All Howl And No Bite? The Big Dog Gets A Bum Rap!

The anti-w0lf crowd loves to rant about scary big, bad wolves but in fact it’s not the wolf that bites and kills humans. it’s our best friends and wolves very close relatives,  the dog. Wolves and dogs share 99.8% of their DNA, making them almost indistinguishable on the cellular level.

We love our dogs and forgive them their transgressions.  Not so with wolves.

Fatal Dog Maulings/Dog Bites

DOGS BITE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR IN THE US (wiki) BETWEEN 2006 AND 2008 THEY KILLED 88 PEOPLE.

“Dog attacks are attacks on humans by feral or domestic dogs. With the close association of dogs and humans in daily life (largely as pets), dog attacks—with injuries from very minor to significant, and severe to fatal—are not uncommon. Attacks on the serious end of the spectrum have become the focus of increasing media and public attention in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

It is estimated that two percent of the US population, 4.7 million people, are bitten each year. In the 1980s and 1990s the US averaged 17 fatalities per year, while in the 2000s this has increased to 26.

77% of dog bites are from the pet of family or friends, and 50% of attacks occur on the dog owner’s property.“

I’m a devoted dog lover with pooches of my own but fair is fair. Wild wolves are shy, they avoid contact with humans and are one of the least dangerous of all large carnivores. They’ve been linked to just TWO HUMAN FATALITIES IN ONE HUNDRED YEARS in North America. Both deaths were controversial, with no eye witnesses. The Canadian case took two years to decide, with investigators vacillating between bears and wolves as the culprits, Many people believe still believe a bear killed the victim and wolves came after.  Finally they settled on wolves. I’m not fully buying it but even if it’s true, two deaths in a century?

More than anything these statistics show the tremendous restraint wolves exhibit toward humans. If any species should despise man, it’s the wolf. They’ve been trapped, shot, hung, fed broken glass poisoned,  set on fire, drug behind horses, stabbed, almost any kind of torture you can imagine.

Yet they live ordered lives in close family groups, they love their babies, defend each other, play together, hunt together and die together. They are dedication personified. These are traits we should revere, not denigrate. If we can forgive man’s best friend for biting and even killing us then how can we judge the wolf, who very rarely ever does the same?

The facts reveal the true nature of wolves and show how twisted and dishonest the rabid anti-wolf movement is. The lies spread about wolves have nothing to do with reality.

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COWS

COWS KILL 20 PEOPLE A YEAR

Dangerous Cows

July 31, 2009, 1:36 pm

By Denise Grady

The image of cows as placid, gentle creatures is a city slicker’s fantasy, judging from an article   published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports that about 20 people a year are killed by cows in the United States. In some cases, the cows actually attack humans—ramming them, knocking them down, goring them, trampling them and kicking them in the  head—resulting in fatal injuries to the head and chest.

Mother cows, like other animals, can be fiercely protective of their young, and dairy bulls, the report notes, are “especially possessive of their herd and occasionally disrupt feeding, cleaning, and milking routines.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article

 

 

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Wildlife Vehicle Collisions

WVC  KILL AT LEAST 200 PEOPLE A YEAR AND INJURE 29,000

Wildlife Vehicle Collisions are deadly. Deer and other wildlife dart in front of cars causing fatal accidents. Deer/car accidents are higher during hunting season when deer are even more frantic, running for their lives. The costs can run into billions of dollars.  There are at least 200 human fatalities annually from Wildlife Vehicle Collisions.

Frequent Large Mammal Roadkill Facts

Average deer weight: 125-300 pounds
Average deer shoulder height: 3.5 feet
Average moose weight: males 1200-1600 pounds,
females 900 pounds
Average moose shoulder height: 6.2 feet

Threats to People

There are 1 to 2 million wildlife-vehicle collisions
(WVCs) in the U.S. every year, and the number is
steadily increasing.

Over 200 human fatalities annually
From 2000-2006, wildlife-related crashes in the
United States have claimed 2,307 human lives

WVCs cause 29,000 human injuries annually
Over a billion dollars in property damage/year

While only 2% of deer-car collisions result in
human fatalities, 85% of deer-motorcycle collisions
result in human fatalities

Car-deer crashes in Michigan occur about every
eight minutes

More than 75,000 deer are killed in New York
every year by vehicle collisions

6 percent of accidents in Colorado are with wildlife,
and can be as high as 25 percent in some areas

Deer-vehicle crashes occur most frequently from
October to December

Collisions causing human fatalities rose 67% from
1994 to 2006

CLICK HERE for link to article

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Hunters

HUNTING ACCIDENTS KILL ALMOST 100 PEOPLE ANNUALLY IN THE US AND CANADA

Who is more dangerous to people? Hunters or wolves? If you look at the stats it’s hunter’s hands down. There are approx. 100 fatal hunting accidents in the US and Canada and a 1000 more people are shot accidentally by hunters every year (IHEA)

Many hunters are in lock step with the anti-wolf movement. There is talk of marauding Canadian wolves terrorizing the countryside, stalking children at bus stops, chasing people around in the woods. But lets look at the facts. Hunters kill more people in hunting accidents every year than wolves have in a hundred years. In fact, it’s not even close.

The statistics don’t lie.  If you extrapolate the numbers out just ten years, that’s almost a 1000 people dead from hunting accidents. yet wolves are demonized and lied about. The facts are there for anyone to examine.  Hunting accidents kill and maim.

Click Here for Class A Incidents Reported for 2002 –  2007 – HTML Table

(as of March 30, 2008)

Incident Reports CLICK HERE

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NC: Two NC Boys Killed In Separate Squirrel-Hunting Accidents

Raleigh, NC — A 14-year-old in Brunswick County and an eight-year-old in Raleigh both died Tuesday after accidental shootings.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article

Swan Lake tot dies from hunting accident; NYC man charged with manslaughter

By Victor Whitman

Times Herald-Record

Published: 8:22 AM – 11/17/08

SWAN LAKE — A Swan Lake toddler has died and a New York City man has been charged with manslaughter in the hunting accident on a rural Sullivan County road Sunday afternoon.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article

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Insect Bites

40 DEATHS ANNUALLY

“In the U.S., about 40 deaths are reported each year from insect venom anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction). These fatal allergic reactions frequently, but not always, occur in people who have had a previous allergic reaction to the same type of insect.”

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Snake Bites

45,000 BITES PER YEAR/7-12 BITES ARE FATAL (wiki)

“People provoke bites by handling or even attacking snakes in a significant number of cases in the United States.”

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I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Wolves have gotten a very bad rap and we need to set the record straight.  Cows, dogs, snakes, deer and moose are all more dangerous to humans then wolves. Yet who defends the wolf when the lies are told? Most go unchallenged until they become dogma.

Speak the truth about wolves. Help fight their persecution.

This is the hysteria and fear-mongering we must fight against. Arm yourself with facts and defend wolves.

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Wolf-fearing ID lawmakers want emergency declared

– The Associated Press

Published: 04/01/11

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/01/1589029/wolf-fearing-id-lawmakers-want.html#ixzz1IL9DYqyp

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“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”….Mark Twain

Photos: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Posted in: Wolf Wars, wolf myths

Tags: wolf persecution, lies and myths, gray wolf, vehicle wildlife accidents, hunters, dogs, cows, snakes, insects