Fearing Wolves

I recently attended a lecture on Alaskan Wildlife.  The presenter was a
decent guy that had lived most of his life in Alaska.  He had some great
slides and did a good job.

While speaking about wolves he mentioned how he seldom saw them and that he
was "never afraid of them".  I looked around at the attendees, mostly urban
and suburban affluent couples from the lower 48 states, and saw smiles on
many of the ladies and a couple of the men.  Clearly, they felt reaffirmed
in their support (I spoke later with two of them) for wolves being protected
and spread in the lower 48 states.

I suspect that I wouldn't be fearful of wolves if I lived in Alaska either.
There are some very crucial differences between living near wolves in Alaska
and the lower 48 states.  Those differences are ignored or denied by Federal
and State bureaucrats and the animal rights radicals and environmental
extremists that are using wolves to depopulate the rural countryside and
remake the Constitutional relationship between Americans and their State and
Federal governments.

Regarding wolves in Alaska:

1.)    Alaskan wolves are not classified as "Endangered" by the Federal
government.  Therefore if you kill one you have only to answer to a State or
local jury of your peers under state law rather than a Federal prosecution
imposing the social values and environmental misconceptions of rich, urban
elites.

2.)    Alaskans are unrestricted in the use, transportation, and carrying of
guns.  From handguns to shotguns and rifles, Alaskans can carry the
appropriate protection while fishing, camping, hiking, berry picking, etc.
The current Alaskan berry crop is poor so there are warnings about fishing
streams because the bears are more concentrated there as they seek fish to
supplant the sparse berries.  More Alaskans fishing streams can and are
carrying handguns to either scare away bears or protect themselves.
Similarly, hunters cleaning big game or returning to pack out meat can and
do carry handguns to deter bears or wolves.  Try that under Wisconsin or
California or New York gun laws or game laws regarding carrying handguns in
many other states.

3.)    Alaskans know that when big game (moose, caribou, Dall sheep, goats,
etc.) are being depleted by wolves (whether just the young in the spring or
wintering bands) that wolf trapping and hunting and aerial control will be
employed to prevent the decline of the big game of concern.  Animal rights
and environmental extremists can't use the Federal government or specious
arguments to frustrate the will and best interests of the people of the
state.

4.)    Very few Alaskans raise cattle or horses or sheep.  Foals and lambs
and calves do not exist to redirect wolf or bear or cougar palates from wild
fare or as supplements during harsh winters.  Barns and pastures and rural
homesteads are not the magnets they often are to wolves in the lower 48
states.

5.)    The lecturer didn't own any dogs: no bird hunting dogs or rabbit
hounds or deer dogs or squirrel dogs or bear dogs and no watchdogs or pets.
Wolves kill hunting dogs while they are in the field. They kill all kinds of
dogs in yards and around outbuildings.

6.)    The lecturer never had small children waiting for a school bus in an
area frequented by wolves.

7.)    The lecturer didn't have old people or frail living with him that
wanted to take walks or just work in a garden.

8.)    Alaskans live around wildlife and all know people that hunt and fish
or live in the bush.  Most really do not believe that so many people in the
lower 48 believe the lies and propaganda about wildlife being spread by
radical groups.  They know better than to believe the stuff about wolves or
bears or cougars "always" behaving "thus and so".  They are fully aware of
the danger of a bear encounter or a mountain lion or wolf encounter be it a
calculated move on the part of the animal or a surprise encounter and a
violent and unpredictable reaction from the animal.

9.)    Alaskans understand and readily accept the common sense involved in
managing wild animals in such ways that local societies benefit and plants
and animals that are desirable (be they "Native" or "Invasive" like certain
deer and elk or transplanted fishes or furbearers etc.) are kept available
in desirable locations and abundance.  Alaskans are not susceptible to
imaginary arguments about what "should" be there or how no matter what "we
are in the animals environment".

Am I saying you should "fear" wolves?  Under most conditions in the lower
48, that is sound advice.  Whether it is Federal prosecution for defending
yourself or a family member or your animal property, or sending your kid to
a winter bus stop, or going for a walk with your dog, or trying to figure
out how to protect that young foal or pup your daughter is so excited about;
"fear" is a good word.

Whether sorting through all the current government and radical organizations'
misinformation about wolves or reading about 150 years of actual human/wolf
interaction in Russia from the Baltic to the Pacific or in America's early
history we need to sort out the misinformation and understand the truth.
Only then can we put into context the perfectly legitimate observation of an
Alaskan about living with wolves and what that really means to other
Americans living in the lower 48 states.

The same advice holds true for any of these environmental/animal rights
claims or governmental attempts to get more control over each of us and our
daily lives.

Jim Beers
13 September 2006

- If you found this worthwhile, please share it with others.  Thanks.

- This article and other recent articles by Jim Beers can be found at
http://jimbeers.blogster.com   (Jim Beers Common Sense)

- Jim Beers is available for consulting or to speak.  Contact:
jimbeers7@verizon.net