Kip Hansen Briefing — December 28, 2022
Naturethat biological force has been working for a very long time to create and destroy flora and fauna for millennia, only to continue to thwart our human little efforts to eliminate and set permissions for it.
In Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, wildlife authorities have decided that wolf pups born to a female wolf after it mated with a domestic dog must be killed – hunted and shoot dead.
Why in the world do they need to be hunted down and killed?
Welcome to the world of wildlife protection.
As we have seen in North America, wolves have become the darling of endangered species regulations and recovery efforts. Cute YouTube express the tone of the movement.
The concept of endangered or threatened species runs counter to species problem. Of course, yes two differences Species issues:
first) Darwin’s problem: “I am amazed at how completely ambiguous and arbitrary the distinction between species and varieties is” —Charles Darwin, Origin of species
2) The The modern species problem: “The species problem is a set of questions that arise when biologists try to determine what a species To be. Such a definition is called a species concept; there are at least 26 recognized species concepts.” [ source ]
In the United States, we can clearly see this problem in the protection of red wolf. It is well known and widely acknowledged that the so-called Red Wolf of the Carolinas is a cross between a gray wolf and a coyote – although there is a possibility/possibility that it may be a cross between an Eastern Wolf and a Wolf. However, the Eastern Wolf himself has also been found to be a cross between a Gray Wolf and a Wolf Wolf. However, the US Federal Fish & Wildlife Service operates a captive breeding program, which currently has “approximately 241 red wolves”. [being] maintained in 45 captive breeding facilities across the United States” in an effort to support populations of “approximately 15 to 17 red wolves [that] roamed in their native habitat of eastern North Carolina. As we Americans say, “Your taxes at work.”
Why all this confusion? Species problem! Wolf species status is indicated by geography and appearance. When a genetic study was done recently [ .pdf file here ]it is found that there are There is only one species of wolf in North America – Grey Wolf. (However, there Two spellings are accepted: Gray Wolf and Gray Wolf – Grey Wolf is considered the American spelling.)
The illogical result is that a hybrid animal – the Red Wolf – is being protected as a “species” at great expense and effort.
It has long been proven that wolves and domestic dogs can mate. And did so whenever wolves and domestic dogs shared the same territory. It is unknown how many wolves in the wild are actually a cross between a wolf and a dog.
“The crossbreeding of a wolf and a dog usually occurs when the wolf population is under strong predatory pressure and its structure is disrupted due to the large number of wolves. loose dog. Wolves often show aggression towards dogs, but wolves can change their behavior and become playful or submissive when they are socially isolated.” [ Wiki ] (This paragraph describes the environment found in Alaska and the US cattle states such as Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Dakotas, etc.)
What is happening in Germany? Like many other countries in Europe, Germany has been re-releasing wolves into the “wild”. Of course, the European Union has regulations on wolves, protect them even when they enter towns and villages.
Now, based on EU regulations, it is mandatory to protect wolves as a species:
“Wolf pups that mate with domestic dogs must be tracked down and shot dead,” the Bavarian government said. …. Officials have documented wolf-dog crosses in the Lower Franconia region on the northwestern edge of Bavaria. German law requires these hybrids to be shot to protect the local wolf population.”
“The Bavarian authorities have found genetic traces of a female wolf and her offspring in the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. after examining the carcasses of three dead sheep“. [see further down for livestock predation numbers]
The Bavarian State Environment Office (LfU) announced on Thursday: “Genetic results indicate that the pups are wolfdogs that emerged from the mating of the mother dog with a domestic dog this spring.”
“The Federal Nature Conservation Act states that hybrids must be shot. A LfU spokesperson said that the mixing of dogs and wolves leads to genetic changes that can lead to genetic depletion in wildlife.
“Wolf is perfectly adapted to life in the wild, while domestic dogs are not. Officials say the long-term survival of wolves in the wild can only be guaranteed if the animals don’t lose their ability to adapt to their natural environment, where crossbreeding can be dangerous.”
“LfU said it will not take any steps to remove the hybrid puppies. Removal may involve catching or shooting the animal. But for hybrids more than three months old, authorities, as is the case now, opt for “lethal removal,” i.e. shooting down.
“Wild animals such as rat hybrids cannot adapt to being held in captivity permanently and will have to suffer in captivity,” the authorities said. [ source ]
The illogicality of the justifications may come from translation problems, but the so-called steps themselves are meaningless. They will hunt for hybrid mice more than 3 months old. They will hunt them down because a wolf-dog hybrid can.”lost its ability to adapt to its natural environment.” but if these hybrids are caught and put into animal shelters, they can “imprisoned” because they were born to be wild – to prevent those two conflicting outcomes, they will hunt them down and shoot them down instead.
How exactly were they able to distinguish mixed wolves from “pure” wolves when they were out hunting them? Who knows? …unless the non-wolf parent doesn’t look like a wolf at all (the chances of spawning are unlikely – definitely not wolves-dachshund Cross). Shoot first, genetic testing later?
How is Germany, or any other European country, going to stop Nature from doing her job? Two people of the opposite sex canis animals, one lupus and a familiar canis, meet in the woods, sparks fly, love begins, and as with human teenagers, the inevitable happens -> Puppies!
Why is it inevitable? Ask any dog owner… if you let your female in heat let loose even for a few hours, you run the risk of unintended pregnancy and non-pure puppies. And this works for both wolves and dogs.
Not everyone is happy with the reintroduction of wolves – especially cattle ranchers. Watch these two stories from the US state of Idaho: Imported Wolfwood kills 143 sheep in one day in Idaho and Wolf war breaks out in Idaho over new law allowing unlimited hunting and trapping.
guard gave us Germany’s predicted numbers for 2017: “Wolf attacks on livestock increased sharply in 2017, according to government statistics released over the weekend: they carried out 472 attacks, a 66% increase from the previous year. The number of livestock killed, injured or missing – mainly sheep and goats – increased 55%, to 1,667.”
More recent is this chart from Germany Documents and Federal Advisory Council — National Damage Statistics:
Each wolf attack results in about three deaths or injuries of domestic animals – mainly sheep. By 2019, the number of pets killed and injured had nearly doubled since 2017.
[Aside — I have had to deal with a Canis attack on a herd of sheep – Canis familiaris – lovely pet dogs from down the street. Killed three lambs and injured six ewes badly enough to require a veterinarian. I caught the dogs, each of them smiling and happy at the fun of it all, with snouts dripping blood. All Canis species and sub-species are natural predators.]
The Europeans posed themselves a rather big problem – how to reintroduce wolves into a larger environment that includes domestic dogs, many of which are allowed to roam free? Germany alone is home more than 10 million pet dogs.
The problem of hybridization will not and cannot be solved with guns.
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Author’s comments:
These endangered species laws and regulations are often poorly thought out and poorly enacted and enforced illogically.
As a species, humans are good at taming, breeding, and nurturing animals. We are not very good at trying to control Nature and force wild animals back into environments where they have become extinct. [“Biologists use extirpated to describe species that no longer exist in a specific region.”] It’s reintroduction efforts – the flip side of extinction.
The extermination of large predators is intentional on the part of human society. Not always done with careful thought. The people who stayed at home couldn’t easily bear the cost of losing livestock to wolves (or bears or cougars) at first. These farmers and ranchers, isolated from others, also fear for their children.
I don’t have enough information to make judgments about the reappearance of predators large enough to hunt and kill larger domestic animals (cattle, goats, sheep). Such events are common today, although the number of large carnivores remains low. Occasionally, humans are attacked and injured/killed by large predators: mountain lions (puma concolor) in California; Wolves rarely kill or injure humans, although that is not unheard of. As American settlements moved westward from the east coast, wolves were systematically exterminated. Black bears can also kill people (an estimated 25 fatal attacks in the last 20 years). And, of course, then there are North American grizzly bear and polar bears (and this).
Unsolved. An interesting problem.
Thanks for reading.
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