BY COURTNEY RYAN, FOX 11 NEWS
SHAWANO (WLUK) — A farmer in Shawano County says his heifer was killed after a wolf attacked it, and now the USDA is investigating.
Tim Paiser, of Paiser Dairy Farm, says this is the first heifer he has lost, but says wolves are becoming a growing issue in the area.
“It’s something that most people don’t want to see,” said Paiser.
Paiser is describing what he saw Wednesday morning, when he walked out to his pasture ready to feed his 150 heifers.
“The heifer was still trying to get up, and the hindquarter was totally eaten out of her, and she was trying to get up and get going. You feel bad for them, I mean she didn’t deserve that,” said Paiser.
Paiser says one of his heifers was attacked by a wolf.
“I seen (saw) the wolf run, and not knowing what was going on until I walked out to the pasture to look at the heifers, and I noticed one was down and the other ones were in the far corner of the pasture, and this one laid there by herself, and I walked over and had seen where something had eaten on her,” said Paiser.
The USDA will be at Paiser’s farm to investigate if a wolf did kill the heifer. It says last year farms lost 32 livestock from wolf attacks.
“Sometimes it turns out that it is a situation where the animal was already comprised or hurt or going down and the carnivores were just scavenging on it or finished the jobs,” said Jeff Pritzl, the district wildlife program supervisor at Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Pritzl explained since the gray wolf was put back on the Federal Endangered Spices list in 2014, its population has grown.
Click here to see wolf maps of Wisconsin.
“It limited management options and as a result we are seeing a bit of uptick in wolf numbers and an uptick in conflict issues,” said Pritzl.
Pritzl explained if a wolf did kill the heifer, Paiser could compensate for his $2,000 loss.
“Now that this animal has a taste of beef, who knows he might be back tonight,” said Paiser.
Pasier said it isn’t so much about the money, but rather the safety of his other animals.
To look at this years wolf depredation report, click here.