Post by muskyhusky on Oct 19, 2008 19:22:04 GMT -6
I have written letters to many people and organizations that care aboutthe wolf and its place in our world today. Be it here in the US or abroad. We who care about wildlife and the wolf must "set the standard" andassume the task of trying to protect it now and in the future.
Yours is a country (Norway) where there are only between 10 to 15 wild wolves left. This population is isolated and derives from only three individuals.
On June 30, 2002 permits expired for wolf hunts. Just this week another wolf was killed in your country. Unless something is done to change the views of the people and government of your country, this will not be the last.
Many wolves have been killed. I have read many news articles regarding previous hunts plus I have seen some very "graphic" pictures. There was an instance where two (2) dogs suffered a lot of pain, nearly died and will never be the same again. This was caused by poisoned bait. This is only one way that the wolf is killed. They have been hunted down by helicopters, hunters with dogs tracking and shooting them, traps being set, etc.
You have over 2 million "free-roaming" unattended sheep there. I think that the owners have the "overall" responsibility for protecting their animals. There are things that can be done to protect them from the wolf, if necessary.
There have been instances here in the US where RAG boxes (remote automated guard box/telemetry unit) were used and when a "radio-collared" wolf came in line of this box bright lights and loud sirens would go off frightening the wolf away.
Guard dogs have been used. Electric fences have been put up. We have even had "guardian" volunteers help to keep the wolf away from areas when it might have posed a problem.
In my opinion the time, energy and money that is being spent on thesehunts could be put to better use and one that would be a long-termsolution. A fund could be established and used to provide monies for the farmersto "implement" some safeguards for their livestock if they were not ableto do so on their own.
It still comes down to "owner responsibility." You cannot expect tolet livestock roam free and unattended and not sustain some losses.
The wolf has been called by some a "vicious predator." The wolf is not "out for the thrill of the kill," it is merely surviving. If that is the case, man is a vicious "predator" because we, too, kill to eat.
Your country has only allowed the wolf to exist in certain areas, (some of)which are the most denseley populated region of the entire country. This makes absolutely no sense to me at all. In that aspect I feel that you, in a way, have created part of the problem.
I am hoping that with enough public awareness from my country and aroundthe world that Norway will "reconsider" its position regarding the wolf.
I have never been to Norway but from the pictures that I have seen andthe things that I have been told it is a very beautiful country. I do not think you want to blemish your image worldwide when solutions other than killing are at hand.
This is not a "put down" of Norway. Quite to the contrary, these are just some suggestions that may help.
Donna Bettinger
Georgetown, Delaware, USA
Yours is a country (Norway) where there are only between 10 to 15 wild wolves left. This population is isolated and derives from only three individuals.
On June 30, 2002 permits expired for wolf hunts. Just this week another wolf was killed in your country. Unless something is done to change the views of the people and government of your country, this will not be the last.
Many wolves have been killed. I have read many news articles regarding previous hunts plus I have seen some very "graphic" pictures. There was an instance where two (2) dogs suffered a lot of pain, nearly died and will never be the same again. This was caused by poisoned bait. This is only one way that the wolf is killed. They have been hunted down by helicopters, hunters with dogs tracking and shooting them, traps being set, etc.
You have over 2 million "free-roaming" unattended sheep there. I think that the owners have the "overall" responsibility for protecting their animals. There are things that can be done to protect them from the wolf, if necessary.
There have been instances here in the US where RAG boxes (remote automated guard box/telemetry unit) were used and when a "radio-collared" wolf came in line of this box bright lights and loud sirens would go off frightening the wolf away.
Guard dogs have been used. Electric fences have been put up. We have even had "guardian" volunteers help to keep the wolf away from areas when it might have posed a problem.
In my opinion the time, energy and money that is being spent on thesehunts could be put to better use and one that would be a long-termsolution. A fund could be established and used to provide monies for the farmersto "implement" some safeguards for their livestock if they were not ableto do so on their own.
It still comes down to "owner responsibility." You cannot expect tolet livestock roam free and unattended and not sustain some losses.
The wolf has been called by some a "vicious predator." The wolf is not "out for the thrill of the kill," it is merely surviving. If that is the case, man is a vicious "predator" because we, too, kill to eat.
Your country has only allowed the wolf to exist in certain areas, (some of)which are the most denseley populated region of the entire country. This makes absolutely no sense to me at all. In that aspect I feel that you, in a way, have created part of the problem.
I am hoping that with enough public awareness from my country and aroundthe world that Norway will "reconsider" its position regarding the wolf.
I have never been to Norway but from the pictures that I have seen andthe things that I have been told it is a very beautiful country. I do not think you want to blemish your image worldwide when solutions other than killing are at hand.
This is not a "put down" of Norway. Quite to the contrary, these are just some suggestions that may help.
Donna Bettinger
Georgetown, Delaware, USA
