Letters to the Editor: California's wolves present a complicated problem for ranchers and plenty of opinions

Los Angeles Times

03-06-2025

To the editor: The call by California ranchers to kill endangered wolves in response to livestock losses is concerning and counterproductive ('Killing wolves remains a crime in California. But a rebellion is brewing,' May 30). Lethal measures undermine years of conservation progress made for a species still in recovery.
Wolves play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The resurgence of wolves in California signifies a positive step toward ecological balance after their near eradication.
Protections under the California Endangered Species Act are in place to ensure the species' continued recovery and to promote coexistence strategies. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program, which not only compensates for direct losses but also supports nonlethal deterrent measures, should be expanded and at least partly funded by those that profit off our public lands, such as the Cattlemen's Assn. and corporations such as Tyson, JBS and Cargill.
Other Western states allow killing wolves indiscriminately. California must set the example where nature is the priority, not industries that disproportionately contribute to climate change and degrade ecosystems.
Judie Mancuso, Laguna BeachThis writer is founder and president of animal advocacy nonprofit Social Compassion in Legislation.
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To the editor: I am an environmentally concerned citizen, but it just seems the aggressive wolves in Northern California need to have their fear of human beings restored. Common sense tells me that the ranchers should be allowed to clip a few here and there.
Mike Sovich, Glendale
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To the editor: This article made me wonder why cattlemen don't put several donkeys into their herd of cattle. Donkeys can bond with the cattle, and they are smart and capable of helping keep wolves from attacking them. It would be a natural way to reduce or eliminate the threat.
Deborah Sheflin, Norco
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To the editor: The most prolific cattle killers are not the wolves, as the article states, but the barbaric industry that slaughters tens of millions of these gentle beings annually just so we can buy cheap burgers. When a wolf pack kills what is now easy prey, it's so an endangered species can survive. If we hadn't decimated the habitat that supported a healthy wildlife population, then this conflict wouldn't exist.
Tim Viselli, La Cañada Flintridge
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To the editor: Wolves, a native species, roamed these lands for hundreds of thousands of years and are returning after a brief human-caused interruption. Ranchers raise cattle, a nonnative species, on public lands under inexpensive grazing permits subsidized by taxpayers. Even with wolves, the ranchers have a great deal.
Thomas Bliss, Los Angeles