mmmm .... just seen this thread and can i just say that humans are no superior to anyone/anything else and think that humans aren't the most intelligent specie on earth ... on the contrary humans is responsible for destroying the only planet they have ... thanks to the humans, we have pollutions everywhere causing death to thousands of animals, fish etc ..., thanks to humans we have nuclear bombs and biologic weapons that ultimately will/would end up killing not only animals but ourselves too!

Are you interested in anything to do with outter space at all, even slightly? Or is that just wishful thinking :smt002

Wishful Mys, Im not that keen on heights!! I was merely responding sacrastically in kind to gnasher, shouldn stoop that low should I.

Anyways back to Wolves. Thing is Mys, and this goes for most "cant kill anything folks" (not anyone in particular here though) it appears that they understand and know how things should be done in other countries, when they dont have the first inkling of anything that goes on there. I do not have any problem with ANY animal being controlled properly, and I dont think shooting is a bad thing, Id rather that than snare, trap or poison. Us here are "controlling" dog numbers by destroying hundreds every day, why? because there are too many, it would appear there are too many Wolves in the aformentioned area and they are culling numbers to make them more managable. If they want to shoot Caribou too, thats fine by me, in fact better, they are a food species and will provide food for many. Now we may not agree with the way they are doing things, but I suspect its because they are Wolves, I doubt the same feeling would be met for Rats or Snakes for example.

Dawn.

who said I couldn't kill anything...lol

maybe not the same things some people might want to but ohhh I could don't get me wrong.

I do see rats and other similar examples different because as far as I know they are obviously not in close danger of extinction and as many wolves as Alaska thinks is too much for them, they (wolves) are close to that danger in my opinion and it would be a huge shame for them to become fewer in numbers.

And yes I'm a huuuuuge big hypocrit as I would gladly see all spiders and most bugs extinct....anything ugly that comes into my house meets their maker...it's why I don't have many visitors.

I totally understand Mys, but I dont think Wolves are in danger of becoming extict, if they were Id be defending them alongside you to the last minute, dont worry about that. I do think people are more touchy towards things like Wolves, Foxes etc.. because of their likeness to dogs, sentiment always plays a huge part when anything distasteful need to be done. I will say though, as I am not directly involved with the issue of these Wolves, given the circumstances I have read about I see no problem with their cull, but thats me.

Pod: I beg to differ - the human species is very different from ALL other animal species in its efforts to survive and perpetuate. We not only kill what we perceive to be a threat and preserve what we feel is of benefit, we go further than that and on a daily basis completely exterminate whole species of not just animals, but plants, insects, reptiles, you name it, we'll kill it.

Wolves are, thanks to man's totally unnecessary persecution of them over the centuries, teetering on the verge of extinction. they are probably the most safest of all large wild animals as far as man is concerned - you mustn't believe the Big Bad Wolf myths - they are just that, stories.

Rats and cockroaches are not facing extinction, you cannot compare these creatures to wolves.

Gotta dash - train to catch - I will continue this post when I get home !

Actually Borderdawn I have lived in the countryside all my life - come from a hunting, shooting, racehorses, polo, doggie background. I do not claim to be an expert, but I have a good basic knowledge of wild animals, backed up by OH who has a first class honours degree in zoology, specialising in mammalian physiology. In addition, until recently I had an aunt who lived in Uganda all her life and was very knowledgeable about Big Game. I do not agree with you one jot or iota that endangered species, such as Wolves, should be culled. Ever. Full stop.

You do not have a wild wolf in your sitting room, you have a tame one. YOU are showing your ignorance now. All modern dogs can be traced back to 3 wolf bitches through the mitochondrial DNA - a bit like thorougbreds can be traced back to a handful (can't remember the number) of arabs. Dogs ARE wolves, domesticated wolves that have been bred by man over the millenia to perform certain tasks. But scratch the surface and there's the wolf. You are talking absolutely tommy rot when you say you can't see this in your dog. Of course you can, you are just not looking hard enough. Watch The Dog Whisperer on TV (Cesar Millan) and you will see what I am talking about.

I do very definitely prefer wolves to people, particularly when they are ignorant people like yourself who believe that as a human being we have the right to walk over and destroy if we so wish any other species of animal, plant etc. on the planet - and even the planet itself - to achieve our own selfish desires.

Borderdawn - I'm sorry but you have just got it all wrong. Wolves ARE very much an endangered - do your homework and you will find out. They are just about the most persecuted mammal on the planet, mainly due to the ignorance of human beings.

Wolves are NOT vicious killers, they are actually quite cowardly and will only attack human beings if cornered. There has only ever been one wolf kill recorded since records began in the States of an adult, and that was a railroad worker who was killed by a rabid wolf. The whole wolf myth is absolute claptrap - you should know that - look at your border terriers - their ancestor is the Wolf.

This is why people like Mys, Alexou and all the rest are so passionate about these wonderful creatures. We are not bunny huggers, limp wristed veggies saying "oh dear, poor ikle sweet little wolfey". We are saying please leave these poor persecuted rare animals alone. If they really are in the wrong place, then it is not beyond the wit of man to capture these wolves and move them somewhere else. It should be a very last resort, as for obvious reasons this is extremely undesirable for the wolves, but these are endangered species and should NOT be destroyed. I would be saying the same thing if we were talking about rats or rabbits - if they were endangered to the point of becoming extinct, I would be defending them.

I just cannot understand as an obvious dog lover like myself why I cannot make you understand why you and Pod are so wrong.

Why should Pod and I be wrong, why isnt it you that is wrong? Why cant you see from another side?

Because there are some things in life that are just plain wrong. It is wrong to murder another animal - whether that animal be our own species, or another - for financial gain or merely for pleasure, for sport.

On certain issues there are only ever two sides - right and wrong. Many issues are more iffy - for instance, you could call me a hypocrit for eating meat. I could lie to you and say I only eat farmed meat, in other words an animal who is not taken from the wild, but is "farmed" by us and eaten by us, in other words, this IS a case where I am playing God. However, I do occasionally eat wild meat, so yes, I am less than squeaky clean in that arena. But we are not talking about meat eating, we are talking about the killing for fun or for gain of another very similar species to ourselves - we live in packs, and have alpha males, alpha females and omegas just like they do, we are a social species and so are they, and we owe so much to the wolf apart from anything else. The partnership between wolf and man goes back thousands of years, and our fortunes - both wolf and man - are so tightly intertwined, it is difficult to say how one would have fared without the other.

This is why I say you are wrong and I am right. Sorry if you don't like it put that blunt, but I can't say it any other way.