Wolf Story
When wolves were first brought into Idaho, an elderly cattle rancher went out one Sunday AM to check on his small herd. He came upon a partially eaten new-born calf with the body of a dead wolf lying right on top of it. Somebody had interrupted the wolf’s breakfast by shooting it. He wisely called people from the farm bureau to ask for suggestions, knowing he would likely be headed for a federal jail when the feds came looking for their lost wolf, dead on his property. They told him to get hold of a private veterinary ASAP. He followed their suggestion and had the good fortune to get a local vet who’s wife had a video and a still camera, both of which she used extensively.

The vet examined the wolf and found hair of the black calf in it's stomach. He examined the calf and found that it’s stomach contained some of the substance a cow gives when she first gives birth as her milk is starting - thereby verifying that the calf was born alive. A state vet was also called and he pretty much verified what the private vet had discovered. (Though, both probably were violating federal law by tampering with a “crime scene”)

Fortunately for the rancher, it was Sunday and the feds don't work on Sunday so didn’t arrive until Monday AM, whereupon they informed the rancher he was a criminal and they threatened him with all kinds of trouble. Being a guy with a short fuse, he told them where they could go using some very colorful language which they got on tape.

In spite of all their excitement and threats, they did not arrest the gentleman on account of the evidence the vet and his wife had collected. They collected the bodies of both animals and sent them off to an unnamed government laboratory which reported as instructed that the calf had been born dead. Without the vet’s testimony to the contrary, that information could have gotten the rancher convicted of killing an endangered species. (Protecting his livestock was a viable defense to that)

At the time, I was interested (because the wolfers were actively trying to get wolves introduced in this peninsula) and I followed up on the story. I talked by E-Mail and phone with the private veterinary. This is what he told me was his theory of the happening:

“The wolf was lying within easy sight of the county road. It was a small wolf and I believe some citizen driving by saw what he thought was a coyote eating a calf so he did what is customary for good citizenship in this part of the country, he shot the critter and his marksmanship was perfect. He shot it right through the heart and it died instantly, leaving a scene that appeared to be staged - but wasn’t. Then, he examined his kill, saw the radio collar and did a very quick exit - - - - - - - as I would have advised him to do.”

After months of hassles and threats, the government finally wrapped up the case by paying the rancher for the lost calf. But, without the help of neighbors and the fact that bureaucrats don’t like to be aroused on Sunday, that poor rancher would most likely have spent time in a federal jail.

If anybody thinks having protected wolves on this peninsula is just a simple matter of shooting them - - or that it won't be a problem for farmers - - -- - ponder this and think again.

Something awful has happened to the USA when a man peacefully minding his cattle is put in jeapardy of prison for killing a deadly predator. But, that is where the "environmentalist" eco-Religion has brought us. Marv