When To Shoot a Wolf

April 13, 2009 photo, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Two wolves standing over 2 dead sheep, previously killed by these same wolves in Baker County, Oregon

I have not been shy about the stupidity of shooting wolves on National Forest lands in order to protect sheep grazing allotments on those lands. It is stupid, stupid, stupid.

Sheep on National Forest land costs U.S. taxpayers more money than they bring in, and if there is one place in the world where wolves should be allowed to run free, it's in our National Forests, on BLM lands, and in our National Parks.

That said, there is a place to shoot wolves, and that is when they venture on to private property and begin a campaign of systematic stock predation.

I have always said so, and I say it again now.

Oregon has had wolves for over a decade, and there has never been any stock lost -- until now.

Recently a small contingent of wolves in Baker County, Oregon has discovered that sheep are nothing more than lamb chops on the hoof. In less than two weeks, 23 sheep have been killed on a single ranch.

Proper response: a bullet to the brain of the offending wolves.

No debate, not question, no protest.

Wolves have their place and their rights, and so too do stock owners. Both sides need to have a place where they can live in peace.

The rules of engagement are not hard to discern: Get sheep out of public lands and get wolves out of private lands when they threaten ranching stock.

• Related Links
  ** Vicious: Wolves and Men in America
  ** Delisting Wolves in Minnesota
  ** The Cull of the Wild
  ** Why "Stupid On Stilts" is Good for the Environment
  ** Elks Wolves and Grazing
  ** Mass Wolf Kills on the Agenda in Idaho
  ** Wolves Regain Endangered-species Protections
  ** Inbred Wolves Live with Pain
  ** Beltway Coyotes
  ** Monongahela National Forest Red Wolves?
  ** Starvation is the Predator that Never Sleeps
  .