UPDATE
Dec 15, 2023 12:02 PM CST
A federal judge has allowed the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado to move forward in the coming days by denying a request Friday from the state's cattle industry for a temporary delay in the predators' release. While the lawsuit will continue, Judge Regina Rodriguez's ruling allows Colorado to proceed with its plan to find, capture and transport up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday. The deadline to put paws on the ground under the voter-approved initiative is December 31, reports the AP.
Dec 12, 2023 6:30 PM CST
Just weeks before the deadline for Colorado to reintroduce gray wolves under a voter-approved initiative, representatives of the cattle industry association are suing state and federal agencies in the hopes of delaying the predators' release. The Gunnison County Stockgrowers' Association and Colorado Cattlemen's Association say in the lawsuit filed Monday that US Fish and Wildlife Services failed to adequately review the effects of reintroducing up to 50 wolves over the next several years, the AP reports. The carnivores' planned release in Colorado, voted for in a 2020 ballot measure, has already stirred controversy and sharpened divides between rural and urban residents.
City dwellers largely voted to reintroduce the apex predators into the rural areas where prey can include livestock that help drive local economies. Erin Karney, executive vice-president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, said they will also be requesting a temporary restraining order to halt the impending release, which will happen in the coming weeks once the wolves are caught in Oregon. "A lot of our concerns that we brought up through the wolf management plan hearings were not adequately addressed," Karney said.
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An analysis of state and federal data by the AP found that, in 2022, gray wolves attacked domesticated animals hundreds of times across 10 states in the contiguous US. Data showed that attacks killed or injured at least 425 cattle and calves, 313 sheep and lambs, 40 dogs, 10 chickens, five horses and four goats. The number of cattle killed or injured in the documented cases equals 0.002% of herds in the affected states, according to a comparison of depredation data with state livestock inventories. Ranchers can be reimbursed by the state for confirmed wolf kills, but they say merely financial compensation doesn't assuage the problem of empty-handed customers and the work of installing wolf deterrents.
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