Phil Davis Wolf Cow 3

Cascade Idaho cattle rancher Phil Davis has lost dozens and dozens of his own cows to wolf depredation over the past few decades. He has advised fellow ranchers who live in wolf country to carefully examine any dead cow that they find for signs that it was taken by a wolf. The signs are not always clearly evident and when Davis finds a dead cow, he skins it to see if there are any telltale bite marks and trauma that could be associated with a wolf attack. ““We are losing too much livestock and is happening more and more every year, not because there are necessarily more depredations but because more and more operators are learning when they find a dead animal to have Wildlife Services come look and determine if it was killed by a wolf. More and more people are recognizing that now. It is helping because you have to have the evidence.” And as the losses continue to mount in more ways than just dead cows, activist Davis has new ideas that he wants to have vetted. How about an executive order from the president allowing unobstructed control methods year round on public lands. What about a state legislative mandate allowing year-round lethal control. Furthermore, designate the wolf as a special predator rather than a game animal. All three would allow more options in control.