Wolves and Humans Foundation’s Post

Y'a pas qu'en Suisse,... ... que la discussion sur le loup est menée par les lobbies et pas par les connaissances scientifiques. Intéressant article dans "Science": 300 organizations including the World Wildlife Fund and Rewilding Europe accused the commission of soliciting anecdotal evidence on the impact on wolves during an “irregular” consultation process, rather than gathering reliable scientific data. “We are concerned that the discussion of this is-sue has so far been largely dominated and driven by farming industry and hunting interest representatives,” they write, pointing to a survey that suggests most rural inhabitants believe wolves should continue to be strictly protected. “Unless there is substantial new science-based evidence gathered by the European Commission services, we believe the science and public opinion are clear: the modification of the protection sta- tus of the wolf ... is not justified.” Some scientists agree, pointing to a lack of evidence that culling actually reduces predation on sheep. “Implementing selective culls would be expensive, and in most cases ineffective,” says Gianluca Damiani, a wolf expert at Tuscia University.

Livestock guardian dogs, by providing constant vigilance, are, in my opinion, the most effective preventive measure that could be used by livestock herders to deter carnivores. However, if not properly trained, there are some risks associated with their use. The Mongolian bankhar dog is one of the most frequently used livestock guardian dogs by local herders. However, despite its effectiveness, if proper training is lacking, these dogs may negatively interact with wildlife, primarily through direct predation on ungulates and smaller-sized carnivores (e.g., red foxes, Pallas's cats), pathogen transmission, and potential hybridization with wolves. As members of Wildlife Initiative, we are conducting research activities to assess the impact of livestock guardian dogs on native wildlife and to educate local herders on the proper use of these dogs in such contexts. - photo credits: Wildlife Initiative & Giacomo De Donà visit: www.wildlifeinitiative.org - #wildlifeinitiative #wildlife #species #wildspecies #nature #wildnature #ecosystem #environment #biodiversity #ecology #habitat #research #wildliferesearch #conservation #wildlifeconservation #monitoring #wildlifemonitoring #mammals #mammalia #livestockguardiandogs #livestockguardingdogs #humancarnivoreconflict #humanwildlifeconflict #livestockpredations #carnivores #predators #mongolia #asia

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) plays an important role in wildlife habitats. It provides safe cover for various animals, including bobwhite quail. It offers protection from grazing livestock, allowing it to seed out and provide essential ground cover for soil health and erosion control. However, too much prickly pear in a pasture can reduce grazeable acres, so maintaining a proper balance is important to maximize wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and available livestock forage. This picture from Burnet County shows vine mesquite (Panicum obtusum) growing seed heads around prickly pear plants. #nativecactus #wildlifehabitat

Many people I speak to are often shocked to find out that the choices they make for leisure activities and holiday fun fuel big cat cruelty. The fact is that there are many places in South Africa, and indeed around the world, where people are allowed to cuddle or take pictures with wild animals such as lion and tiger cubs🦁🐯 ☹️Sadly, people just like you and me are often misled into believing that these types of interactions are in fact helping the animals, and even worse, that it’s benefitting the conservation of these often endangered species. 🇿🇦 In South Africa for example big cat farms are still continuously breeding lions multiple times a year for profit, creating major animal welfare issues including lionesses being used as breeding machines and their cubs taken away at birth to be used as tourist attractions. When cubs become too big for tourists and volunteers to safely handle, they are traded or kept as breeding animals, or even sold into the canned hunting industry. 🔎Doing your research before you buy that ticket, take that selfie, or promote that establishment can help animals. Working for FOUR PAWS, I urge you to read more here: https://brnw.ch/21wIW4z and to also have a look at the helpful Animal-Friendly Travel Guide from FOUR PAWS ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wIW4A #BreakTheViciousCycle #AnimalWelfare #FOURPAWS

The Guardian also weighs in on the bear slaughter in Sweden that commences right now. 🐻☠😲😠What is happening is in breach of EU law - but somehow the Swedish government has just gone ahead and handed out nearly 500 trophy hunting licenses anyway ... for country, for bears, for biodiversity, for sustainability, for biodiversity, for future generations - for all of them, the Swedish government should feel deeply ashamed. Read the Guardian article here > https://lnkd.in/dUNtXncU In it, Magnus Rydholm - head of communications for the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, puts it simply as follows: "We are only following the directive of the Swedish government’s wildlife policy. It is all about a balance between humans and the large predators. That’s why the bear hunt starts tomorrow.” Oh, thank you for clarifying. Now I see, you're only doing this because the government wants you to. Otherwise you obviously wouldn't have your members go out there and slaughter five hundred bears, right? The 'balance between humans and large predators' he talks about is a convenient myth created by none others than the hunting lobby. Nothing would be out of balance, if not for this very lobby, who loves slaughtering the very prey predators hunt for. And hunters get very much upset if animal predators take what they've come to see as their own. And then farmers get upset if, on those rare occasions, predators go for livestock instead. Again - the balance is out of whack because it was manufactured that way by humans, not because of animal apex predators. Get trophy hunting out of the way and nature will rebalance itself. Rewilding Europe Lucie Wuethrich Daniel Allen Fabien Quétier Staffan Widstrand Nelleke de Weerd Angela Tavone Duncan Grossart Derek Gow Henrik Persson Kruno Bošnjaković Stiftung KORA Sigrid Rausing Trust

Global Wildlife Farming: 5.5 Billion Animals Suffer in Cruel Conditions In a groundbreaking report, World Animal Protection has shed light on the appalling conditions endured by an estimated 5.5 billion wild animals on commercial wildlife farms worldwide. The research, titled "Bred for profit: The truth about global wildlife farming," exposes the vast scale of an exploitative industry where sentient beings are treated as mere commodities in a cruel production line. read more 👉🏿 https://lnkd.in/dHnY47bF

Ballot box biology builds untenable hurdles into ecological management. Decisions about the management of our public lands and wildlife are best left to experts, and the legislature with the advice and advisement of those experts. Over-saturating the Colorado ecosystem with predators and removing important management tools, such as responsibly managed hunting, will only result in conflicts with livestock, domestic pets, people, and a devastation of prey; ultimately, a devastation of the balance within our ecosystem.

Here's one for you. My initial motivation for this story, aside from my unbridled nerdiness for wildlife, was a spark of anger when the European Commission announced its efforts to lower the protection status of wolves in Europe. Not just because of the premise, although, for transparency, I disagree with that, but because of the wording of the press announcement. One of the reasons provided by the Commission was that wolves were coming into increasing conflict with hunting communities. Perhaps naïve, I assumed it meant subsistence hunters but the press office clarified that it meant hunters who view the wolf as competition when it comes to killing deer and wild boar. This whole idea that we would mull the possibility of reducing the numbers of a natural predator at the behest of an unnatural one struck me as completely topsy-turvy. So much so that I decided not to pursue that angle at all in this story. The point of view of farmers in Europe was more understandable in my view, so I went to speak to a couple in the northern outskirts of Madrid, where the perception is that the wolf is expanding south from the mountains and picking off livestock. Abraham is a small-scale goat herder who spends every day with his livestock. He is pro-wolf but finds himself stuck in a bureaucratic limbo when it comes to financial help to coexist with the animal. In Spain, the discussion about the Iberian wolf is murky and full of vitriolic debate. Even something as simple as wolf population estimates are often exaggerated and weaponised in the media. It was through this landscape, then, that I waded in a humble bid to draw out some clarity. Thanks to Abraham, the Association for the Study and Conservation of the Iberian Wolf, and Dr. Andrés Ordiz from the University of Leon for their contributions. Also to the brilliant REVOLVE team for helping to put this together. 🐺 https://lnkd.in/duDyBTZ9

Read about the agreement between the World Organisation for Animal Health and CITES on Reducing the risk of zoonotic disease emergence associated with international wildlife trade: https://lnkd.in/gA-DgjiE Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Wildlife Health Australia

Today is #InternationalWolfDay, so let's talk about wolves. The European Commission has proposed downgrading their protection status from 'strictly protected' to 'protected'. This means allowing more flexibility in the hunting of these beautiful animals. Wolves have just returned to Europe after being on the brink of extinction. Their return is the result of conservation efforts that would become meaningless if we allowed wolves to be hunted again. So why consider this possibility? The explanation given by the Commission is to protect farmers and their livestock. An explanation that may sound reasonable, especially when backed by fear mongering and propaganda. But the truth is that the data tell a different story. Wolves are not a danger to farmers. The percentage of farm animals killed by wolves is minimal. Far more farm animals die each year from natural causes. And what about the farmers? What do they think? Journalist Paul Krantz investigated the issue in depth and spoke to several German farmers. The result is reported in this interesting article on the return of wolves to Europe. It is time for politicians to stop politicising wolves and using fear and misinformation for their own political gain. Let us support farmers by providing them with the right preventive measures, and let us continue to protect wolves that are so important to our ecosystem.