A courageous conservationist speaks out ...

uwe · November 23, 2020, 05:54:13 PM

Ah, Detroit's manliest of guitarists and professed "real conservationist" is chicken-shit that a few wolves might make it harder for him to gun down cloven-hoofed game he has bait-fed before ...

What a friggin' hypocrite. I think I'll have to burn my Ted Nugent collection. Or feed it to a wolf pack ...

Wolves have returned even to the woods where I live (they repopulate naturally in Germany - coming from the East where they were never quite extinct - and are a protected species though that might change as they become more prevalent in the future), yet they haven't kept me from going out or riding my bicycle through the woods at night. A little virus has been more invasive in my personal life ...

I don't think that wolves are cute little puppies, nor do I think that individual animals might not need to be shot in some cases, I'm not even against hunting per se, but if you get a hunter to speak freely - and I know a few - the argument against competing predators is always the same: they spook the game, make it harder for us to hunt and ruin our bags. Very conservationist.

TBird1958 · November 23, 2020, 06:42:19 PM

I have a serious dislike for that ass-clown........I'll leave it there.

He needs to shoot off his own wango tango with a hunting bow.

Pilgrim · November 23, 2020, 08:03:47 PM

This was an issue in Colorado during the recent election. There was a very narrowly successful vote to task the CO State Dept. of Parks & Wildlife with reintroducing grey wolves. There are also stories of wolves coming into Colorado from the Yellowstone area, which made the discussion more complex.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/11/colorado-approves-gray-wolf-reintroduction/

Ranchers and farmers are pretty unified against the measure. There financial reimbursements for them to compensate for the value of lost livestock. I'm sure this will be the subject of much debate as it goes forward.

uwe · November 23, 2020, 08:49:02 PM

Same discussion here in Germany, mainly sheep und goats, also government reimbursement payments. But the number of sheep and goats run over by cars or dying of various livestock diseases is 10x greater in one year than all the sheep and goats killed by predators in Germany since the return of the first wolves circa 20 years ago.

No doubt, a wolf can wreak havoc among a herd of sheep. But bloodbaths happen rarely.

Granny Gremlin · November 24, 2020, 07:50:48 AM

Yep - wolves don't kill what they can't eat.

We don't have wolves in Southern Ontario anymore, gotta head a couple hours north for that, (about where the bears also start) but we do have coyotes creeping back in via the ravine systems, as well as hybrids (coyote-dog). 1 particular affluent neighborhood was up in arms about it after a toy dog was taken by one.

gearHed289 · November 24, 2020, 08:40:35 AM

Even as a stoned teenager, I felt like the Nuge had lost his mind around the time of Wango Tango. He's now a full-blown, hypocritical nut job.

I'm about 10 minutes from O'Hare airport, and 15 from the Chicago border, and we have coyotes in my neighborhood. I virtually never see any, and i go running in the early morning a coupe of times a week. There have also been feral cats regularly living in the hood, which says to me that the coyotes aren't that much of a hazard to pets (We don't let ours wander off though). Along with hawks, they keep the rabbits in check!

Highlander · November 24, 2020, 03:04:00 PM

There is still some talk about a re-introduction of wolves or a "big" cat in the Scottish Highlands to "control" the red deer population...
But considering the rather odd disappearance of eagles on some "estate" lands...

Pilgrim · November 24, 2020, 03:06:24 PM

Next to the foothills of the Rockies, we have our share of wildlife. There were two white tail deer hanging out in the back yard this morning. Within the last month we had a small bear wandering around in the neighborhood. When you go hiking in the foothills, you keep an eye out not only for snakes, but for cougars (not my fellow alums, the big cats). Fort Collins lost one small kid to them over the last decade, and had some close calls with adults. Of course, coyotes are darn near everywhere. Those guys are primo survivors.

Colorado is doing a lot of building into formerly undeveloped areas, and naturally as we reduce the room for habitat, we're getting new neighbors.

morrow · November 24, 2020, 05:09:25 PM

Nova Scotia ! When you fly over you realize it's mostly woods . And despite living in the burbs of Halifax in an older area we have deer around all the time . I've seen foxes in the neighbourhood , and coyotes have been seen not too far away . A friend just outside of town lost her dog to coyotes .
Another friend cranged up his car hitting a bear on the highway .
There's apparently quite of great white sharks swimming around the place .
And now I'm worried about getting bitten on the balls by a flea ...

amptech · November 25, 2020, 01:02:41 AM

Quote from: uwe on November 23, 2020, 08:49:02 PM
No doubt, a wolf can wreak havoc among a herd of sheep. But bloodbaths happen rarely.

Here in the north, we see bloodbaths quite often - at least on TV. I'm not into politics, but the wolf debate here is more polarized than any political stuff. Not unusual to see a pile of sheep taken by wolf on tv. The sheep farmers seem to play the 'we were here first' card, but I can't really see how we can't live with a few wild animals. We have recently seen an invasion of wild board coming from Sweden, but there is no debate because they 'dont belong here' and the local politicians suggest we shoot them all down. They're not cute or mystic like the wolf so I guess people don't give a damn about them.

Rob · November 25, 2020, 04:56:53 AM

Here in Central Florida besides snakes and alligators, there are wild boar, bobcats and bear. That's within 5 miles of Disney. Who was here first? Really not a question. . . Ted is a narcissist first and foremost.
I agree with Tbird!

Granny Gremlin · November 25, 2020, 08:29:57 AM

Quote from: amptech on November 25, 2020, 01:02:41 AM
We have recently seen an invasion of wild board coming from Sweden, but there is no debate because they 'dont belong here' and the local politicians suggest we shoot them all down. They're not cute or mystic like the wolf so I guess people don't give a damn about them.

But (also unlike wolves) they're so tasty!

TBird1958 · November 25, 2020, 12:28:49 PM

I've had Wild Boar, it is quite tasty! Would have been a good, non-traditional Thanksgiving meal choice but we opted for something German, Sauerbraten.

uwe · November 25, 2020, 06:35:15 PM

Wild boars can become a pest quickly - they don't have natural enemies, even a wolf would have to be starved to go after one and risk its own furry life. With the Corona lockdown and people staying home, they're even been seen strolling around in big cities or wreaking havoc in town gardens. They're smart animals with a sophisticated social life in their groups, but too much is too much. And they do taste well.

Personally, I think that your problem with invasive European wild boar is only fair given that you infested us with racoons and muskrats!

Pilgrim · November 25, 2020, 09:26:49 PM

In Texas wild boars are both common and dangerous. The last place we lived there was at the end of a cul-de-sac with about 2 acres of woods behind it. Another neighbor on that cul-de-sac trapped a 200+ pound wild boar in those woods, and there were reported a few close to 300 pounds.

No one messes with a wild boar that big, and there is no "benevolent and protective society" for wild boars in Texas. They just shoot 'em.

I confess that if I lived in a neighborhood where small dogs had been taken by coyotes, (which is the case in some of the new developments in CO bordering prairies) while I was out walking I would be very tempted to have a .22 magnum on my person even if I was inside the city limits.