Manitoba ranchers reluctantly want wolves killed after attacks take big bite out of bottom line

Trail cameras have capturedclues of wolves killing cattle on Randy and Carla Radford's ranch but theysay physical evidence is being dragged away.

The Roblin, Man., ranchers say the situation has left their animals and their livelihood suffering.

"We call it the smorgasbord," Randy said. "They just invite themselves.

"This isn't somethingnew, it's just that it's getting worse and worse and worse and then last year it exploded and this year I can see it's going to explode even more."

It's a problem the Radfords sayis costing them thousands of dollars annually. They have pastureland close to both Riding Mountain National Parkand Duck Mountain Provincial Park, known wolf territory.

"We're at very high prices in the cattle cycle so every calf we're losing right now is about $2,000," Carla said.

Randy has a photo captured on a trail camera of three wolves surrounding a downedbull on their farm this past March.The ranchers saidthey've tried guard dogs, installing electric fences and even hired someone to sit in their field at night with a rifle and a flashlight but the wolves keep coming back.

"They're so smart that they just figure out how to get around all this stuff," Randy said.

Ranchers can get compensationfor livestock injured or killed by wolves as well as bears, coyotes and foxes through the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, under the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. According to its website, the program gets around 1,900 claims annually for all predator attacks, with wolves making up around 20 per cent of claims.

"Producers who suspect they have lost livestock to wildlife predation, but are unable to provide evidence that allows them to access funding under the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program, are encouraged to report their situation to a conservation officer in the local district office," the province says on its website.

The Radfordssaid since May 10,17 of their calves have beenkilled but they were only compensated for two because they weren't able to find the carcasses of the others.

Wolf attacks taking bite out of Manitoba ranch's bottom line

1 year ago

Duration 2:41

A Manitoba couple who ranches in the province's Parkland region says they are being left for the wolves. They say their cows and their bottom line are suffering because of attacks by the apex predator. There is a compensation program available for livestock killed by wild animals, but the burden of proof can be difficult to meet.

Daniel Dupont is a PhD student in wildlife biologyand instructor inbiology at St. Boniface University. He's spent time studying how wolves interact with prey.

He said wolves usually try to avoid any conflict with humans and anything related to humans such as cattle, but they can learn to how to feed on cows.

"If moose, elk, deer or even beaver populations are depressed then they could be looking for a way to sustain their family and that could lead them to looking elsewhere, such as cattle," Dupont said.

He said it wouldn't be unusual behaviour for wolves to drag prey away.

"If they have a prey in an area that they consider to be risky, they could drag that prey somewherewhere they feel it is less risky for them to consume," Dupont said. "Even in the absence of photos or video, typically wolves will leave signs that they were there and they did kill even though you don't find the whole carcass."

Carson Callum, general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers, said because animals are raised on the natural landscape ranchers often run into predation challenges.

"Unfortunately, it leads to those livestock, wildlife or predator interactions that we see result in livestock losses," Callum said, adding it's been a long-standing issue which seems to be cyclical.

He said it's a constant challenge and getting compensation can be problematic for ranchers if they don't have evidence their animal was killed by a predator.

"There is a burden of proof associated with it," Callum said. "You need to have some sort of proof of that loss whether it's a carcass of that livestock species or some photos or anything of that nature."

"Wolves are very efficient predators. They're able to clean up and utilize a lot of their kills."

Shelley Alexander, a University of Calgary professor specializing in coyotes and wolves, said prevention is keybut ranchers can'tbe expected to bear the only burden of wildlife attacks.

"There has to be an active investigation of some form and some form of compensation," Alexander said.

The Radfords saidthe province is sending a trapper to kill the wolvescausing problems on their ranch.

The province did not respond to a request for comment on the Radford's situation bydeadline.

Dupontsaidlethal methodsmay only work temporarily, because the remainder of the pack may keep preying on cattle unless the majority of the wolf population is removed from an area.

Manitoba'sprogram isn't aimed at general population reduction.

The Radfords don't want wolves killed but they feel it is the only solution.

"We're notones who want to exterminate things at all but why should we pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars to feed them?" Carla said.