Supervisor: No wolves in Mohave County And if there are, they must be spayed or neutered! Can you BELIEVE that?

8/2/2013 Supervisor: No wolves in Mohave County And if there are, they must be spayed or neutered
Gary Watson Suzanne Adams-Ockrassa Miner Staff Reporter KINGMAN - Mohave County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Watson insists he's not joking about asking the federal government to vaccinate, license, tag and sterilize any Mexican gray wolves brought into the county as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's plan to reintroduce the animals to western states. Watson said he put the item on Monday's Board agenda in order to get feedback from the rest of the supervisors. The Board meets at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the County Administration Building, 700 W. Beale St. "I will do whatever it takes to prevent them from coming here," Watson said. "If they're going to introduce a canine to Mohave County they're going to have to follow the same rules as everyone else. I'm not trying to make a joke. This is the last thing I could think of to get it through to (Fish and Wildlife) that we don't want them in Mohave County." Calls to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife office in Albuquerque, which is in charge of the gray wolf reintroduction program, were not returned before deadline. The Mexican gray wolf was listed as an endangered species in 1976. The animal was reintroduced to the wild from a breeding program in the U.S. in 1998. There are now approximately 75 wolves living in Arizona and New Mexico, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The federal government wants to have at least 100 wolves in the wild before ending the program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced earlier this year that it was studying the possibility of expanding the area that the wolves are allowed to roam from its current 7,000 acres in the Apache National Forest near the New Mexico/Arizona border to a much larger area between Interstate 40 and Interstate 10 in Arizona and New Mexico. The Board of Supervisors sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services asking to be part of the study process last month. Arizona ranchers and hunters have opposed the expansion, saying it will endanger cattle and wildlife. Mohave County has a long history of cattle ranching and wolves are known to prey on cattle, especially calves. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website, the German shepherd-sized canines also prey on deer, elk and smaller mammals. Watson said his district alone has at least 200 cattle ranchers. Some of those moved to the county from areas around Yellowstone National Park, where gray wolves were reintroduced several years ago. "Some of them were never reimbursed for the cattle, horses, or pets that they lost, or for the decrease in the value of their ranch," Watson said. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website, in order to be reimbursed, ranchers and other citizens have to report a wolf attack to the service and save the evidence from the attack. After a department investigator verifies the claim, the rancher has to fill out and sent in paperwork to get reimbursed. Payment ranges from $800 for a calf to $2,500 for a bull. The fair market price of a cow or bull is based on how much the animal weighs. Pet owners are usually not reimbursed for the loss of their pets to wolves. The federal government also prohibits people from shooting Mexican gray wolves unless they are in the act of attacking livestock on private land or are attacking a human. Violators face a $50,000 fine. People are allowed to try to chase a wolf away by throwing stones at it or shooting near it, but the animal cannot be harmed in the process. Ranchers and citizens can apply for a permit to kill or trap a wolf on public land if they can show that there has been a problem with wolves killing livestock. Any wolf that has been killed or trapped must be reported to U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The service also removes and relocates problem wolves. But its not just the loss of cattle that has Watson worried. "This is a larger issue than ranchers," he said. "This is about the safety of Mohave County citizens. These are dangerous animals." He pointed to a July story in the New Mexico Cattlemen's Association Newsletter. The story is written by Crystal Diamond, who lives on the Beaverhead Ranch in New Mexico. She describes several run-ins she and her neighbors have had with Mexican gray wolves that were reintroduced to the area, including one situation in January 2012 where a wolf actually circled her car with her two small, crying children in it, for 15 minutes while she was stopped at the side of the road. She had stopped to take care of a carsick child. "If they're going to introduce them in areas that are populated, what are they going to do to protect the citizens of Mohave County?" Watson asked. "What are they going to do to prevent wolves from crossing I-40? "This is detrimental to the health and welfare of Mohave County citizens. The people in my district don't want them here." According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, it's rare for a healthy gray wolf to attack a human. The animals can spread diseases such as rabies. However, U.S. Fish and Wildlife vaccinates and radio collars the wolves it releases.			source