Killing the Wolf
A few years ago, it was good news among Oregon media, environmentalists, animal welfare activists, etc. that the wolf was making a comeback in Eastern Oregon. Pretty much, most people thought it neat. Not surprisingly, most ranchers didn’t think the news was neat; they quickly got on the defensive.
Well, the wolf has been making a slow comeback, and, as quickly as the wolf arrived, it’s been with equal quickness that the wolf has been assassinated.
About a year ago a wolf was found wounded on the Oregon/Idaho border. Reports of wolves being shot have been coming in; and here, sadly, is the latest story of two wolves killed.
What makes this news even sadder is that the killing of the wolves was approved by the “U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services with approval from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.” The killing of the wolves was met with both frustration and sadness:
“It saddens us that with so few wolves in the state, we lost these two animals,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.”
The wolves were killing sheep and attempts to drive the wolves away with non-lethal methods were tried first, like hazing.
Wolves are not a protected species, and it’s open season on wolves in Montana and Idaho. This is tragic not only for the wolves of course but the environment, says Noah Greenwald:
“Wolves are an incredibly important part of our environment, with research in Yellowstone National Park showing that reintroduction of wolves keeps elk and other ungulates on the move, leading to increased streamside vegetation, which in turn benefits numerous other species, such as beavers and songbirds.”
source:
Killing of Wolf Pair a Serious Setback to Wolf Recovery in Oregon
