Wolves feasting on cattle: ‘A huge problem’ Farmers losing five to 10 per cent of herds in some parts of province By: Bill Redekop  Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2018 (2256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Werewolves of Lundar that Rocki Rolletti (a.k.a. Peter Jordan) used to sing about don’t seem to be a problem anymore, but the real wolves are.

Wolves are feasting on Manitoba-grown beef across the province like never before and the Interlake area north of Lundar may be the worst hit.

Between Eriksdale and Gypsumville on the east side of Lake Manitoba, there were insurance claims filed for 143 wolf kills on livestock, mostly cattle, for a total payout of $133,000 in the 2017-18 fiscal year that ended in March.

That’s up from 48 claims the year before and $44,000 in compensation.

There were 472 claims for wolf kills across the province in 2017-18, which may be a record. Since April 1 of the current year, there have already been 326 claims.

However, some producers estimate the real kill rate is at least 10 times that. The catch for farmers is they have to produce something left over from a slaughtered cow to make a claim.

But wolves aren’t a wasteful lot and typically eat and lick up every trace of a kill. Wolves in the Interlake are said to run from 20 to 28 animals in a pack that fight over every last morsel of a succulent calf.

“This is the rub,” said farmer Glen Metner, who ranches with his brother Robert near Moosehorn in the Interlake. “When wolves kill a calf, there’s no sign that calf had ever been eaten. It’s gone.”

The Metners have lost 23 animals this year, 22 calves and one cow. That’s out of about 350 animals.

They’ve been able to make only one claim; they found a few remnants of a calf.

For the Metners, 21 calves and one cow is easily a $25,000 loss right off the top. Then there are all the abortions they expect because their cows have been stressed by wolves, and the expected increase in “open cows” that don’t become pregnant, again due to stress. They estimate losing $60,000 in total last year from seven calf kills, plus 53 aborted calves and an increase in open cows.

“That’s quite a hit but what can we do about it? I’m a director with the Manitoba Beef Producers and we’re trying to lobby the government for some kind of plan,” said Robert. The Metners never lost more than two or three calves to predation before 2006.

One rancher in the area has lost 10 calves out of a herd of 120 animals, the Metners said. And another rancher north of the Metners lost about 30 cattle, according to the Manitoba Beef Producers Association.

“It’s a huge problem” and a top priority for the association, manager Brian Lemon said. Farmers are losing five to 10 per cent of their herds in some parts of the province.

“It’s hard to imagine, in a margin-based industry, that you can just take out that revenue and expect producers to continue. I know I couldn’t afford that,” said Lemon.

Other regions hit hard by wolves include the North Parkland and in southeastern Manitoba. In some parts of the province cattle are being killed by bears, he said.

It’s not that producers don’t love wildlife, he said. A big reason they choose to farm is for the love of the outdoors.

“We accept that predation is part of our industry, but it’s gotten worse,” he said. “We need to have a balance.”

The typical way to combat wolves is to hire a trapper, something many farmers have tried. But wolves are smart animals. As Glen Metner found, trapping seems to snare only the young wolves, not the smarter, older animals that lead their packs.

The problem is trapping is costly, time-consuming and not always effective. As well, the pelts are worthless in summer and fall, not until wolves get their winter coats. It simply doesn’t pay. Cattle producers would like government incentives to make it worthwhile.

British Columbia boosted the price of a problem wolf so high that it finally enticed trappers to take out an entire pack, in one case.

There also needs to be study and a management strategy. “It’s the bigger issue of trying to find a way so these wolves have somewhere else to go, without being under so much pressure to come into the livestock area,” said Tom Teichroeb, who farms near Langruth on the west side of Lake Manitoba and is the beef producers’ president.

The beef producers recently put together a working group to study the issue further.

Provincial government officials did not return requests for comment.

Farmers are allowed to shoot a wolf on their property but the animals are rarely spotted. The Metners graze on 38 quarter-sections, for a total of 6,000 acres, or about 10 square miles. That’s a lot of terrain over which to protect cattle.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca