Five Bloody Days in May For Montana Wolves

The war on wolves is escalating in Montana, with state wolf  “managers” admitting they are stepping up the aggression against wolves.

In a five-day period in May, fifteen wolves were gunned down in Montana by Wildlife Services for agribusiness, from five different packs.

Some of the packs involved in the bloody May campaign: The Trail Creek Pack, Cedar Creek Pack, Elevation Mountain Pack eliminated, Trapper Peak Pack, Selow Pack (entire pack will be eliminated), Bender Creek Pack (last pack member eliminated) plus other wolves from unnamed packs.

And to make matters worse Montana FWP has given the green light to kill 18 more wolves from five different packs.

From The Helena Independent Record:

So far this year, 64 wolves have died, with the majority — 44 — being shot by federal agents for preying on livestock. The others were killed by cars or property owners or died from unknown causes.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials also have authorized the shooting of at least 18 more wolves from five packs. If successful, that will bring the total to 82 dead wolves in Montana so far this year.

One lone dissenting opinion:

 “It seems a little heavy-handed, when at last count there were only 524 wolves in Montana and a lot more cows,” said Jesse Timberlake with the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife.

The rest of the article was basically a soft ball interview with Montana wolf managers and USFWS  Ed Bangs:

“We have 20 people scattered throughout the state, and it’s becoming more and more work, which is stretching them thinner and thinner. But these are probably the most committed government workers you’ll find,” Steuber said. “Our wolf work has been increasing for three, four, five years now so we’re getting kind of used to it, but it’s a little overwhelming right now.”

The poor things, their trigger fingers must be seriously hurting right now from all the killing. I want to know who in the world takes  a job shooting wolves for a living?

This is trophy hunting, I don’t care what Wildlife Services or the Montana Wolf  Team wants to call it.

AND its pupping season. How many pups were  killed outright with their parents or left to starve?

Why are wolves being targeted?  If you look at predation stats (NASS 2005), it makes no sense.

Montana Cattle Losses (NASS 2005)

Non-Predator Related Cattle Losses: 63,000

Respiratory Problems

Mastitis

Lameness/Injury

Other Diseases

Weather

Poisoning

Theft

Other Non-Predator

Unknown Non-Predator

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All Predator Related Cattle Losses:

(Coyotes, Domestic Dogs, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Vultures, Wolves, Bears, Other Predators, Unknown Predators)  Total 3000

Coyotes: 1300 calves …Total 1300

Dogs: 100 calves….Total 100

Felids (Mountain Lions, Bobcats, other predators)  200 cattle, 200 calves…Total 400

Unknown Predators: 200 cattle, 300 calves…Total 500

Wolves aren’t ever mentioned as a category..that’s how small their losses were.

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So there you have it folks.

63,000 cattle lost to NON PREDATION: Respiratory problems, Mastitis, Lameness/Injury,Other Diseases, Weather,Poisoning and Theft.

ALL predators including coyotes, domestics dogs, felids, bears, wolves, vultures, eagles and unknown predators only accounted for 3000 losses in Montana (NASS 2005)

Did you know 10,200 calves were lost to weather alone in Montana that year?

Yet wolves, IN THE ENTIRE NORTHERN ROCKIES, were responsible for just 214 cattle losses in 2009 out of a population of SIX MILLION cattle.

Hundreds of wolves were wiped out by Wildlife Services last year and they continue to track and hunt down wolves. Why?

Wolves are not a serious threat to agribusiness? So what is their motive? I think the answer is clear, “because they can”.  Because that’s what the two interest groups they manage wolves for, hunters and ranchers, want. Think for one minute if those two groups weren’t being catered to and the state actually took into account the opinions of the rest of its citizens? What a different world it would be for wolves.

Meanwhile more dead gray wolves, more lame explanations:

“Liz Bradley, a Missoula-based wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, readily acknowledges that the state is acting more aggressively this year on control actions because more wolves are on the landscape than have been here in the past decade. It’s part of an ongoing upward trend; in 1999, when about 80 wolves were spotted on Montana’s landscape, 19 were killed for wildlife depredation. Ten years later, with more than 500 wolves in the Treasure State, that number rose to 145 wolves.”

Apparently last years hunt was just a warm up, now the state is going after wolves with a vengeance, the blood shed continues.

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May 17-21 | 15 from five packs killed in Montana

5 deadly days for wolves

 http://helenair.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_369429b0-6baa-11df-bd5b-001cc4c03286.html

Posted in: Montana wolves, Wolf Wars, Howling for Justice

Tags: Wildlife Services, wolf wars, stop killing wolves for agribusiness, wolves in the crossfire