Thursday, June 25, 2015

Wolf problem, program problem or both?

By Howard Hutchinson

...From the beginning of animal husbandry, humans have had to deal with predators. As a result, predators developed a fear of humans and most often avoided contact. Under the current management programs, wolves are protected from take under the Endangered Species Act. Take is defined as harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. The definition has recently been expanded by defining harm as modification or destruction of habitat. A take can result in a $10,000 fine and/or five years in prison.

Mexican wolf management has created another problem. Wolves introduced under the program have been captively raised and exposed to human scent, food source and contact. This has resulted in human habitutation of the wolves. In essence, these wolves are more akin to feral dogs. Not only do they associate humans with feeding, there is no opportunity to enstill fear of human contact.

When Mexican wolves roamed their historic habitat south of the border, there was far less human density. There weren’t many wolves, either. With the arrival of the Spanish and their livestock, Mexican wolves had more easy and tasty prey.

Today, wolves are being introduced into settled landscapes with the attendant competition with humans for hunting and ranching pursuits. So now we mix an appex predator habituated with human contact with what, up until this point, were lawful pursuits and a right to protect private property.

Habituated wolves have threatened children on their way to school, killed domestic pets and exhibited aggressive behavior to persons hiking and on horseback. The fear of years in prison and large fines, phone and social media threats and heavy-handed government investigations has added another level of stress for people having to live with wolves.

Environmentalists make their claims of benefits to the environment. Pull back the curtain on their motives and a much more sinister agenda is revealed. Rural residents worldwide are facing a juggernaut that, if carried out to the end, will result in an unprecedented cultural cleansing. Most, if not all, environmental organizations are aligned with the view that humans are a blight on the planet and need to be destroyed or severely restricted through government regulation.

This view is referred to as ecocentrism and the practitioners pursue their agenda with messianic furvor. The long-term goal for the Americas are unimpeded corridors for wildlife movement from the tip of South America to the Arctic. These corridors will connect wilderness core areas with restricted human presence surrounded by buffer zones with limited human activity. The end goal, as stated by the Wild Lands Project, envisions seas of wilderness dotted with islands of human populations.

 Howard Hutchinson is the executive director for the Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth


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