Thread: Gophers!
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Old 05-27-2010, 01:09 PM   #89
Cowperson
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Join Date: Oct 2001
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DionPlett View Post
I was reading that yesterday as well on the CBC there, I also thought that was a large number and wonder how and if it would effect the eco system.
The program as it was announced:

http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Coyote-Control

And the result. They're apparently surprised by the "large" number of paws being submitted.

http://www.brandonsun.com/agricultur...794.html?thx=y

One prescient comment from that story:

Lorne Scott, who is a farmer as well as president of Nature Saskatchewan, said coyotes should only be killed if they're causing problems in specific areas.

"A lot of these coyotes probably were coyotes that were causing no problems with domestic animals and they were probably consuming a lot of Richardson's ground squirrels, which are a problem in some areas," said Scott.

"Biologically it's simply not a good way to manage wildlife. We still maintain that the bounty is non-selective. It removes animals that are actually the farmer's friend. Most coyotes are beneficial to landowners."

Amen. If there are indeed "hundreds of thousands" of coyotes in Saskatchewan and you're removed 71,000, it's logical to assume the rodents they consume will benefit from the absence of predation . . . . . and that the coyote population will rebound strongly within a few years as compensation.

Just a dumb idea in Saskatchewan.

Cowperson
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