skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study: Killing Wolves May Not Protect Livestock

play audio
Play

Thursday, September 15, 2016   

BOISE, Idaho — There is little evidence that killing predators such as wolves, coyotes and bears actually protects livestock according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment.

The article, "Predator Control Should Not Be a Shot in the Dark," is the work of researchers from the University of Wisconsin and two other schools who evaluated two dozen earlier studies to determine whether the methods were sound. They found that half the studies weren't sufficiently rigorous.

Gary Macfarlane, conservation advocate with the Idaho conservation group Friends of the Clearwater, said leaving stable packs in place may actually reduce the number of predators.

"When you have a more consistent social structure where they're not stressed by human killing and other actions that reduce the population, then you tend to see a more stable social environment and so you don't have as many mouths to feed,” Macfarlane said.

He said pups of predators in socially disrupted packs are more likely to prey on livestock.

The Northern Rockies gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list in Idaho in 2009 and there are now close to 800 wolves in the state, according to Idaho Fish and Game.

Macfarlane said saving wolves was a costly venture, but since delisting the animal, the state has allowed for the hunting and trapping of Idaho's gray wolf, possibly resulting in a rollback of some of those gains.

"Ironically, we spent millions of dollars to recover wolves in the northern Rockies and now they're being killed right and left,” he said. "Idaho's statewide wolf plan really doesn't have a population figure; they just want to try to keep it somewhere above 150, which was the original floor in the recovery plan."

Predator depredation of livestock is a bigger concern in the southern part of the state, Macfarlane said. Wolves are mainly killed in Idaho's panhandle to protect the large herds of elk.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021