On average, Colorado has anywhere from 2.6 - 2.85 million cattle. Some of you are freaking out over 18 being killed by a pack of wolves. Does it suck for the rancher? Maybe, maybe not. They'll be reimbursed by the state without having to actually raise, transport, and butcher them. At any rate, the number killed --even unofficially -- is still drastically lower than what makes it to market.
Some of you also use the killing of dumb farm animals to showcase what wolves do to wild animals such as deer and elk. Do you really see similarities between the two categories? Do you think elk and deer are as easy to slaughter as cattle?
Lastly, some of you that posted comments in favor of poaching wolves or "liked" those comments, I've seen your name in other threads where you portray yourself as ethical hunters. If poaching is unethical by definition, can you explain why it's okay to support the illegal killing of this one species? Or is it just cognitive dissonance?
For the record, I'm not an anti-hunter and I have only lived in the Midwest for 6 years. Before that, I grew up and lived in the PNW, hunted the backcountry more than most of the blowhards on here, and I still hunt out west every 1-2 years. Some people have tried to discredit my previous statements by using my current location. Good try, ladies! Stick to arguing against my statements rather than character assassination.
One last thing, for the record: Just because I don't agree with the wolf hysteria on here or support poaching, doesn't mean that I think wolves should be reintroduced at unsustainable rates or left unchecked. There is a balance that should be attained but the pendulum will swing both ways before it's achieved. You had a wolf-free west for almost a century. Now it's swinging the other way but things are nowhere near as bad as many of you claim....yet.