Hunter seeks compensation for dogs killed by wolves

[stacwase]

You just have to read this article! I want to hear ALL of your opinions! I'm sure the DNR and the newspaper would be happy to hear your opinions, as well as the SPCA!!!

The newspaper's email address is www.dailypress.net. I don't have the DNR's address, or the address for the SPCA - but I'll be happy to get it!

[stacwase]

So - if this guy's so concerned about his dogs, why did he bring dog after dog after dog back to the same wolf pack's hunting territory??? Sounds to me like he was trying to get his dogs killed. How about you?

[Kfamr]

For one, it's his fault that his dogs are getting aten. If he didn't bring them out there in the first place, or if he hadn't of let them loose- they wouldn't have gotten ate. The stupid man doesn't even seem upset that his dogs were killed from the sounds of it in the article. I wouldn't even be able to go back out hunting after the first one was killed. Seems as if they're just tools instead of pets to him, like property. It's not the wolf's fault -- he saw it as a free meal.

And, if he did think of them as pets -- NOTHING would compensate for the loss of them.

What does he want from wolves? does he want the species to die off completely? Does he want his other "dogs" to be able to eat a wolf... what could he possibly get out of it?

[stacwase]

Apparently he's trying to get $30,000 (he states that each dog is worth $5000). What a creep. It says he has 8 more dogs. They should be taken away from him before he gets them killed, too.

[K9soul]

More than likely the wolves saw the dog as a predatory threat to their territory. Wolves don't even want other non-pack wolves hanging in their territory because it's a danger not only to their young but to their food supply as well.

This guy should just be banned from having any more dogs :(

They are hunting tools to him, not his livelihood the way livestock is.

Another thought I had was, this guy is using the dogs to hunt bears... so wouldn't they be in just as much danger of getting killed by the bears he is hunting?? And why does he need to hunt bears and put the dogs in peril like that anyway.. for sport? So he wants to be reimbursed for his 'losses' in his hunting sport. I wonder how many dogs he's lost to bears before. I'm sure he didn't mention that.

[stacwase]

Actually I do think it is quite rare to lose a dog to a bear - at least I haven't heard of it happening much. It was only recently made legal to use dogs for bear hunting here, as they give the hunter such an advantage over the bear.

But - was it worth it to him to lose 6 dogs trying to get a bear??? I mean - you only get one bear tag per year, and that's if you're lucky. You have to enter a lottery for a bear tag. So he was willing to kill six of his dogs just to get his one bear.

If he has 8 dogs left that means he had 14 dogs. Obviously he wasn't treating them as pets. I'm sure they were all kept outdoors. Poor things. First they're kept outdoors in the UP all year (and it literally gets 30 below zero here in the winter), and then he brings them into wolf territory to be picked off one at a time.

Why did he keep going back to that spot? There are lots of places he could hunt.

They should be taken away from him. Today I'm writing the SPCA. Do you think they'll do anything?

[lv4dogs]

I agree with everyone here. why would you take dog after dog to the same location, only to be killed. Sounds as if he is really stupid &/or deliberatly trying to get attention. The dogs are most likely not pets, especially with 14 of them.
And $5000.00 per dog??? I think that price is a little high, maybe a thousand or 1500 but probably not 5000. I know if I ever paid 5000 for a dog that dog would never leave my sight! Gosh one of them dogs are worth more than my truck & house combined!

He took his dogs loose into the wild, where it is the wolves territory! I could MAYBE see if the wolves came into HIS yard & killed the dogs.

Personally if it were me I wouldn't do a damn thing about it no matter what or where my dogs were killed by wolves as I look at as nature, they were here first. We took over their spots! Damn humans ruin a lot of things. I would certainly be very very sad.

Everyone now-a-days is into suing everyone for everything that happens, always trying to put the blame elsewhere. Always being greedy looking for money. I hate the way the world is now, it sucks!

Wolves were here first, we (man) have made them in the brink of being endangered. We (man) should help bring them back!

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

Clearly the wolves aren't killing the dogs for fun--they are hungry. So, maybe if the hunter wasn't hunting bears, the wolves could eat the bears instead of his dogs. It seems to me that he's the one messing up nature's cycle. Those poor dogs, and wolves, and bears!

[ramanth]

I don't fully understand the purpose of using a dog to bear hunt. Duck hunting, yes....(retrievers), but bear hunting?! I can only see the bear getting peeved and trying to hurt the dog, or running from the dog and then the hunter still has to track down both his dog and the bear.

If you just let your dog loose to 'find a bear', it's likely it'll find anything in the wild... wolves, cougers, ect. The money and 'worth' of the dogs obviously means more to him than the dogs life. He can hunt a bear without the dogs, so I wouldn't even classify them in the same category as livestock, nor should he be reimbursed.

Jeff Corwin just hosted a very good special on wolves a while ago.

[stacwase]

I don't think the wolves are hungry right now - or they would have eaten the bears. The deer population is extremely high at this point. I think they're killing the dogs because they're intruding in their territory. They want to ensure that the animals are there later when they need to eat them.

I think that's the reason they use dogs to hunt bear - the dogs manage to peeve the bears and either the dogs tree the bears or the bears chase the dogs back to the hunters. You're right - the dogs are probably equally likely to lead them to some other sort of wildlife.

Either way the hunter is messing with the wolves' territory and abusing his dogs. He shouldn't be reimbursed for the cost of the dogs - he should be fined for animal cruelty! Or maybe he should be left out there in the woods alone with a pack of wolves and no gun! I think that would be fair. In fact - he should be left out there later this winter when the wolves are hungry! Maybe all that would be left of him would be HIS head and shoulders! :)

[K9soul]

Jeff Corwin just hosted a very good special on wolves a while ago.

I watched that, it was a good episode. Wolves have always been one of my passions to see and learn about. They are such wonderful creatures.

I agree that they kill the dogs due to a threat in their territory, not to hunt for food. But they also aren't wasteful animals so they will take advantage of fresh meat. Also the dogs may have been eaten too by scavengers.

[Corinna]

I' m going to risk pissing people off, but. I don't agree with hunting bears with dogs. It is illeagal in most states. Now that said, I think you are all missing the point.I f the wolves are killing domestic animals and so quickly. I would be in fear of them traveling in to populated areas , human children would have now defence to life though this packs attacks.
We have several packs in our area they have gotten so big and fearless that they are killing each other, we have had cattle and other hoofed animals. If they do start on dogs the game department will have to do some more changes to wolf management.
I aslo agree he was stupid in returning to the same area after the first dog, but really after 2 I think he should have his head examaiined.

[K9soul]

Now that said, I think you are all missing the point.I f the wolves are killing domestic animals and so quickly. I would be in fear of them traveling in to populated areas , human children would have now defence to life though this packs attacks.

They are killing a domestic animal out in the woods in their territory, another predator as they see it. It is not the pack going to the man's home and killing his animals.

Also, I don't think people realize this.. but in college and during my vast research on wolves in North America, I learned this:

There is not one single recording of a healthy wolf (non-rabid) ever killing a human in North America.

Cougars and bears are far more dangerous to people.