Predators have never been popular among humans. In ancient times they competed with us for food when hunting, or even hunted us. When humans began to from agricultural societies and domesticate livestock, those same predators would once again take our food, endangering our lives. While civilization as come a long way, but in many places, such as Oregon, a large portion of the population is still agriculture based, and still hold the same view of predators, and wolves are no acceptation.
The difference is, this time around, humanity has not had to deal with these predators, with wolves having been gone for a long time. Their reintroduction to Oregon is not seen as a return to the norm, but a deviation from it, one that can threaten livelihoods, or people. Already we have seen these 158 wolves removed from Oregon’s endangered species list, with the state opening doors that could lead to hunting and trapping of these animals (CBD, 2020), and these wolves place on the federal list is also being challenged (ODFW, 2019). If these protections are removed, I believe that there will be a push to, essentially, legally allow these populations to be decimated in the form of hunting and trapping.
The wolf populations are not large enough to handle that sort of treatment at this time. they have yet to move into the remaining 90% of suitable habitat found in the state, and lets be honest, 158 individuals is not a lot of wolves. 158 people in a building is a lot, 158 people in a town isn’t much, 158 people in a city makes it abandoned, and 158 people in a state the size of Oregon makes in uninhabited. Trying to justify hunting or trapping as a form of population control on a population that doesn’t need it is ridiculous, with the main motivation largely being “wolves are threatening livestock and livelihoods, so they need to be kept at a minimum population”.
Simply put, I see the push to delist the wolves of Oregon not as a sign that they are doing well and no longer need protection, but as an effort to appease a public that doesn’t want them around, and is slowly stripping away their protections as a peace offering, one that could, and would, damage these small populations.
