Stop shooting wolves/re-introduce wolves to NL.

[Kevin]

Here is an incredible video on how wolves changed the landscape.  I think NL would do well to reintroduce wolves.  They would regulate a lot of things in NL.  They would not eliminate or kill everything.  They would help regulate coyotes.  They are very shy and tend to stay away from people as opposed to coyotes that seem to co-habit with humans.  Wolves do not go out of their way to attack people. Check out this short video, it is well done. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

[Billy Guest]

No, they will not kill everything...but they have been known to kill more than they need to survive. Yes, they will put a hurtin on coyotes, but isn't our caribou and moose declining enough? As much as I'd like to see a wolf/wolves in the wild, (I'm all for protecting and conserving all wildlife/wilderness areas) but, with the added pressure of wolves on this island, along with our famous numbers of poachers, I'd say, we can certainly say goodbye to our woodland caribou, and much steeper decline in moose. 

[Kevin]

Did you watch the video?  

It is a well accepted fact that what a wolf kills is not left to waste.   The woodland Caribou may well have benefited from a wolf pack on the Island,  in fact they probably did before the wolf became extinct here on the island.  Over grazing and high population is a perfect recipe for disease resulting in declining population on an island.   

I do agree with the famous numbers of poachers being a big problem.  You wouldn't believe how many stories I heard from people who got their moose.  When the story comes out almost all of them was done illegally.  They don't think they did anything wrong because they are doing it the way they always have.  For example you may not shoot a moose in your back yard or Fred's back yard even if he gives you permission.  You can't shoot a gun with in 300 yards of a residence, nothing negates that.  How many guys are shooting moose on their wives tags, and she never sees the moose until it's in the freezer.  It goes on. People are a bigger problem than anything.

[Billy Guest]

Yes I did, but this video is also a "pro-wolf" video..people who have seen the bad effects of them, would have not posted a video showing how great they are. With that said, yes, we need predators in the wild to help manage game populations, but if you introduce another predator to an island such as ours, where our wildlife (big game) is not managed very well, and is in a horrible state at the moment, they may not help the ecosystem. Like I said, I am all for a healthy forest/wilderness environment and healthy wildlife! But take into fact, we are an island!! so our ecosystem is much more brittle and easily changed (for the better or worse) much faster than other vast expanses of land.  

[Kevin]

Yea, good points, but there used to be wolves on the island.     

[Billy Guest]

Yes, I know! and it's a sin that they were hunted / killed off to extinction...Unfortunately, nothing is sacred in this world.

[Peter Emberley]

B'ys you have a great discussion going. For the record I'm against the wolves, both you fellas are making great points.

[Dave Rawson]

There is no majical formula to see the results of reintroducing wolves here but when you start trying to shape nature  to suit your own agenda the results aren't always what you expect them to be. Yes wolves used to be here, but don't forget that moose were introduced here  a long time ago