Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/299259
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 6 7 A fter centuries of uninformed overuse and abuse of wildlife, American conservationists/ scientists in the early 20th century finally convinced a generation – mine – that wildlife couldn't be categorized into good and bad. All native wildlife was good, playing a critical roll in our natural ecosystems. So we preached the "positive predator" message. Foxes, coyotes, raptors, minks, wolves, cougars – if it hunted, killed and ate other animals, it was good, natural and essential. Except it isn't. Not always. Not in this day and age. Despite today's emotionally inspired Little Bo Peep philosophy of wildlife management ("Leave them alone and they'll come home, wagging their tails behind them"), hands-off wildlife management no longer works. Humans have corrupted the playing field too much to restore Eden. Unchecked numbers of flesh- eating critters these days can drastically reduce prey populations. Coyotes have been proven to be the culprits in a deep decline in Arizona pronghorn numbers. Cougars in California have been documented wiping out entire herds of bighorn sheep. Gulls have hammered threatened tern nesting colonies on the East Coast. Terns have decimated salmon in the lower Columbia. Wolves have severely depressed moose numbers in Alaska. Orcas have slashed and killed endangered blue whales. Even the innocent treatment of predators. This requires a significant effort at self-delusion, but we're aided in it by society at large. Who wants to stand against something as kind and "life affirming" as rescuing feral kittens, patching up broken- legged coyotes and returning rehabilitated great horned owls to the wild? What teenager can oppose pop stars, actors and sports heroes who urge them to boycott fur and turn vegan? What insensitive lout wouldn't donate to the local animal shelter? What kind of a monster would support animal suffering? Us. Yes, you and I and the neighborhood vegan and the folks who volunteer at the local critter shelter. Anyone and everyone who encourages predators increases animal suffering. If you don't believe this, you haven't watched enough predatory attacks on TV and YouTube. While we humans wring our hands and rage against two-legged hunters who kill deer and bunnies with single shots to the brain or heart, we ignore four- legged hunters who chase, terrorize, nip, rip, claw, bite and sometimes eat alive those same deer and bunnies. Don't take my word for this. Ask your local house cats. Our population of 188 million domestic cats, feral and cared for, annually kill some 2.4 billion birds and 12.4 billion mammals in the U.S. Anyone and everyone who encourages the growth of predator populations is actually contributing to increased animal suffering in the wild. barred owl is now implicated in the decline of the endangered spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest. And we are to blame. Our problem is that we prefer to see the world through a prism of guilt. Because we feel a certain collective guilt about how our forefathers ran roughshod over North America, we attempt to rise above their level with a kinder, gentler perception and Ron Spomer Wi l d e r i t a g e H