Illegal killing continues at an alarming rate that makes it difficult for wolves to gain ground. Wolf haters have unlawfully killed at least 34 Mexican gray wolves since 1998, making it the main cause of death for Mexican wolves, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Only two wolf killers have been caught and prosecuted. LESS than 50 Mexican gray wolves remain! Even killing one wolf in a pack has disasterous results to the survivors by seriously disrupting family structure. Assassinating an experiences wolf takes away his or her ability to teach younger, less experiences wolves to hunt and overcome the brutal, harsh environment.
One of the most agonizing and most used argument against wolves is predation on livestock. According to wildlife ecologists with the Industrial Economics, Inc., wolves account for only a fraction of cattle deaths each year–0.3 percent to 2.5 percent of all cattle losses in recovery areas. If people utilized more protective measures, that number would decrease even further.
It’s important to note that sometimes wolves are purposely baited into an incident. Here’s what I’m referring to: Mike Miller, a New Mexico rancher who admitted using telemetry equipment to locate the den of a pup-rearing female, branded cattle nearby to entice the wolves in for a feast. The female wolf was killed, leaving her pups to die and the pack to fail.
Please contact your state officials and let them know we cannot exterminate the Mexican gray wolf!
*Thanks to the Winter 2010 edition of Defenders, The Conservation Magazine of Defenders of Wildlife for including this information, written by Senior Editor Heidi Ridgley.
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