The Wolf Army..
Wolves are NO serious threat to the livestock industry...these stats
are not only applicable to the USA, but corresponds with stats from
other countries where the wolf is still present...
A study
published in the journal of Ecological Economics found that wolf
depredations account for less than 0.01% of the annual gross income of
ranchers in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
A May 2011 USDA cattle death report added more data proving that
livestock death is only fractionally attributed to wolf kills. For
example, of the nearly 4,000,000 cattle and calf deaths in the US in
2010, predators caused only 5% and of that, wolves caused a meager 0.2%.
Moreover, of the $2.4 billion value these deaths cost only 0.1% of that
value came as a result of a wolf kill.
Volatile meat prices,
increased land and fuel prices, disease, weather, domestic dogs, and
even human thieves are much bigger threats.
Though wolves may
have some localized impacts on individual livestock operators, those can
be significantly reduced with responsible husbandry. There are lots of
things responsible livestock managers can do to protect their livestock
that don’t involve bullets. In most cases ranchers are fully compensated
by taxpayers for any losses.
Behind many of the exaggerated
and horrific stories of livestock losses trotted out by the anti-wolf
folks is an untold story of poor animal husbandry.
*Courtesy for some extracts :
www.oregonwild.org
A May 2011 USDA cattle death report added more data proving that livestock death is only fractionally attributed to wolf kills. For example, of the nearly 4,000,000 cattle and calf deaths in the US in 2010, predators caused only 5% and of that, wolves caused a meager 0.2%. Moreover, of the $2.4 billion value these deaths cost only 0.1% of that value came as a result of a wolf kill.
Volatile meat prices, increased land and fuel prices, disease, weather, domestic dogs, and even human thieves are much bigger threats.
Though wolves may have some localized impacts on individual livestock operators, those can be significantly reduced with responsible husbandry. There are lots of things responsible livestock managers can do to protect their livestock that don’t involve bullets. In most cases ranchers are fully compensated by taxpayers for any losses.
Behind many of the exaggerated and horrific stories of livestock losses trotted out by the anti-wolf folks is an untold story of poor animal husbandry.
*Courtesy for some extracts :
www.oregonwild.org
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