Have doubts that wolves are ravaging Idaho? Come see for yourselves

 Cameron Mulrony

...One of the biggest misrepresentations in the article was that USDA APHIS Wildlife Services killed 691,895 animals from 2015-2017. What the article neglected to say is that 97 percent of those “animals” were starlings. The story began with factual information about wolves killing three mother cows and a calf at the Davis Ranch in Cascade in a single week. At that time, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services had confirmed 88 instances of wolves killing cattle, sheep and guard dogs so far this year. Just a week later, Wildlife Services reported 107 confirmed wolf kills out of a total of 145 investigations so far this year. Seventy percent of these confirmed kills have occurred on private ranchland. Sadly enough, this is most likely a fraction of actual depredations, as the cattle that provide our livelihoods graze vast areas, many ranchers have unaccounted for livestock each fall and a portion of those have a likelihood of also falling victim to predators such as wolves. It may be easy to cast doubt about wolf kills in a “he said-she said” type of article, but we invite doubters to tag along with Wildlife Services in their next necropsy investigation and see it for yourselves. Sad but true, wolf kills are real. It is a very ugly scene for any rancher to experience. And it’s happening almost every day in Idaho ranch country...MORE 

And this excerpt from the article is for Judy Keeler 
 

Running a ranch is a business. The Idaho beef industry generates $2 billion in cash receipts each year. We make up 20 percent of the state’s economy. Each rancher has a business plan for the year. You work to efficiently raise livestock to the best of your ability and provide Americans with a safe, nutritious and delicious source of protein. You must address all the details necessary to ensure animals stay healthy and comfortable. You work to put pounds on those animals to make a net profit at harvest time. You get one annual calf crop. The sales of those animals represent an entire year’s blood, sweat and tears.
When wolves steal our livestock, they harm our bottom line. It’s true that ranchers can get partial compensation for a confirmed wolf kill, from the Governor’s Office of Species Conservation. However, you never recoup the total opportunity cost of an animal. Then there are a host of other ancillary issues that wolves are causing to cattle herds in Idaho that were unanticipated and unexpected.

Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/article218706120.html#storylink=cpy