To the editor:
We find it appalling that British Columbia's Wildlife Act allows lethal trapping, period.
Speaking directly to the issue of predator control, there are several non-lethal strategies farmers can do to protect their livestock. In fact, we work with one farmer who has raised sheep for over 20 years without one loss to a predator.
Non-lethal alternatives to protecting livestock include using guardian animals, such as llamas and donkeys, and scheduling pasture use when predation pressure is low. Farmers can also graze cattle with smaller animals, frequently patrol their pastures and protect vulnerable animals by fencing out predators.
Another effective strategy is to confine outdoor animals from dusk to dawn. During the birthing season, young and vulnerable animals should be confined at all times.
Sick, injured or dead animals should be removed immediately. Coyotes in particular have a keen sense of smell and will quickly find dead animals. Bury animal carcasses with a minimum of two feet of soil.
While some scare devices, such as motion detectors, radios, and other noise makers can deter predators, they will become ineffective once predators realize they are no longer dangerous.
It is worth the effort to work with nature. Animals, such as wolves and coyotes, are a keystone species and are essential to balancing nature's web. These animals can actually benefit property owners because they naturally control the populations of mice, rats, gophers and rabbits.
Despite rhetoric from the trapping industry, leg-hold, Conibear and snare traps are cruel and ineffective. We must strive for co-existence.
Lesley Fox,
Executive director
The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals