A Meat and Dairy Article from All-Creatures.org

A Beef About Beef: Boycott Long Overdue?

From Michael W. Fox BetMed, PhD, DSc, MRCVS, One Health
September 2023

The continuing assaults, documented in this review, by the cattle industry, on wildlands, biodiversity, indigenous peoples and wildlife, contributions to climate change and risks to consumers and public health call for full accountability: And change.

Wolf: photo from Animals in the Wild: Wildlife Photography by Jim Robertson

U.S. cattle ranchers have waged war on wolves and other predators for centuries, which ultimately disrupts the valuable ecological services these predators play in keeping deer and elk herds as well as forests, healthy; and indirectly, benefiting public health.

Following a February 10, 2022, court order, gray wolves in the contiguous 48 states and Mexico – except for the Northern Rocky Mountain population (Northern Rocky Mtn of ID, MT, WY; eastern 1/3 of OR, WA; north-central UT) – are now protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), classified as threatened in Minnesota and endangered in the remaining states. (ws.gov/initiative/protecting- wildlife/gray-wolf-recovery-news-and-updates). Wolf hunting in Alaska is virtually unregulated.

This disturbing August 18, 2023 article by Christopher Ingraham USDA kills hundreds of Minnesota wolves to protect ranchers underscores the perpetuation of this insanity. (2). He writes: “In 2022, there were 174 documented wolf deaths in Minnesota, according to the latest state Department of Natural Resources data. Of those, 142 were killed by a relatively obscure arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called the Wildlife Services division.

USDA officers kill more wolves in Minnesota than in all other states combined, according to the program’s annual reports. That work is effectively a government handout to ranchers, who receive publicly funded protection for their privately held livestock. The ranchers also receive cash compensation from state taxpayers for their lost cattle, which in 2022 totaled $100,000 for 78 wolf predation claims, or an average of about $1,300 per claim.

While individual ranchers can experience significant losses if wolves repeatedly target their cows, the overall impact on the state’s cattle population is negligible. There are about 2.2 million cows in the state, according to USDA data. The five or six dozen documented and verified wolf kills in a given year amount to a few thousandths of 1 percent of the total population. But the USDA’s actions in response inflict a steep toll upon Minnesota’s wolves. The 142 kills amount to fully 5% of the state’s estimated wolf population.”

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

Wolf: photo from Animals in the Wild: Wildlife Photography by Jim Robertson

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