Dear Editor,

It is with great sadness that I heard of the poaching of the young wolf from the Lookout Pack. I have high hopes that Washington State will become the example of how people live with big predators. It is sad when one individual has no respect for the law. And no understanding of how nature works.

Most of us know that predators keep wild populations of animals like deer and elk healthy by taking the easiest to catch, often this is the sick or heavily parasite loaded individuals. If we kill off our big predators there is nothing left to do this service.

Why should we care? If you are farming especially organically you want wildlife to be healthy around you. Because your livestock being ruminants can catch the same diseases and parasites that the wild ruminants carry, such as deer and elk.
Nature has a clever and intricate balancing system. Do you know that wolves control coyote populations? If you take an apex predator out of the picture serious balancing problems occur.

I know organic farmers who have terrible problems with parasites in their livestock. It is a very serious matter. There are effective means of living and farming around big predators. If you need help or have questions contact Wolftown or any of the great organizations that are here to help.

Of course the wildlife in our country are part of our heritage and add to the beauty, depth of our wild lands. They have a right to be here.

Would you wish our state to be like England who killed off all their big predators? Don’t the wolf the bear and the eagle define the west?

T Yamamoto, Director, Wolftown
Vashon