Wolves could return to Scotland

[STEED]

Well I can see the :up: and the :down: but as I don't live in Scotland there be no bother to me.

Wolf 'would benefit Scotland' (http://www.itv.com/news/britain_dc4b1ef3e1beeafb2d876e4974d9b0ef.html)

Bringing wolves back to Scotland would benefit the environment and economy, a study has found.

[Letum]

I remember talks of reintroducing the wolf back in the late 1990s.

The main problems are public land access, predator and prey population control and protection of domestic livestock.

A wolf will go for a nice fat, slow sheep and lamb far sooner then it will go for a fast deer and every part of the Scottish heathland has sheep on it at sometime in the year.

However, if someone thinks they can make enough money from wolves in Scotland, all obstacles will fall before the mighty pound £££.

Personally I doubt wolves will make enough money for someone to invest in them, but I'm no rural business analyzer, so thats just a guess!

[Happy Times]

It would be better to organize deer hunting for tourists, together with some fishing and whisky tastings it would bring more money. Same types of people are presently trying to grow the numbers of bears and wolfs in Finland, and they are everywhere allready. They roam on peoples yards attacking pets and livestock. Its a matter of time when human casualties come, probably children walking to school..
Im 100% sure that 500 wolfs would create chaos in Scotland..

[STEED]

Well they would have to control them and that will cost a lot of money, I don't think we will ever see them back in Scotland and this topic will pop up again in a few years.

[snowsub]

what about those dogs that live with the sheep to deter wolves, then the sheep would be safe and the wolves would have to hunt the deer :hmm:

[XabbaRus]

Another great idea not. Saying that we could let them loose in the highlands, and then those outward bound trips they do for wayward young people could be sent there. Saying that the wolves would probably turn them down for something more appetising.

[Happy Times]

I would concentrate on returning independence instead of listening those "imperialists"..

[TteFAboB]

Wolves and deer are boring to hunt.

Why don't you let loose some Rhinos and Elephants for some real wild hunting? There's be no danger to people, you can spot these things coming from far away, unlike a sneaky bear or wolf.

[August]

what about those dogs that live with the sheep to deter wolves, then the sheep would be safe and the wolves would have to hunt the deer :hmm:

A pack of hungry wolves is not going to be deterred by a couple of dogs. You'd need a pack as large or larger and dogs are expensive to keep.

Y'know there are good reasons that wolves (and coyotes and bears and big cats) have been driven out of our habitat, and it's not because they make toasty boot and hood liners, or cool native headresses.

We play these predator adjustment games at our peril.

[CCIP]

Does anyone actually have statistics on real damage from wolf attacks?

I'm skeptical, personally. All the articles I've read about wolves (and other large wild animals) seem to suggest that their image as a real threat to the public and even, to some extent, livestock, is overblown and in fact nearly nonexistent.

[August]

Does anyone actually have statistics on real damage from wolf attacks?

I'm skeptical, personally. All the articles I've read about wolves (and other large wild animals) seem to suggest that their image as a real threat to the public and even, to some extent, livestock, is overblown and in fact nearly nonexistent.

They were nearly nonexistant mainly because their numbers had been reduced. Now that we're allowing their numbers to increase so too will the numbers of attacks on humans, pets and livestock.

This is an old article (2001) but the problem has not lessened since.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0827_wirepredators.html

[TteFAboB]

Just pick the statistic from dog attacks and mess with it. Double it, adjust for proportion, etc.

If there are problems with untrained dogs, attacks on children and other animals, a wild undomesticated wolf driven by instinct and hunger, even less trained than a non/poorly trained pet, is double the trouble.

It is interesting. They wanted to ban the Rottweiler somewhere in Germany. Now they want wolves in Scotland. I say, grab all German Rottweilers and drop them in Scottish forests!

[lesrae]

I was expecting a football thread :oops:

[Happy Times]

We have some 250 wolfes and over 1000 bears in Finland and more space to roam, still we are starting to have problems. If the the Scottish highlands are empty today, few bears might fit there, but not 500 wolfs! The bear has traditionally been respected in Finland for thousands of years, but these plans to grow populations are hurting that status.
BTW, the plans come from the EU comission, and they have taken Finland to court for killing wolfs that have attacked lifestock.
So ones you let them loose, you arent allowed to control the population.:doh: In Finland they want to grow the numbers to something unbearable, that icludes also the Lynx (1200) and Wolwerine (150)..