Wolf Questions

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6310211.stm" >Wild wolves 'good for ecosystems'</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Reintroducing wild wolves to the Scottish Highlands would help the local ecosystem, a study suggests.<br />n<br />nWolves, which were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the late 1700s, would help control the numbers of red deer, the team from the UK and Norway said.<br />n<br />nThis would aid the re-establishment of plants and birds – currently hampered by the deer population, they write in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.<br />n<br />nBut farmers say more livestock would be killed if wolves are reintroduced.</blockquote><br />n<br />n[sarcasm]Those damn farmers worrying about their livestock again. Who cares about livestock, let the wolves eat them along with everything else.[/sarcasm]<br />n<br />nWe aren't the only ones here in the western US that are worrying about wolves and their re-introduction. The forces are at work all over the world. Everybody looks at farmers and ranchers as obstructionists about wolf introduction. They don't seem to realize that to us it isn't an academic question. Wolves are not only a thereat to our livelihood, they are a threat to our animals who we care deeply for. Most of these animals we know, understand, and love. A lot of times we have raised them babies and it scares us that wolves might hurt them. We are not obstructing the wolves, we are flat scared of the consequences of them.<br />n<br />n<strong>The law of unintended consequences pushes us ceaselessly through the years, permitting no pause for perspective. Richard Schickel</strong>