WILD WOLVES GOOD FOR ECOSYSTEMS

[Anonymous]

Wild wolves ‘good for ecosystems’
Reintroducing
wild wolves to the Scottish Highlands would help the local ecosystem, a
study suggests.Wolves, which were hunted to extinction in Scotland in
the late 1700s, would help control the numbers of red deer, the team
from the UK and Norway said.This would aid the re-establishment of
plants and birds – currently hampered by the deer population, they
write in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.But farmers say more
livestock would be killed if wolves are reintroduced.The researchers’
findings used a predator/prey model to assess the probable consequences
on the Highland’s red deer population.”There has been an ongoing debate
about the possibility of reintroducing wolves to Scotland for some
time,” said co-author Tim Coulson, from Imperial College London.”So we
thought that we would start the ball rolling by looking to see, using
mathematical modelling approaches, what the possible impact of
reintroducing wolves into Scotland would have on the red deer
population.”The researchers found that the red deer population was
close to reaching the maximum capacity that the ecosystem could
support, and that costly culls were not proving to be economically
effective.Since Scotland’s wild wolf population died out, the UK’s
largest wild land animal has not had any natural predators to help
control its numbers.”For example, many sheep farmers argue for fewer
deer because they are concerned the deer compete with sheep for
grazing,” Dr Coulson told BBC News.”Many of the conservation
organisations, especially those trying to reforest areas, also believe
their numbers should be reduced.”Attempts to get forests to come back
are going to be hindered by the fact that there are too many deer,
which will munch away merrily on any young trees.”Other groups, Dr
Coulson added, were concerned that excessive deer numbers were having
an impact on bird species, such as the capercaillie.The study found
that the wolves would prey on the deer and would help rebalance the
ecology, giving other tree and bird species a chance to establish
themselves.

Livestock worries
But
farming groups voiced concern and said that the introduction of wolves
would hit their members.Anna Davies, a spokeswoman for the National
Farmers’ Union in Scotland, said: “The reintroduction of wolves into
the wild would present significant problems in terms of sheep
predation, and that is the reason why it is not widely popular among
farmers.”Dr Coulson agreed that farmers would be affected but he added:
“Typically, wolves do not go through and take out an entire flock; they
will take individuals when they are hungry.”The study also assessed
people’s attitudes towards the idea of releasing wolves into the wild.
While the public were generally positive, people living in rural areas
were more sensitive.”Although the farmers were slightly negative, they
were not completely adverse to the idea provided they were adequately
reimbursed for any lost stock,” he said.But Miss Davies disagreed: “Any
implication that farmers are simply concerned with support payments and
not with the welfare and predation of their animals is
unjustified.”Farmers suffer emotional as well as financial losses when
they lose stock, as was demonstrated during the foot-and-mouth
outbreak.”Dr Coulson said he believed that any reintroduction plan was
still a long way from becoming a reality.”Our research is just one of
the first steps towards understanding the consequences of a wolf
reintroduction in Scotland,” he added. 

[Author]

February 5, 2007 at 11:25 AM