Save the grizzly from trophy hunters

[Rwede]

No one kills animals for fun.

Wolves do. The most primal of apex predators that many of the anti-hunters idolize...yet another apex predator like man is shunned for his instincts as a predator.

Humans don't have their eyes in the fronts of their heads to judge distances to garden vegetables - it's to judge distances to attack and kill other animals for food. All predators have similar eye configurations, while prey animals have their eyes on the sides on their heads to detect attacks from behind.

One report I read had 2 wolves killing 176 sheep in 1 night. Another recorded incident saw the deaths of 105 sheep in 1 night. And yet another of 122 sheep in 1 night.

[maryjane48]

thats what happens when you raise food for wolves , they eat

[KL3-Something]

thats what happens when you raise food for wolves , they eat

Wolves kill to eat, true.

But they also kill for fun. And only for fun. Without eating a bite. A lot.

[maryjane48]

ok so if that is true , how did we arrive a situation of to many wolves and not enough cariboo? and even if wolfs do need be controlled , has zero to do with pure trophy hunting

[zzontar]

Wolves kill to eat, true.

But they also kill for fun. And only for fun. Without eating a bite. A lot.

Perhaps it's more like they're programmed to kill as many prey as possible at once as in the wild it would be to their advantage as they'd probably only kill a few animals of which most if not all would be eaten. There's nothing in the wild I can think of that would duplicate penned up sheep with nowhere to run. It's like saying a goldfish eats for fun so will eat all the food you can give it until it dies of overeating. In nature, there's not that much food for that to happen.

[Rwede]

Wolves are not that likely to return to kill sites and eat. They'll lounge around for a day or so and feast, then be on their way. They avoid the attention that a kill site brings, as other predators and scavengers quickly disclose a location. Ravens have been known to call their brethren from great distances to share in a meal.

2 wolves can't even start to consume 176 sheep. They kill for fun, and will keep their skills sharp whenever an opportunity presents itself by killing, whether they want to eat or not.

A recent moose study found that about 41% of the ungulates' deaths were from wolves, and researchers often found other predators at the kill sites - the wolves were long gone.

[Glacier]

Friends in Vavenby/Clearwater area have sheep they pasture out in the alpine. They need armed guards at times to keep the wolves from killing all the sheep. If the shepherd is not paying attention, wolves will go on a killing spree just for fun, and won't stop until every last sheep is dead.

[zzontar]

Friends in Vavenby/Clearwater area have sheep they pasture out in the alpine. They need armed guards at times to keep the wolves from killing all the sheep. If the shepherd is not paying attention, wolves will go on a killing spree just for fun, and won't stop until every last sheep is dead.

I'm still not convinced that they're having "fun" by killing or that again it's their instinct to kill prey at will as before man these situations wouldn't exist. When people go out to kill for fun a lot would shoot anything that moves given the chance. If wolves just liked killing for fun, it's odd they wouldn't be taking people down like sheep. A person with a gun who kills for fun wouldn't hesitate to kill a wolf whereas these wolves who supposedly kill for fun would seldom, if ever, kill a human. If only they wagged their tails more it would be so much easier to tell...

[maryjane48]

sad some folks lie to justify killing . i asked how we arrived in situation of to many wolves not enough ungulates . they wont answer because they would have to say humans .

[zzontar]

A theoretical question to the hunters. If there is an overpopulation of dogs, who for fun or sport would be game to have them released into the wild where they could be shot and killed? Why or why not?

[Poindexter]

A theoretical question to the hunters. If there is an overpopulation of dogs, who for fun or sport would be game to have them released into the wild where they could be shot and killed? Why or why not?

Yes and only because I'd treasure a multi-poo's head on my wall. :)

[Jx3]

Friends in Vavenby/Clearwater area have sheep they pasture out in the alpine. They need armed guards at times to keep the wolves from killing all the sheep. If the shepherd is not paying attention, wolves will go on a killing spree just for fun, and won't stop until every last sheep is dead.

OK, I think it's been established that wolves are *bleep*. The thread is about trophy hunting grizzlies though. I am not anti-hunting but I am anti-trophy hunting.

[Glacier]

OK, I think it's been established that wolves are *bleep*. The thread is about trophy hunting grizzlies though. I am not anti-hunting but I am anti-trophy hunting.

By law you are only allowed to shoot trophy sheep. In many areas the rams have to have a full curl. Are you against a hunter engaging in such a hunt if his main purpose is to collect the beautiful head (and keeping the meat is just a bonus for him)?

[Jx3]

By law you are only allowed to shoot trophy sheep. In many areas the rams have to have a full curl. Are you against a hunter engaging in such a hunt if his main purpose is to collect the beautiful head (and keeping the meat is just a bonus for him)?

Admittedly it's just semantics here but a hunter engaging in a hunt for food where the "beautiful head" is just a bonus, yes. A hunter engaging in a hunt for a "beautiful head" where the meat is just a bonus, not so much.

Personally I believe that the "beautiful head" likely has a much greater value to the ram than it does to someone that just has some space to fill on a wall. On the other hand, if a hunter is looking to sustain himself and/or his family with meat first and foremost and wants to make use of more of the animal he has just killed by mounting the head then that is a little different than someone solely interested in showing off his bravado by having a wall full of "trophies" collecting dust where the meat is only "just a bonus" or is not used at all.

[Gone_Fishin]

From a study of BC hunters by Zeman, 2006:

By a significant margin, the leading motivation was to obtain game meat, followed by being close to
nature, getting away from day to day activity and the company of partners and family (BC MOE,
2005b, p.6). Bagging a trophy was identified as the most insignificant motivation to hunt, with
only 3% of respondents indicating that as their leading motivation (BC MOE, 2005b, p.7).


Many posts on this thread are very, very misinformed about why hunters do what they do.