By MELODIE EDWARDS
In the last couple years, wolves have killed record numbers of livestock in northwestern Wyoming. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now stepping in to protect calves with special fencing on a ranch near Jackson.
Wyoming Director of Wildlife Services Mike Foster said in a press video that the agency has installed over two miles of an electrified wire known as turbo fladry on the Walton Ranch where large packs of wolves have moved in.
“It’s an electrified polywire and it has plastic flags that hang off the wire.”
Foster added that they’re hoping the fencing will be an effective non-lethal solution to stop the wolves from preying on livestock by giving them a shock when they try to cross the wire into the cattle’s’ pasture.
But he said,it’s not a long term solution.
“[It] seems to work in smaller pastures and over shorter time periods. We are looking at a shorter time period here today. We’re looking to get protection for about three weeks.”
Foster pointed out that the fladry fencing will only works short term because the wolves eventually figure out how to get past it. After three weeks, the calves will be moved to a different area with fewer wolves.