Great letter to the editor.
~Rachel
#KeepWolvesListed
Affording wolves federal protection from a wholesale attack by trophy hunters won't leave farmers with "screaming" as the only option to protect livestock ("Bills would drop protections for wolves in Wisconsin, 3 other states," Feb. 12).
According to a 2014 study by the University of Washington, open wolf hunts disrupt wolf pack social structures to such an extent that depredation of livestock actually increases. There are common sense approaches that work much better. Many nonlethal means of protecting livestock from predators exist, such as guard animals, aversive conditioning and frightening devices. Moreover, local and national wildlife protection groups have submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to downgrade gray wolves to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act — allowing USFWS to work with state and local agencies to target specific problem wolves.
There's no sense in indiscriminately killing wolves who are minding their own business when a targeted alternative will better protect farmers from livestock loss without interfering with efforts to protect the still-recovering wolf population.
Melissa Tedrowe
Wisconsin state director
The Humane Society of the United States
Wauwatosa Link here: http://www.jsonline.com/…/letters-b99446602z1-292285591.htm…
~Rachel
#KeepWolvesListed
Better options than wolf hunts
Affording wolves federal protection from a wholesale attack by trophy hunters won't leave farmers with "screaming" as the only option to protect livestock ("Bills would drop protections for wolves in Wisconsin, 3 other states," Feb. 12).
According to a 2014 study by the University of Washington, open wolf hunts disrupt wolf pack social structures to such an extent that depredation of livestock actually increases. There are common sense approaches that work much better. Many nonlethal means of protecting livestock from predators exist, such as guard animals, aversive conditioning and frightening devices. Moreover, local and national wildlife protection groups have submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to downgrade gray wolves to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act — allowing USFWS to work with state and local agencies to target specific problem wolves.
There's no sense in indiscriminately killing wolves who are minding their own business when a targeted alternative will better protect farmers from livestock loss without interfering with efforts to protect the still-recovering wolf population.
Melissa Tedrowe
Wisconsin state director
The Humane Society of the United States
Wauwatosa Link here: http://www.jsonline.com/…/letters-b99446602z1-292285591.htm…
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