Farmers vs. Wolves

[norseman]

Originally Posted by hannah

It's not the farmers or the wolves, it's the livestock we should think about and that's what farmers are worried about. I have seen an animal left partially eaten alive and it is not nice, no one wants to see the animals they put their lives into caring for being torn apart by wild animals.

It is usually out-of-control domestic dogs that are responsible for such attacks.
The other half of the equation is that many animals, e.g cows and sheep, have been bred to be stupid and lacking in survival instincts. In my patch, there are many moorland sheep and they are almost feral, capable of seeing off dogs easily. Also, there is an estate in Northumberland called Chillingham. It is a closed walled estate and contains a herd of primitive cows, the original longhorns. These are so dangerous that only trained keepers are allowed to approach them but still, keepers are occasionally killed by them - their ancestral instincts are intact.

http://www.chillingham-castle.com/Ca...p?S=2&V=1&P=41

[hannah]

Yes, I've been there... wouldn't want to keep them myself!

Originally Posted by Tobi

How about the howling recordings that Shaun Ellis devised? They worked well. The recordings of howling are played and neighbouring wolf packs interpret the howls as signs a pack already occupies that territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_E...olf_researcher)

Wow! I've never heard of this ...

One problem we encounter in the SW is caused by the drought ...
Bears, wolves & mountain lions come down for food & water ...
Coyotes are always around ...
I wish I had a suggestion, but one thing I do know is that "we people" are always willing to protect them & help them to re-populate w/government funding as well as private donations ...

We have a wolf recovery program here in NM including AZ - not that we more of them - they are being protected ...
http://ens-newswire.com/2013/08/26/m...na-new-mexico/

[linen53]

Anyone ever hear of Livestock Guardian Dogs? I have two Maremmas that protect my ducks from predators. We have bear in our area. Lots of them. My two girls stand up to them when they come into our yard and loudly escort them out. They keep stray dogs and cats out, raccoons, foxes, eagles, hawks, skunks out and even squirrels can't touch the ground if my Maremmas are present.

They are expensive to buy as adult dogs but I bought mine as pups and raised them here at a much cheaper price (well not by the time we got done with all their vet checks).

Livestock Guardian Dogs bond with the livestock and protect it as their own family. The livestock does become their family and they protect it fiercely.