Bolt1784 wrote:That's a California condor. Ever heard of one? No? Exactly.[/center][/size]
I have! I grew up near a breeding program and hope to one day go down to the Grand Canyon for the annual release. I got to see them regularly in captivity but it's nothing to seeing one in the air over such a beautiful landscape. A friend of mine has been involved in it for many years now and says it's amazing when they choose to soar over the canyon after they're released.
As far as wolves are concerned, I think they are magnificent animals but, like anything else, their populations need to be kept in check. It is an absolute shame they were completely extinguished in the first place but, now that we have them back in some crucial areas, we also have to keep in mind that, despite the fact that wolves were here before ranchers, we cannot expect people to quit their homes and livelihoods to give the land back to the wolves.
Honeyfern, I have plenty of access to good grocery stores and my home, while it's a good drive, is not all that far from civilization but we still hunt every chance we get. We have lots of carnivorous mouths to feed as well as my husband and myself so we choose to hunt ducks, pheasants, deer, elk, etc. I could easily go to the grocery store and pick up some steaks but that is no better. There is far more cruelty in mass meat production than there is in my hunting. I also choose to raise my own meat animals. Those of us who hunt for our food and/or raise our own food are very close to the source of our food and we have a deep respect for the animals that nourish us. When I go out and hunt, I go out knowing that my prey knows the forest MUCH better than I do and that there is a great chance of me going home empty handed. I won't hunt what I don't intend to eat so I don't hunt mountain lions or coyotes or wolves or raccoons. I WILL kill one that is a threat to my animals or to us but I always prefer to fire a warning shot to scare the predator off. I am happy to share my land with them so long as they leave my animals alone. Most hunters I know will either eat the animal themselves or donate the meat to feed those who might otherwise go hungry. Either way, it's eaten. I also know that, when I do bring down an animal, I am helping keep the population at a level the environment can support. Tags are issued for most animals to limit the number of that species taken every year. Hunters don't just go out willy nilly whenever they please.
I hope you don't take this as me telling you that you're wrong. I just hope you can understand where hunters come from. Every hunter I know despises poachers just like you do whether they poach deer wolves, or whatever they have illegally killed. I don't like that wolves were killed like they were either. There was a lot of fear mongering back then. It happened with the thylacines on Tasmania too. Animals were often made out to be monsters and human thought it was best to just get rid of them all. The wolves should never have been hunted like they were before but our species is understanding our mistake now and we are doing our best to rectify it. The wolves are thriving and, as a result, we do have to cull some to keep the balance. Too many wolves and too few are both a problem.
Also wolves are actually tame sweethearts that deserve hugs and would never try to hurt anything!! Also they're SUPER ENDANGERED. 