Permits shouldn’t be needed to kill attacking wolves

Wolves continue to kill livestock. No big surprise, that’s what they do. But shooting wolves shouldn’t be that big a deal! It shouldn’t make the front page and it shouldn’t take any special permission from a state agency or, in fact, from anyone. It should just be done. And if the agency staff are really going to address the problem, they should shoot the breeding pair, not just a couple of pups! Wolves should be included in the same category as rattlesnakes, coyotes, badgers, black widow spiders, and mosquitoes that can be killed on sight. They are all animals that can kill humans and cause other damage. In the case of wolves, they primarily hurt ranchers by killing or seriously maiming livestock. Aside from the kills, wolves hurt livestock by running them through fences, causing weight loss from harassment, generating anxiety, and how they respond to typical cowboy interaction (gathering, corral sorting, response to dogs, etc.). Ranchers bear the brunt of these wolf assault costs while the compensation program is a sad joke.

Wolves should not be protected by the ESA or any other legislation. Ranchers and farmers are the people who feed all of us and they need to be supported. At the time of the Civil War some 75% of Americans were directly involved in agriculture. Today that involvement is 2%. Ranchers and farmers are the ones who are endangered and need protection, not the wolves. Wolf protection needs to be ended.

Jim Carnahan

Baker City