WOLVES: Learn first, then decide

I can’t believe that the wolves aren’t getting a reprieve at all from hunters this year. How sad for the state of Idaho. I have lived in Idaho for almost 15 years now, it is one of the most beautiful states in the union. But I do not agree at all with what is called “wolf management.”

It seems to me that all the government wants to do is let people hunt the wolves to extinction, once again. No one cares what the wolf does for the ecosystem, how they keep nature in a balance. The wolf helps keep the elk and deer populations under control, so they don’t eat themselves into starvation, as they almost did in Yellowstone. Once Yellowstone re-introduced the wolf, the elk and deer herds were kept at numbers so that their food supplies could replenish. There are many reports and documentaries, such as the documentary “Lords of Nature” to back up the claims.

Another thing. There are other predators (such as cougars) that eat the deer and elk. Are there hunting seasons on them to control their numbers? NO! But, yet, it is the wolf that is blamed for the “decimation” of the deer and elk populations. What about feral dog packs, dogs that have been dumped in rural areas by uncaring owners that “can’t afford to take of them,” or just “don’t want them anymore?” Do they count in the decimation of the deer and elk herds? NO!

And trapping, OMG, what a terrible form of animal abuse! Do people realize the excruciating pain a trap causes an animal? A wolf will chew it’s paw off to get away from the grip of those steel teeth, and then crawl away and bleed to death. Or, if it does survive the trap and chewing it’s foot off, it dies from starvation because it can’t hunt for itself. It’s too bad that trapping wild animals doesn’t come under the animal abuse law. It should. I have seen pictures online of peoples’ dogs that have been caught in snare traps. Can you imagine the horrible death it suffered? But, yet, trapping is legal in Idaho. HOW SAD!

I wish that people would get more education on wolves before making the decision whether to continue hunting them. Maybe it would open some peoples’ eyes.

KATHY JO STEWART

Worley