Ie grizzly, wolf etc. The southern ranges have been decimated because there are to many people. Human pressure has severely damaged wildlife populations worldwide. I didn't know that was even still a debate.



http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/images/range.gif

http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/mammals/wolf/Images/15679.jpg


As for uneducated emotional opinions? My degree is in environment and sustainability and my opinions are based on fact, not emotions. I have no issues at all with hunting (even wolves) or with population control in some cases. My beef is with people seeing the brutality or efficiency of wolves on the small scale and deciding they are better off eliminated. That is an "uneducated emotional response".

Also nowhere did i question hunters giving back to the resource. They care about it likely more than anyone else just like fisherman protecting fish stocks. I think your mistaking some posts as anti hunting.

 

[notmebud]

if mankind was taken of the face of Earth, it would not be long before everything else would be back in balance. does not say much for mankind!!

 

[Englishman]

You really think North Americas wildlife populations are doing just fine? Look at the historic ranges of a lot of animals but most notably predators. Ie grizzly, wolf etc. The southern ranges have been decimated because there are to many people. Human pressure has severely damaged wildlife populations worldwide. I didn't know that was even still a debate.



http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/images/range.gif

http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/mammals/wolf/Images/15679.jpg


As for uneducated emotional opinions? My degree is in environment and sustainability and my opinions are based on fact, not emotions. I have no issues at all with hunting (even wolves) or with population control in some cases. My beef is with people seeing the brutality or efficiency of wolves on the small scale and deciding they are better off eliminated. That is an "uneducated emotional response".

Also nowhere did i question hunters giving back to the resource. They care about it likely more than anyone else just like fisherman protecting fish stocks. I think your mistaking some posts as anti hunting.

Right on again Kelly!

Some of the posts on here are very uneducated and emotional. As though wolves could, or should, know right from wrong or moral behavior!! A very weird anthropomorphic way of looking at the world!!
In reality there is NO cruelty in nature. No right from wrong. No morals (and definitely no god!!). Nature just is.
So those emotive descriptions of wolves with prey, or any predator with a prey animal come to that, make no sense. Otherwise we should kill all domestic cats because of the way they cruelly play with mice!!

 

[Steelhead S2]

I agree. We should eliminate domestic cats.

 

[rockdog]

I read a book a while ago called " the last of the wild wolves". It was an amazing book. It taught me a lot about wolves, and it also made me see them in a different light. If any of you get a chance, it's a good book.

I don't know how to solve their issue though.

 

[reelfast]

nature finds a balance. wolves stop reproducing when the food source goes away, a simple formula that has worked since mankind was hunting with stone spears. WDFW eliminated a wolf pack that was feeding on cattle. of course the rancher was grazing those cows on public land and absolutely refused to take any measures to protect the cattle. it cost the state, thats me and every other tax payer, $770,000 to kill about 10 wolves. the rancher should have simply been told 'tough' you refuse to cooperate in protecting your cattle, you pay the price.

the attitudes toward wolves is right out of ancient history, time to get over it and let nature find its balance. if that means fewer hunting opportunities or shorter seasons, the real rub here, so be it. and of course that is what the motivation actually boils down too with wolf kills, more hunting opportunities. sort of the same with hatcheries and propping up the failed commercial fishery. more, more, more...........................

 

[Englishman]

I agree. We should eliminate domestic cats.

Well, let's take that as an example.

Advocating eliminating domestic cats because all their killing is "cruel, senseless and a waste" would be silly. It assumes a judgmental "god like" moral position in a situation that is meaningless. And if you believe in a Creator, did he, she, or it make some terrible mistake when they created wolves , cats and other predators?

So, you could still argue that removing all domestic cats would be a greater "good" because of the devastating impact they have on small songbird populations across North America.

http://birdchaser.blogspot.ca/2008/03/cats-kill-over-1-billion-birds-each.html
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/materials/predation.pdf

However, if we did that what would happen to the mice and other rodent populations, especially near our towns and cities??!It is a simple but classic example of the disastrous unintended consequences that follows when you try and "manage" a predator population for the "good" of some prey species.

Predator control never works properly because to do it you have to manage too many species interactions at once, which we do not the capacity to do, and many of which we don't even know about!!

 

[chris73]

Oh, you can find lots of them in China, High Five. Just not with fur on them but rather with a sweet-sour glazing....lol

 

[Englishman]

Don't see many of those cats in China. And yes I am serious. Come to think of it there are lots of birds...

Exactly, as Chris73 says High Five, that's because they eat them!! They also eat rats too thereby "controlling" their population to some extent.
However, this article with both those facts in also notes there are lots of mice as a result of few cats!!

http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=146

 

[wolf]

Wow this went downhill fast btw cats are pets along with dogs,birds,fish hamsters,gerbils etc

 

[Cuba Libre]

you like gerbils?? Wow!

 

[casper5280]

I am sure someone out there has a pet wolf LOLOL.

There is 3 on this site that I know of.

 

[IronNoggin]

I am sure someone out there has a pet wolf LOLOL.

Been raising Wolf Hybrids for over 30 years now. Best Companion Animal out there.
I used to shoot a LOT of their Wild Kin. Stopped better than a decade ago.
However in the matter before us in this thread, I do support Judicious Reductions in their numbers where and when needed.

As I noted previously, we have pretty much Effed up most systems out there. Letting nature "take it's course" after our interference tips the scale too far is more dangerous than short-term reductions in my mind's eye. The consequences in this instance would well prove to be the complete loss of endangered caribou populations, and driving other ungulate populations to a critically low level. We screwed it up - it is our Responsibility to try and rectify that.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[Lipripper]

.........What???

 

[Sitkaspruce]

Interesting thread.

Having lived in prime wolf country and get see their actions on at least a weekly bases, they are truely one of Natures remarkable animals.

However, due to our drive to cut dead and red timber and thus build more roads, we have allowed this predator to become the alpha predator, even over the grizz. Roads allow wolves to run for miles and miles in their dog trot, covering tons of ground, as much as 150% more than what they could cover when it was standing timber. Add in less protection from a lack of trees and it is spelling a distaster in some areas.

Yes wolves need to be in our ecosystem and in some instances, they need to be controlled, but they do have a place out there and to many, even us stalwoth hunters, hearing their howl stands the hair up on the back of our necks.

I fully agree with a wolf kill, but it needs to be done with no political BS, sound science and follow up studies. Emotions are what drives our decisions in wildlife management and we need to ignore those emotions and use science.

Here is what mother nature is like in the REAL world. Took these in 2004 where I guide for moose in the fall. Once in a life time shot. Could only find a few bones when I went back up in the spring.

I am not of the kill`em all mentality, but just like we hunt moose, elk, deer and others, we need to hunt wolves and hunters alone just cannot do it. They are an elusive prey that has crossed my gun site a few times and became rugs.

Cheers

SS

 

[Charter Tofino]

Interesting thread.

Having lived in prime wolf country and get see their actions on at least a weekly bases, they are truely one of Natures remarkable animals.

However, due to our drive to cut dead and red timber and thus build more roads, we have allowed this predator to become the alpha predator, even over the grizz. Roads allow wolves to run for miles and miles in their dog trot, covering tons of ground, as much as 150% more than what they could cover when it was standing timber. Add in less protection from a lack of trees and it is spelling a distaster in some areas.

Yes wolves need to be in our ecosystem and in some instances, they need to be controlled, but they do have a place out there and to many, even us stalwoth hunters, hearing their howl stands the hair up on the back of our necks.

I fully agree with a wolf kill, but it needs to be done with no political BS, sound science and follow up studies. Emotions are what drives our decisions in wildlife management and we need to ignore those eEmotions and use science.

Here is what mother nature is like in the REAL world. Took these in 2004 where I guide for moose in the fall. Once in a life time shot. Could only find a few bones when I went back up in the spring.

I am not of the kill`em all mentality, but just like we hunt moose, elk, deer and others, we need to hunt wolves and hunters alone just cannot do it. They are an elusive prey that has crossed my gun site a few times and became rugs.

Cheers

SS

Great post. Did those pics not end up all over the web? I feel like I've seen them elsewhere, perhaps in an email. Awesome shots.

 

[Charter Tofino]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Co...es+wolf+kills+northeastern/7584474/story.html

Thought this might be of interest. An emotional response on the conservative side...