Wolves Had Beef For Thanksgiving
How many of you bucked tradition and had beef for Thanksgiving? I’m Susan Allen when Open Range returns, I'll tell you about some Northwest ranchers who weren’t happy beef was on the holiday menu . Beef, not wild turkey was what the Imnaha wolf pack that roams Wallowa County in the Northeastern corner of Oregon wanted for Thanksgiving dinner. Actually veal, because at the two ranches they visited (confirmed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) they attacked a pregnant cow, only to consume the unborn fetus while the animal was alive. In the second killing the wolves were pickier, again desiring a tender fetus they took down a cow, biting through her reproductive organs and discovering she was barren they nibbled on her then left, all just a third of a mile from the rancher’s home. It will be a bleak holiday for this family, there won’t be sledding,snowmen or snowball fights because their children and dogs are no longer allowed to play outside alone. Fish and Wildlife is supposed to notify ranchers when wolves are nearby, the departments text was no surprise as the family heard them howling all morning. Wolf support groups oppose any lethal means to remove wolves and have publically stated that compensating ranchers for their loss is a fair solution. The wolves responsible for the Thanksgiving massacre are the same offenders that were to be culled until at the request of conservation groups the Oregon Court of Appeals granted a stay on the kill order. One rancher was told he would probably qualify for $5000 compensation, basically an insult when you consider he has lost the ability to protect his livestock, pets, brave cow dogs and children!
