Ever Since Little Red Riding Hood….

….wolves have had an (undeserved) bad reputation. As top predators, they are integral to healthy natural ecosystems, where they do the important work of culling the sick and the old from herds of deer, elk and other grazing herbivores. Despite the important niche that wolves fill, and the fact that they have recently been taken off the Endangered Species List, there are people that want to start eliminating them again.

Ranchers, who make their money raising cattle (yet another reason to go vegetarian!) for human consumption, use public or private land to graze their animals. When wolves pick on their herds, the ranchers get angry, because they lose money. Their solution is to kill the wolves, this time in Idaho and Wyoming (there is already a wolf-shooting program in place in Alaska). Makes me think there should be a wolf-appreciation tax on every steak!

From the Defenders of Wildlife background deets:

In February of 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove federal protections for wolves in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Despite the fact there are no confirmed wolves in Washington, Oregon or Utah, and despite the fact that even before delisting, Wyoming wants the federal government to kill 16 of its 23 wolf packs and plans to allow wolves to be shot on sight in most of the state, including wolves just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Idaho’s plan would allow 61 of its 70 packs to be killed once federal protections are removed.

Check this video from Defenders of Wildlife out and sign the petition to keep wolves protected if you think human beings have taken over enough land already and that wolves should be allowed to live in peace.