The recent letter "Killing wolves is murder" is another example of people talking about things they know nothing about. Example: Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a person. Well, that's wrong.
"Killing elk for food in restaurants and most don't like it." Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I had a buddy and his wife over for dinner and we were going to have elk. My buddy said that his wife didn't like elk. I said we will see. Dinner went by and the wife ate everything. She asked what was that? I said elk. She said, no way. I said yes.
The letter said wolves take down a sick elk for food. Elk don't get sick. They get older and taken down. Brucellosis is the only sickness that elk get and less than 2 percent of the entire elk population of the U.S. has it.
Humans killing each other randomly is tragic, but comparing the killing of 8-year-old Robert to wolf cubs is wrong.
Do you have any idea how much wolf management costs? Do you know who pays for the Fish and Game Department? That would be hunters and fishermen. Do you know who pays for the cost of lawsuits brought by animal rights groups over wolves? That would be hunters. Do you know how much financial participation animal rights groups provide to wolf management programs? That would be zero. So Fish and Game spends money on lawsuits instead of spending it on fish and wildlife programs. That really makes a lot of sense.
It's right that humans are good for destruction—so are wolves. Wolves don't kill just to eat. They also kill elk for fun and leave them to rot. If you would like proof, call me and I will send you pictures.
Get animal rights people to financially support management instead of lawsuits. Management helps everyone.
John Nycum
Ketchum
