Wolves, Dogs and the Law of the Land

People are killing dogs and wolves are killing cows. These are the past summer’s events of my Northwest Montana home, and more specifically, the events of Pinkham Creek Drainage bordering the Kootenai National Forest.

The Lydia Pack is a growing band of exiles; for wolves are like Palestinians. To open my mouth in the political and social climate of Northwest Montana and to actually say I support the wolves would be equivalent to saying I have sympathy for the Palestinians. Both are complex issues that span generations. Both are shrouded in fear, superstition, and misinformation. And dogs are like the Israelis, whose actions are misguided, justified and supported by ideology rather than fact or rule of law.

The complexity comes from my own ambivalence. I live in the Pinkham Creek drainage and know that this is no place for wolves. If I were to fall victim to my own ideology, I would say that wolves belong here but cows don’t. Realistically, these extreme attitudes are the same ones that guide people into actions of foolishness. These actions of foolishness are not guided by rule of law or common sense. And fools don’t look at statistics or the whole picture.

In 2000, dogs killed 1100 sheep and cattle in the state of Montana alone. Wolves killed ten. Dogs kill people. Wolves have only been known to kill one or two people in the whole course of American history. On average, 12-15 people die from dogs nationally every year. These numbers are higher in areas where certain breeds of dogs are higher per capita. 80% of these fatalities are children. Yet dogs are “man’s best friend.” Many dog owners are in denial. Like some sick, dysfunctional family denial pattern from the 70’s movie, Ordinary People, the owner of a killer dog is often times the first to say, “My dog would never do such a thing.” The truth is, dogs do. They go out and kill for sport, and then come home looking innocent and expecting their evening dog chow.

These owners are many times unaware of the law and the law of the land. Many times these dog owners are from urban areas, thankful that Fido can run free and not be chained up any longer. But in Montana, if a dog so much as “harasses” livestock on private property, the owner of that private property has the right to shoot the dog immediately. This is predator control. If the dog owner can’t keep their dogs controlled, the law sides with the livestock owner. Similarly, if the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks can’t keep the wolves controlled, the wolves have got to go. Preferably alive and relocated, but in other cases, the wolf will need to be put down.

The wolves cannot exist in the Pinkham Creek drainage. Free range cows are the only herd animals here. The deer and the elk don’t herd up here- the drainage is too narrow. It is not healthy wolf habitat, so the wolves end up doing unhealthy things. The wolves need to lose graciously and be relocated to an area more hospitable. There needs to be aggressive trapping and relocating that works. Rumor even has it that the population of wolves has become large enough to put a dent in the coyote population ‘round these parts. A few years ago, I got to see my first wolf slinking across highway 93 near Dickey Lake where residents have been seeing them for years. A former co-worker of mine used to see them regularly when she walked her kids to the bus stop. From there, it is only a hop, skip and a jump to cow country Kootenai forest style: the wolves have migrated and spread into heavy free range areas.

The Fish and Game has now decided that there will be a wolf hunting season to reduce wolf population in areas of Montana and Idaho. Currently, the population is around 700. They are looking to reduce the population to 200. I have mixed feelings about this. I am tired of wolves getting the bad wrap when it really has to do with conflict in habitat. I also don’t consider giving a rancher with wolf problems the authority to shoot or trap a wolf wrong if local populations are troublesome and heavy on their own property. And isn’t wildlife management- especially in this case- about keeping a wolf population within acceptable limits? Maybe Fish, Wildlife and Parks wanted to create a wolf hunting season all along? I don’t know how much a hunting permit will cost to hunt wolves, but I am anticipating that wolf hunting will attract more trophy hunters with private aircraft. This was the first year that I heard private aircraft hovering around the Pinkham drainage scoping out game during hunting season I am not looking forward to more of the same.

Dogs have population problems of their own. The Humane Society puts down millions of dogs per year. For every human born, 15 dogs are born. Dogs have traditionally been considered man’s best friend by their owners. To others, dogs are simply pests. Dog behavior isn’t special or cute. It is behavior that can be attributable to a breed and can be dangerous in many instances. Dog bites can happen out of the blue by dogs that are considered harmless family pets. When I was five, I received a dog bite from a Great Dane that gave me 44 stitches to my forehead. If my parents hadn’t been there to stop the pet, I would have been another fatality. When I look in the mirror, the scars are still a glaring reminder. Similarly, an Australian shepherd took a chunk of my son’s ear off when he was 2 after I was reassured that the dog was used to children. So please, keep your dogs controlled and don’t assume innocence. At the same time, we hope agencies will control wolf populations and make sure they are roaming in the appropriate habitat. It is not the wolves fault if these criteria are not met by managing bureaucracies. Similarly, it is the dog owners fault when dogs kill and maim, harass livestock, roam at large near highways, or aren’t spayed or neutered and allowed to breed profusely. Fortunately our laws do provide for some protection against dog damage. Not everybody feels like dogs are man’s best friend and there is plenty of evidence to support these opinions.