Packs costing B.C. cattlemen millions
By John Colebourn, The Province
The American rancher at the centre of the wolf-cull plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department in Washing-ton state says the controversy over-shadows ranchers’ fight for survival.
“Us cattlemen, whether you are in B.C. or the States, we always have had to fight to protect our herd,” said Len McIrvin, owner of the Diamond M Ranch in Laurier, Wash.
McIrvin said his ranch runs about nine kilometres along the Canada-U.S. border near Grand Forks and the grey wolves dubbed the Wedge Pack have found his 450 cattle easy pickings.
But he notes because of tight U.S. wildlife laws, he can’t defend his herd if the wolves show up.
“Our livelihood is threatened if the predators [wolves] are allowed to continue like this,” he said.
McIrvin has tried to get permission to shoot the wolves who come onto his property but was told no.
“If I try to protect our herd the bureaucrats tell me I’ll be imprisoned,” he said of the tough state rules.
McIrvin said he was given permission to shoot one wolf, which would do little to stop the problem. “They did give us recently a permit to shoot one wolf but only if it was killing a calf,” he said.
But because the wolves attack at night when humans aren’t around, McIrvin said the permit “was meaningless.”
The wolves attacking McIrvin’s cattle often move back and forth across the border between B.C. and Washing-ton, attacking cattle on the U.S. side, then moving over into the southeastern part of B.C.
American wildlife officials issued a shoot-to-kill edict on the wolf pack earlier this week. The pack of wolves are believed to number at least eight.
The wolves are known as the Wedge Pack because they operate mostly in a wedge of territory between the Kettle and Columbia rivers.
American officials with the fish and wildlife department believe the Wedge Pack has become too accustomed to beef and no longer chase after deer and other wild animals.
B.C. allows hunting and trapping of wolves, but those methods are banned in Washington.
In B.C., the wolf population is estimated at about 8,500, and an average of 1,300 wolves are killed each year in the province.
Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association, said wolves are causing huge problems for B.C. ranchers.
“They come for the deer and stay for the cattle,” he said.
“They realize it is easier to pull down a calf than go after a deer.”
He estimates B.C.’s ranchers lose up to $15 million worth of cattle each year to marauding wolves. And if the wolves don’t kill the cattle, Boon notes how they can maim or injure them. The wolves also chase the cattle, causing them to lose weight over time.
And the wolves are branching out into new areas because of their healthy population.
“We’ve seen these packs move into areas we have never seen them in before,” he said. “We don’t want to get rid of the wolves, but we need to keep the population properly managed.”