Bad deal

[wymtnpounder]

https://www.wyofile.com/bighorns-bears-and-bad-blood-grazing-v-wildlife-on-owl-creek/

 

[wytx]

The G&F will put down any bighorns that come in contact with domestic sheep.

 

[wymtnpounder]

The G&F will put down any bighorns that come in contact with domestic sheep.

Only it's not that simple. It's not like they can watch the sheep 24/7 and in the article it states they never found the rams they were after. Those ram could have already co mingled with others spreading potential pathogens to the largest bighorn heard in America.
Not sure what the answer is. I'm not a fan of government intervention, but it sure seem like our wildlife are being used as a pawn.

 

[MallardMaster]

Interesting article to say the least. It certainly is quite the never ending conundrum dealing with wildlife conflicts and what to do. We all have our opinions on it and whether right or wrong, there never seems to be a good answer. I for one am glad that the band of rams went into hiding, but whose to say that they won't get back after it again in the future. Crappy situation to say the least.

 

[wytx]

Only it's not that simple. It's not like they can watch the sheep 24/7 and in the article it states they never found the rams they were after. Those ram could have already co mingled with others spreading potential pathogens to the largest bighorn heard in America.
Not sure what the answer is. I'm not a fan of government intervention, but it sure seem like our wildlife are being used as a pawn.

Not simple but that is just what they try to do. Put down any bighorn that come in contact with domestic sheep. The disease spread can be real and very fatal to our bighorn herds.
It is hard to fathom that anyone is making real money on domestic sheep these days but I guess they do.

 

[Shrek]

The rancher isn’t making any real money on the sheep. He’s running sheep as leverage to get the grazing permits he wants. He’s well aware of the problem of domestic sheep mingling with wild sheep and he’s using the threat to get what he wants. Now he’s pushing his sheep farther up the drainage to increase the pressure. I have sympathy for the ranchers but they don’t own the public land and they’re not entitled to use it for grazing. The BLM was being dicks about the grazing permits and demanding easements for the permits which is extortion imo. It has devolved into a pissing contest and everyone and everything is losing. The Ranchers are losing , the BLM isn’t getting the easements , and the wildlife is caught in the middle. The only ones winning are the environmental nazis’ lawyers who interject and make sure there is no compromise. They get paid from the government under the equal access to justice act so they’re screwing everyone and the wildlife they are claiming to care about most of all.