Editorial: Ranchers need tools to protect their livelihood

The stories cattlemen are sharing in Salem go to the heart of the wolf controversy in Oregon. “The wolves, when they came at me that night, were after me and a dog,” Joseph rancher Karl Patton said, “They weren’t coming to shake hands.” His testimony was before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. On the table are bills regarding wolf regulation in Oregon. HB 3560 allows the Oregon Department of Agriculture to set up a compensation fund for wolf depredation. The fund would be open to federal, state, county and private donations and administered by counties. HB 3561 allows the gray wolf to be delisted from the Oregon Endangered Species Act upon establishment of four breeding pairs. HB 3562 clarifies actions a person can take against a wolf to protect themselves or someone else. HB 3563 allows a rancher to kill a wolf, once it is federally delisted, if it is within 500 feet of a residence or caught chasing, harassing, wounding or biting livestock or pets. The bill to set up a fund to compensate ranches for wolf kills should be passed. This kind of fund exists in Montana and has helped ranchers deal with losses as the wolf population expanded both from natural migration and federal programs designed to re-establish the wolf in its native habitat. Clarifying actions a person can take with a wolf to protect themselves or someone else also makes good sense. Wolves are predators and can pose a danger. It should be clear that people have a right to protect themselves...more