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Sheriff says ranchers upset over suspected wolf attacks; criticizes communication with US Fish and Wildlife
Summary
Sheriff Mark Danels described multiple cattle losses he said are suspected wolf predation and said poor communication from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has frustrated ranchers and complicated compensation and investigation processes.
Sheriff Mark Danels said ranchers in Cochise County reported additional cattle killed in incidents they and local investigators suspect were caused by wolves, and that frustrations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are intensifying.
"We had some more, I notified yesterday we had some more, cattle killed. Wolves are the suspect in this. This is getting to be a hot topic in Cochise County. Very hot. You got some ranchers that are very upset," Danels said.
He criticized what he described as poor communication from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and said that confusing rules can delay compensation. "Lack of it's gonna be blunt, lack of communication from US Fish and Wildlife is not helping this situation here," Danels said. "In fact, I heard this this week is if we respond and we start investigating and we say we look into the cattle, start looking, then the rancher doesn't get paid. These illogical rules."
Danels said he planned to convene a meeting with ranchers and make calls to relevant agencies to try to clarify processes and reduce conflict. He said he expected more public attention on the issue going forward but did not provide precise counts of animals killed.
He noted that the sheriff's office works closely with ranchers and that conversations over responses, compensation and investigation will continue. No formal federal or state actions were announced on the program during the broadcast.
