Wolf Depredation
8. Conclusions
1. Not Inevitable
Research in the US shows that wolves do not necessarily inevitably kill domestic stock: wolves can live in the same area as livestock without disturbing them most of the time. This is a surprise to many people and, given the common perception of wolves, not an image that many people who earn a living from livestock would readily accept.
Presumably wolf-livestock co-existence also occurs in many other regions and countries but has not come to light because no one there has thoroughly and systematically observed wolf depredation.
2. Insignificant To Industry
Wolf depredation generally is not as serious as commonly believed, at least in the US, where good statistics about depredation are recorded. Wolf depredation is insignificant to the livestock industry of each of the states were wolves live in the US. Wolf depredation is likely to be of no importance to the livestock industries of other countries, too.
3. Few Farms Suffer In The US
Surprisingly few farms in wolf range in the US suffer from wolf depredation. Two big mysteries about wolves are why wolves do not kill more livestock than they might, and why some farms suffer from depredation while neighbouring farms do not.
4. Individuals Can Suffer
Depredation can be a heavy economic burden to individual farmers, especially if it is born by just a few farmers. Nor should we forget that depredation is not solely economic. Wolves kill or wound dogs, horses, and other animals. Some of these animals have a deep emotional value for their owners and their loss can leave emotional wounds.
5. Surplus Kills Can Be Damaging
By the law of averages some surplus killings of livestock will be greater than average. Word of such 'super surplus kills' spreads easily in a farming community and their image sticks in the mind for a long time because of their dramatic nature. Unfortunately, these killings are sometimes taken as typical of wolf depredation. Surplus kills exacerbate the poor image of the wolf by apparently confirming the destructive nature of the animal.
6. More Depredation Research Needed
More depredation research is a pressing need in wolf conservation because livestock loss is the main reason for controlling or extirpating wolves. Depredation must be understood and alleviated if wolves are to be tolerated and reintroduced or allowed to recolonise their former range.
Wolf depredation will increase in coming years as the presently small wolf populations in the US and western Europe expand into livestock regions. This growth will put pressure on livestock producers to find ways that are publicly acceptable to protect their interests and this in turn might stimulate more research on wolf depredation.
7. Accepting the Risk
Livestock producers know they will lose a portion of livestock to factors they have little or no control over, like disease, severe weather and predators. Writing off a certain amount of produce is a cost of doing business. While farmers naturally try to minimise such losses they must also have to accept the risks of living in a real environment. Wolves are part of that environment and have to be accepted along with the weather. Shepherds and wolves co-exist where they have shared the same environment for centuries. Where wolves are recovering after extirpation, livestock owners must learn afresh how to cope with wolves.
Finally
Wolves will continue to create controversy. But as people grow more knowledgeable about wolves and understand them better, and especially when depredation is minimised to vanishing proportions (it may never be stopped completely), then people might at last begin to make peace with wolves.
© Wolf Trust 2004. All rights reserved.