In the June 3 Salt Lake Tribune article, “A gray wolf is in Utah for the first time in years. The state is setting traps,” Leann Hunting, director of the Animal Industry Division of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, is quoted as saying, “If we didn’t eradicate the predators … if we didn’t do what we can to level out the playing field, it would completely dissolve our wildlife and livestock population.”
It’s hard to imagine a more poorly informed statement than this one. Predator and prey species coexisted just fine until humans came along.
If a lone wolf really did kill a cow or sheep in Monte Cristo, which is by no means proven, it was a disperser from the north and is probably long gone by now. In any case, once it leaves the area bounded by I-80 and I-84, it is fully protected under the Endangered Species Act, making it a federal crime to kill it. This goes for state-employed trappers and private citizens alike.
Ranchers are compensated for verified losses to predators. Instead of waging perpetual war on majestic native carnivore species, it would be wiser for the state to require ranchers to make every effort to employ non-lethal methods of protecting their herds and flocks, especially when grazing them on public lands under a program subsidized by taxpayers.
Kirk Robinson, Salt Lake City
Executive Director, Western Wildlife Conservancy
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible