Social Deconstruction Project: Wolves Part 3

 

An open letter to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources

To whom it may concern,

The number of wolves in Michigan is a concern to everyone. Some believe they need to be protected, while others believe their numbers must be reduced. In the recent case of misinformation regarding wolf numbers in Michigan, it would seem you are on the side that favors their reduction.

            I do not believe this is entirely a bad thing. Wolf numbers need to be kept in check to keep them from becoming a danger to themselves and others. Populations that are too large can overlap into human settled areas. Wolves may end up being hit by cars, or they may pose a threat to children. The most important reason, from what I can tell, that you wanted to protect livestock. Specifically the livestock of John Koski’s farm which has been the most frequent target of wolf predation.

            Agriculture is an important industry, and to a small family owned farm losing cattle is no small setback. However, you may need to look at the bigger picture. The Koski farm has been the subject of 73% of wolf conflicts between 2010 and 2013. They also have been given 82% of all compensations for livestock lost to wolves. It would seem that this farm is where you should concentrate your efforts.

            However that is not the whole story. Koski receive $4000 of non-lethal wolf deterrence methods including fencing which he has failed to use. It has also been found that he has not taken proper care of his cattle and left dead carcasses out to rot where they can attract wolves. These signs point to the reality that wolves are not becoming an increasing issue, but instead this is a problem caused by one irresponsible farmer.

            You are not wrong to want to keep wolves under control and to protect Michigan’s industry and citizens. However any decisions that are made must be with the full considerations of the facts. Reports of wolves outside of daycare centers that prove to be false are not grounds to kill large numbers of wolves. Protecting one irresponsible farm owner and absolving him of personal responsibly is not proper wildlife management. I hope that you will take the time to study the facts and research the current state of wolf populations before making such decisions in the future.

An Open Letter to the Staff of Keep Wolves Protected.com

Falsehoods are not uncommon in politics. Unfortunately, in this current attempt to renew wolf hunting in Michigan, those falsehoods could end up costing the lives of many animals. It seems from the several articles that you have written on the topic, as well as the overall philosophy of your organization, that you believe this to be a very bad thing, and I am inclined to agree with you. The use of skewed data to justify the killing of wolves is amoral. The farm owner who claims to be overwhelmed by the issue is an unfit caregiver to his livestock and has refused to properly use the non-lethal deterrents provided to him free of charge. Many of the reports and stories of wolves in towns have been complete fabrications. However, you do have to recognize that wolf populations do pose an issue to these people.

            This issue has not come about purely as a witch hunt, or an excuse to kill wolves. These people do genuinely feel that they need to take action and some of the real data they have agrees. Wolf populations in Michigan have increased drastically in the last twenty years and livestock deaths do occur, although perhaps not at as high a rate as reported. If wolves keep their status as a protected species, they will eventually grow to become a bigger problem. The best thing that we can do now is to determine effective management strategies before the issue escalates. False claims should never be tolerated, but we should try to see past the claims themselves to why the issue was raised in the first place so that we can deal with the project in a logical and factual way.

Compromise

            I believe that the solution to this issue can be summed up in three parts. First of all is honesty. Both sides of this controversy have valid points and reasons to push their agendas. However, it is never justified to present false evidence no matter the cause. Although this is currently directed as the pro-hunt side, this resolution applies to both sides. Moving forward, the only true way to manage wolves or any other species is to ensure that accurate information is used.

            This leads me to my second point, the accurate collection of data. In order to scientifically determine how many wolves can be safely hunted, accurate records must be kept. This data should be unbiased and those who make approximations about the number of wolves that can be safely removed from the population should be as well. The side that is opposed to the hunting of wolves needs to concede that if populations grow too large they need to be culled. If there is data that shows that wolves are attacking livestock and causing problems, then it may be time to take action. The side in support of hunting wolves needs to accept whatever data comes out and commit to not hunting wolves despite any inconvenience they may pose. This holds true even if they are killing livestock or encroaching upon human settlement. If the data shows it would be a detriment to kill them, then they should not be killed. There are other ways to handle this.

            These other ways are my last point, non-lethal deterrents. Non-lethal deterrents are ways that wolf-livestock conflict can be minimized without harming wolves. Some of these methods include reducing attractants such as carcasses. Carcasses are like a buffet for wolves and if they learn of a dependable source, they will likely return looking for more. Another possible solution is fencing and fladry. Fladry is a rope or electric wire with evenly spaced red flags and serves to scare away wolves in the short term. Alarms can also be used to scare wolves away. All of these methods and several others can be effective deterrents to drive away wolves without harming them.

            The management of wolves may be a controversial issue, but by talking about the evidence honestly and logically, we can come to a manageable solution for everyone.

Moral Vision Statement

            I believe that the most ethical approach to the treatment of non-human animals is a utilitarian one. The differences between the many different species that exist make it difficult to truly compare the intelligence and sentience of each species to one another. Although it can be argued that each individual life has equal value, it is hard to quantify the capacity for intelligence and emotion. I believe that our goal should be to bring about the greatest good for the least amount of harm. It is acceptable to hunt wolves it is brings about the good of protecting livestock, but not if they do not pose a current threat.

Final Self-Reflection

            Overall this project was very informative. I have learned a lot not only about wolves, but about human interactions with wildlife species. However the bulk of this course has taught me less about human relationships with wildlife species, and more about relationships with domesticated species. I have learned a great deal about current issues facing dogs. The issue that impacted me the most during this course was the topic of breed discrimination. I had already learned about breed discrimination laws in ANSC 250; however it was during this semester that I was able to experience a bit of the real world component. I mentioned to my parents that I was considering adopting a dog during graduate school and that I was thinking of getting a pit bull. This was met with remarks to the effect of “aren’t they dangerous?” and “I don’t think I would be comfortable with you owning a pit bull”. Even after I explained that pit bulls can be sweet well behaved dogs if trained properly, they still did not seem to believe me.

            My thoughts about the importance of animal welfare as well as the human-animal bond have been greatly affected by this class. Before taking this course I did not often consider the level of dependence that humans have on animals. This course helped me stop and think more often about how animals affect day to day life. This was helpful to me because I have a goal of working in public outreach and education with regards to the effects the environment has on day-to-day human life. I think that it was a valuable experience to be able to go beyond ecological interactions and learn how animals play a part as service animals and companions. I hope that I can put this into a greater context of anthropogenic effects on the environment for the welfare of humans and animals alike.

References

http://keepwolvesprotected.com/media/upcoming-michigan-wolf-hunt-based-false-information-and-poor-farm-stewardship

http://keepwolvesprotected.com/media/wolf-hunt-debate-distorted-facts-false-claims

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/michigans_wolf_hunt_how_half_t.html

Social Deconstruction Project: Wolves Part 1

Species Identification

I have chosen the gray wolf (Canis lupis) as my species for this project. Grey wolves are a wildlife species present in the northernmost parts of the United States and most of Canada.

Social History

The relationship between humans and wolves can be traced back longer than recorded history. Early humans contended with wolves for animals to hunt. Later when humans gained agricultural skills, wolves posed a threat to livestock. This in particular has helped create the concept of the sly, deceptive wolf in the collective folklore of many countries. Over our shared history wolves have often been persecuted and vilified by humans. Hunting wolves has been done out of necessity, as well as for sport. To this day they remain an often misunderstood animal.

Not all of the interactions between early humans and wolves were competitive however. Wolves were the first species ever domesticated by humans. The exact timing of this is unknown, but is estimated to be between 15,000 and 33,000 years ago. The process by which this occurred is also unknown. However, the main theories behind this are the self-domestication theory and the orphaned wolf-cub theory. The self-domestication theory proposes that wolves with a lessened fear of humans could more readily approach human encampments to scrounge for food; leading to an evolution of tamer wolves. The orphaned wolf-cub theory, on the other hand, makes the claim that wolf cubs, which are more easily socialized and tamed, were adopted by humans after their parents had been killed. Both of these theories have some amount of experimental evidence supporting them and the truth is likely that a mix of both occurred.

Current Social Perception

Wolves do not serve a specific function to humankind. They are not a livestock species meant to provide meat or milk. However the role they play in nature is much larger than many realize. Across their vast range, wolves are often a keystone predator and vital to their ecosystem. Wolves control populations of many species, such as lynxes and cougars. Wolves also interact with other predators through competitive exclusion. Wolves may sometimes try to scavenge kills from brown bears or tigers; this can lead to both species having a limiting effect on the other’s population.

            Despite the role they play in the ecosystem, and their relatively small part in our lives, wolves are still often viewed as frightful or intimidating. Portrayals of wolves in popular TV and movies such as “The Hobbit” or “The Grey” portray wolves as violent killers. Although these are fantastical representations, they still have an effect in shaping public perception of these animals.

            Public perception of wolves is not all bad. There is a large group of people who understand wolves and their value. Groups such as The Wolf Conservation Center, The NatioWildlife Federation, Wolf Haven International, and multiple national parks work towards the conservation and recovery of wolves in areas were their numbers have been threatened. These groups also help to increase public knowledge about wolves and dispel negative myths and stereotypes, giving these creatures some much needed PR.
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Intelligence and Emotions

Multiple reports and lab studies have demonstrated that wolves are intelligent creatures. They have the ability to remember and associate events as well as to learn. During the extermination of the American bison, wolves learned to associate gunshots with carcasses that would be left behind by hunters after skinning them. Other studies have demonstrated that non-rabid wolves can distinguished between armed and unarmed humans as well as detect self-confident demeanors. Wolves that have been exposed to traps have repeatedly showed that they learn how to avoid or trigger them without harm.

Wolves respond better to hand cues than vocal cues

            Wolves are even trainable, although they are less responsive than dogs. Wolves seem to have a much stronger sense of independence and prefer to serve their own needs than please a human. This has been demonstrated by wolves that get bored after performing the same command several times and stop responding, or wolves that have been trained as sled dogs which, once tired, stop and refuse to listen further.

            Wolves also have been shown to display emotions. The most concrete evidence of this is their physical posturing. Wolves use multiple cues to express their mood, similar to dogs. Barred teeth and upright, forward pointing ears indicate a dominant threat. Meanwhile, closed mouths and pulled back ears indicate a submissive state of being. Much like dogs, wolves also use their tails to express themselves. Threatened wolves hold their tails up high, while submissive wolves keep their tail tucked between their legs.

Speciesism

Wolves are subject to speciesism through their treatment as a menace and extermination. Throughout history, wolves have been persecuted and in some cases systematically exterminated. The organized efforts to exterminate wolves have succeeded in several cases. Japan killed off the last wolf on their island chain in 1905, despite the animals being considered gods in Shinto mythology. Northern Europe also made it a point to exterminate wolves during the middle ages, doing so in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

            To my knowledge, wolves are the only mammal to be systematically exterminated purely because they are considered a nuisance. Wolves have received a level of persecution not given to other species. Despite their important role in the ecosystem or their past relationships with humans that led to their domestication and the creation of the modern dog, wolves have been devalued as a species. Although species such as bovines, poultry, or fish are killed in larger numbers, they are done so as food and considered to serve a purpose. Wolves were not exterminated for food but because they proved inconvenient to humans.

References

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Wolf_with_Caribou_Hindquarter.jpg/220px-Wolf_with_Caribou_Hindquarter.jpg

http://savetheanimalsnow.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/wolf-pup.jpg

Grandin, Temple; Johnson, Catherine (2005). Animals in Translation. New York, New York: Scribner. p. 87. ISBN 0-7432-4769-8.

 O. Thalmann et al. (2013). Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Ancient Canids Suggest a European Origin of Domestic Dogs. Science 15 November 2013: Vol. 342 no. 6160 pp. 871-874 DOI: 10.1126/science.1243650.

Germonpréa, Mietje; Sablin, Mikhail V. (7 October 2008). "Fossil dogs and wolves from Palaeolithic sites in Belgium, the Ukraine and Russia: osteometry, ancient DNA and stable isotopes".

Viegas, Jennifer (date = October 17, 2008). "MSNBC : World's first dog lived 31,700 years ago, ate big". Discovery News (MSNBC).

Scott & Fuller 1974, p. 54

http://www.wolfhaven.org/

http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/mammals/gray-wolf.aspx

Fulbright, Timothy E. & Hewitt, David G. (2007) Wildlife Science: Linking Ecological Theory and Management Applications, CRC Press, ISBN 0-8493-7487-1, p. 118

 Heptner, V. G. & Sludskii, A. A. Mammals of the Soviet Union: Carnivora (hyaenas and cats), Volume 2 (1992), BRILL, ISBN 90-04-08876-8

 Sunquist, Melvin E. & Sunquist, Fiona (2002) Wild cats of the world, University of Chicago Press, p. 167 ISBN 0-226-77999-8

Grooms, Steve (2010). "Cougar Wolf Interactions: It's a Lot Like Cats and Dogs". International Wolf 20 (2): 8–11.

 Mech & Boitani 2003, pp. 264–65

http://nywolf.org/

http://nywolf.org/components/com_wordpress/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/essential85_blog.jpg

Geist, Valerius (2006) When do Wolves become Dangerous to Humans?, The University of Calgary.

Heptner & Naumov 1998, pp. 244–245

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_wolves_WSC.JPG

Mech & Boitani 2003, pp. 63–65

Mech 1981, pp. 8–9

"Are wolves and wolfdog hybrids trainable?". Wolf Park. Archived from the original on 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-10-30.

 Zimen 1981, pp. 88–90

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/245/8/8/the_wolf_emotions_by_anisis-d2xui55.jpg

http://www.wolfhaven.org/communication.php