Wolf  Controversy

Wolf Controversy

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Mack Birkmaier, a cattleman from Oregon wrote in his local paper about a stampede that was caused by wolves from the Umatilla pack. Apparently a herd of cattle, many of them pregnant, was wintering on grass range in February when they were attacked by wolves.The attack caused many of the cattle to stampede and they ran for miles. “On Wednesday they called me and told me there was about a 10 inch round chunk out of the back of a cow. About three days before the wolf attack on my cow, I believe there were seven sheep that were killed within 2 miles of where the cow was attacked. They are getting to be a pretty big problem in that area. It is the Umatilla pack.” Those are the words coming from rancher Mark Lane after learning that wolves had attacked his herd. And then, we have this opinion coming from a very nice lady named Suzanne Stone who also happens to be a wolf advocate. “I love talking to folks that come from a different perspective. Anytime that I can do this I would appreciate it. I love working with the ranching and hunting community. I think all the things that we have in common, this amazing, wild place that we live in, it is such a privilege to live here. We don’t really need to have all of this controversy over wolves. We have wrapped ourselves around it because of how polarized it has gotten but it is really unnecessary and I am hoping in my lifetime that we get past that and realize that they are just another critter. They are no different than bears and mountain lions and all the other critters that we value here. Sometimes they are a headache but it’s not that big a deal.” Maybe not a big deal when you are not a cattle rancher.
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