Can we balance the issues involved?
It seems that the decision to allow open hunts so soon after they have been removed from the endangered species list was perhaps a bit premature. It may have been more effective to allow wolf recovery to flourish some more, before letting the hunters have a field day. If they are too hasty with making allowances, wolves could end up right back on the endangered species list. I understand that ranchers need to protect their livestock, but I wonder how strictly the rules are enforced and obeyed. From what I have heard American ranchers can be quite ruthless when it comes to killing animals considered to pose a risk, even if there is no direct threat on their property. Cases like these need to be more carefully monitored, especially since the trigger happy ranchers have an unfair advantage with their guns. As mentioned in class, top predators, such as wolves help create a balanced, healthy ecosystem and there should be more emphasis placed on this when creating the hunting laws. There should also be rules against killing entire wolf packs which clearly inhibits effective genetic exchange and diversity. Another point I came across in research was that if adult wolves are shot it completely disrupts the pack structure and without experienced hunters to help capture the wild prey, the young ones may turn to easier prey such as cattle or sheep, which is obviously not favorable for the ranchers. I see why hunting can assist in population control but it also has such adverse effects for the surviving wolf population, so I'm unsure if a fair balance can be struck as humans attempt to manipulate the growth and control of a wild species.
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