A federal judge has allowed the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado to move forward in the coming days by denying a request Friday from the state’s cattle industry for a temporary delay in the predators’ release.
While the lawsuit will continue, Judge Regina Rodriguez’s ruling allows Colorado to proceed with its plan to find, capture and transport up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday. The deadline to put paws on the ground under the voter-approved initiative is December 31.
The lawsuit from the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association alleges that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to adequately review the potential impacts of Colorado’s plan to release up to 50 wolves in Colorado over the next several years.
They already have. It’s not been publicly acknowledged because there are powerful land-use interests that want us to believe that they are only shooting “coyotes.”
That said, the cheapest and most effective way to protect herds is with dogs. They’ve been doing it in Europe and parts of Asia for thousands of years, so it’s not as if the knowledge isn’t out there. It’s what your giant breeds like mastiffs, great Pyrenees and Anatolian shepherds and the like we’re originally bred for.