I think I first heard about RMEF from Cliffie when he used to post here. This article is thought provoking in a couple of ways.
The whole ‘natural balance is a Disney movie’ argument seems to me to be a total cop out. As if the fact that we have totaly upended natural balance over much of the world makes it rational to just keep on screwing things up.
I bought two Arctic wolf tags back when I went caribou hunting in the Great White North. I was kind of on the fence about whether I’d shoot one or not so I talked to the outfitter owner (True North Safaris) about it one night. The hatred he has for wolves and that he spewed out caught me totally off guard. He wrapped it up by saying he’d charge me extra if I saw a wolf and didn’t kill it. As it was, I watched a couple of them through binos for about ten minutes one day but they were way far off. So I didn’t get charged extra. He hated them because they kill caribou, which is his bread and butter. The Inuit guides I hunted with all felt the same way.
I’ve heard much the same from coyote hunters and their claim that they are deer (fawn) killers.
Predation of big game species might be a factor in some areas, true enough. But to the extent it is claimed? I don’t claim to know. And I’m not making a statement on predator hunting either, other than to say that I find the excuse that they’re helping the deer or elk or caribou by doing it kind of disingenuous.
BKB
https://www.hcn.org/wotr/a-once-prou...s-lost-its-way