Would you support the reintroduction of the wolf into Ireland?

Romo

They were wiped out in Ireland around about 1800.
www.ucd.ie/gsi/pdf/33-2/lupus.pdf

I believe that under EU Habitat and Species Directive 1992, the government is required to investigate the reintroduction of extinct native species.


The wolf and other native extinct animals are to be reintroduced into the highlands of Scotland.

Do you think a similar scheme would be feasible in the most remote parts of Donegal?

Kiith

arent wolves in general found in more of a woodland habitat. donegals nothing but hills and...well more hills. wolves are cool animals, but i can see a mass gathering of farmers hunting them down, for attacking betsy, or dolly, or whatever the cool sheep are called.

Gordon

Kiith wrote:

arent wolves in general found in more of a woodland habitat. donegals nothing but hills and...well more hills. wolves are cool animals, but i can see a mass gathering of farmers hunting them down, for attacking betsy, or dolly, or whatever the cool sheep are called.

Chris.

Doper Than U

I'd support it assuming it was going to be handled properly. There would be a definite need for a refuge or sanctuary of pretty big proportions for them, but I'm sure it's feasible.

The_Conductor

Sure- why not?
Of course farmers will be pissed- what doesn't annoy them though?
There were several different groupings of wolves in the country- if I remember my wildlife properly. We have large blocks of woodland- most of it state owned, but its not the decidious woodland that would have traditionally covered the country (its not even our native Scots pine and relatives eithers).

In today's world though- would we realistically be looking at wolves in the manner that is envisaged for reintroducing them into a native habitat? Their closest relative here, the fox, has largely been driven from the countryside, with larger populations of them recorded in urban areas at present than elsewhere. The wonderous misguided attempts to rid the countryside of badgers took a big toll on other species too.

What would the main diet of the wolves have been in the past? Rabbit/Hare? We have managed to decimate the population of these with Myximatosis (excuse my spelling)- so god only knows what a tainted rabbit might pass on to a wolf.......

What about other native species that ran with wolves? Boars for example? Can you see the populace being happy with wild boar terrorising the place? Or worse- with the horsey set deciding that it would be the perfect opportunity to implement a *proper* hunt once again, and have roasted boar at their balls? It would be all their dreams come true......

While many of the EU directives are more than a tad bizzare (I should know ) their directives on the environment are enlightened especially when one considers the cavalier attitudes of Irish people and their politicians to the environment, and conservation measures associated with it. For example- we fought for a derogation to allow us to continue to pollute our waterways with nitrates from surface runoff of overly applied fertilisers by farmers........

Sod it- introduce the wolves, radio collar them, and arrest anyone found looking suspiciously at them. Baa baa black sheep...... baaa baaa humbug......

KdjaCL

Theres 5 in Dublin Zoo behind a big fence, best place for em tbh scary mofos.


kdjac

Seraphina

nope, there's no way we have the wildlife to support them now, most of our animals are very small, hell even foxes are being forced into urban areas to look for food.
they'd just end up attacking cattle and sheep, there's no woodlands large enough for them anyway, those kind of animals hunt over huge areas.
tis just not feasible with the changes that have taken place in the country in the last 200 years.

the_syco

"Will someone think of the children"

Look @ anywhere where there are wolves. Lots of people own guns. Lots of people know they are flippin dangerous.

Look @ Ireland. Look @ how many people own guns. Look @ how kids walk home from school in the countryside.

These aren't pets who have been trained not to attack humans.

These are predetors, who, in the coldeset days of winter, may attack your little 5 year old kid as they make a snowman. And they'll attack in a pack. And you won't be able to stop them, as you won't have a gun.

They died out for a reason. We don't want them.

stagolee

only if they reintroduce deciduos forests into ireland first

[Jackass]

Wolves are well dangerous....but i'd still like them back...but be carefull...this is a slippery slope people! You re-introduce one, you've gotta re-introduce 'em all for the food chain, and re-introduce habitats....for example, re-introduce wolves, you must re-introduce prey, the leprechaun. Re-introduce the leprechaun, re-introduce prey. Snakes. Re-introduce snakes......etc. etc. *

Sounds expensive.....can't we just put it into something more constructive, like e-voting?

*may not be FACT. Possibly made up, and/or forgotten again.

embee

As long as they eat all of the sheep, I'm happy.

Esel

embee wrote:

As long as they eat all of the sheep, I'm happy.

Is it OK if they leave the bones?

Why not re-introduce dinosaurs? Ireland was part of a collective landmass all those years ago, and to the best of my knowledge are still extinct (natively and otherwise)

embee

esel wrote:

Is it OK if they leave the bones?

Well, bare carcasses equal dead sheep, so I suppose thats okay.

The ultimate goal here is death for sheep.

Chalk

put wolves everywhere afaic

as long as they dont eat me and can neither talk nor control lasers well be safe

Chalk

Chalk wrote:

put wolves everywhere afaic

as long as they dont eat me and can neither talk nor control lasers well be safe

Ah sure that's too easy. Sure why not re-introduce wolves, and attach lasers to their head too?

Seriously though, I'd be against the wolf being reintroduced. Letting another creature into an eco-system may cause the native extinction of another.

Chalk

dont be silly, we need more laser control not more wolf lasers.

serioulsy tho,
in small numbers , reintroduced into sanctuaries slowly, perhaps in a few years time theyll be ready for proper reintroducion

Doper Than U

True Myth, but wolves were a native species, unlike foxes, which came from France originally.

stagolee

embee wrote:

Well, bare carcasses equal dead sheep, so I suppose thats okay.

The ultimate goal here is death for sheep.

bad lamb curry last night perchance?

Chalk

Doper Than U wrote:

True Myth, but wolves were a native species, unlike foxes, which came from France originally.

it is one of those,
eh we fecked up a while ago, lets put it right now kind of things isnt it.

if its some eco nuts trying to do this as a present to mother earth then im not as for it as i would be if its a proper thought thing tbh

embee

stagolee wrote:

bad lamb curry last night perchance?

It runs a hell of a lot deeper than that. Long story short, I hate sheep. So the re-introduction of wolves gets two thumbs up from me.

The_Conductor

embee wrote:

Well, bare carcasses equal dead sheep, so I suppose thats okay.

The ultimate goal here is death for sheep.

Surely there are more economical ways, if less fun ways, to kill sheep?
I seem to remember the French coming up with a few imaginative ideas! :eek:

allnight_2002

If wolves were reintroduced to this country it would be the end for some of the other spices of animals that are in our eco system. The wild Deer in Kerry and around the Wicklow mountains would not survive for long as they have not had a natural predator for years. many other species would also be in danger of been wiped out pheasants hares and rabbits.
Not only does this country no longer have the correct food chain to maintain a wild pack of wolves but the terrain is also not suitable of a wolf pack. A reasonable size pack would hunt over a large area and would kill a lot of farm animals. I known that some of you think that the farmers just complain about everything ( I must admit that some of then do ) but how would you like to weak up some morning and find out that you livelihood had been wipe out a pack of hungry wolves during the night. :eek:

embee

smccarrick wrote:

Surely there are more economical ways, if less fun ways, to kill sheep?
I seem to remember the French coming up with a few imaginative ideas! :eek:

Gah, don't even get me started on the French.

whobrokethat

The wolf had its chance. It lost. It got its butt kicked. It's, like, so over, wolfie.

Doper Than U

The wolf had its chance. It lost. It got its butt kicked. It's, like, so over, wolfie.

Do you want me to do the whole Jurassic Park/Jeff Goldblum speech about natural die-off vs hunted to extinction by artificial means?

The_Conductor

Just thinking about this- farmers don't get headage payments for sheep anymore (and they can't very well compete with New Zealand lamb) so unless they enjoy subsidising a loss making enterprise (oddly enough a lot of them probably do) they no longer have any business keeping sheep, or cattle, or any other animals. Also- we cannot compete in the world grain market- because of insufficient mass....... so if farmers- who own most of the land anyway- have no good reason to (well to do anything other than twiddle their thumbs)- surely conservation of wolves, wild boar and any other inventive creatures we dream of, could be tied into their REPS (rural environment protection scheme) payments? We're already paying them to do nothing, why not get something for our money instead? Think of the warning signs on property- "You are entering private property at your own peril. Trespassers may be seriously injured or eaten" Whatever about wolves, wild boar are right assholes. We could even use it as an argument to prove we are protecting a delicate environment by keeping people away, and use it as a tourism ploy? How much damage can a few wolves do? Less than an average Friday night in Eyre Square........

stagolee

embee wrote:

It runs a hell of a lot deeper than that. Long story short, I hate sheep. So the re-introduction of wolves gets two thumbs up from me.

but why sheep? theyre so... well, sheepish

The_Conductor

allnight_2002 wrote:

If wolves were reintroduced to this country it would be the end for some of the other spices of animals that are in our eco system.

Fine by me- its only a pity the wolves don't mink and grey squirrels delicacies....

allnight_2002 wrote:

The wild Deer in Kerry and around the Wicklow mountains would not survive for long as they have not had a natural predator for years.

They'll adapt..... anyway the sheep will be easier to catch.....

allnight_2002 wrote:

many other species would also be in danger of been wiped out pheasants hares and rabbits.

Many of these species are on the brink of extinction and only being kept in existence artificially anyhow. I have attended more pheasant releases in the last 20 years than I care to think about.

allnight_2002 wrote:

Not only does this country no longer have the correct food chain to maintain a wild pack of wolves but the terrain is also not suitable of a wolf pack.

Food chains evolve constantly. Man is the ultimate predator at the top of the food chain. Allowing a competitor with man is what this entails, not an argument over scare resources, which isn't an air-tight argument.

allnight_2002 wrote:

A reasonable size pack would hunt over a large area and would kill a lot of farm animals.

Perhaps the farmers could be enticed to farm animals for a new customer? They are being paid to do absolutely nothing- aka setaside anyhow- so surely this novel idea deserves a thought?

allnight_2002 wrote:

I known that some of you think that the farmers just complain about everything ( I must admit that some of then do ) but how would you like to weak up some morning and find out that you livelihood had been wipe out a pack of hungry wolves during the night. :eek:

You'd feel wonderful if you were getting a hundred quid a head for each sheep you could prove was killed by a wolf. Wonderful stuff money. Farmers won't even need much training, they are well used to bribery already.....

mad m

Could be start of a new film " The Wolfhunter" Starring Mossy De Niro,set in donegal mountains?

Joking aside there wild animals arent they,didnt read up on the 1800 reason but why were they killed off.Off topic someone said to me that stray wild cats are dying off now as a result of the wheelie bin.They cant claw through the plastic for some grub,excellent.smelly cats.

Capt'n Midnight

The main problem would be wild dogs interbreeding - the dingo in Oz aren't that pure anymore. Otherwise fire away.

Might bring more tourists too.

maybe the wolves could be trained to eat say, rabbits instead of hares.

Tom65

Wolf attacks seem extremely rare. I did quick research on google and one site said there was just 2 attacks in North America in 2000 (neither were fatal). There were also just 100 attack in India in the 80s (this is considered a high rate).


It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

mad m

Tom65 wrote:

Wolf attacks seem extremely rare. I did quick research on google and one site said there was just 2 attacks in North America in 2000 (neither were fatal). There were also just 100 attack in India in the 80s (this is considered a high rate).


It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

My arse wolf would sound better,would crap myself. Imagine hearing a big Howl from a wolf in the dead of night in middle of nowhere! Brings a thought to an American Werewolf in London film

Esel

smccarrick wrote:

... You'd feel wonderful if you were getting a hundred quid a head for each sheep you could prove was killed by a wolf. ...

That's why you need the bones!

No spine - no money!

Spine must be accompanied by eartags (wolves will regurgitate/defecate (or die) eartags, if they are hungry enough to ingest same).

NeilJ

In Yellow Stones Park in the US when wolves were re-introduced the very first encounter between the wolves and the deer/reindeer (big hoofed thingies with horns of which I not exactly sure the exact species were) the herd instantly formed a protective clump the same as any other herd which constantly encounters predators does. In short animals don't forget an instinct even if they don't use it for 100 years. It was later found when the park rangers decided to reintroduce mountain lions that they had already reappeared in the park naturally a few years previous and had no adverse effect on the local wildlife population. So to say that the deer of Ireland would be hunted to extinction by wolves is untrue, if for no other reason than that deer are pretty big and there wouldn't be enough wolves to eat them all. In certain areas preferably not too near large populations I think it would be good. There was uproar when the eagles were reintroduced in Donegal, local farmers saying lambs would be stolen and local residents making similar claims about babies and to date I haven't heard of any attacks and the population has increased to several successful breeding pairs. So I don't think we would have that much to worry about from the wolves.

Neil

LoneGunM@n

Tom65 wrote:

It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

Damn that's funny

In relation to the re-introduction of wolves to the Irish countryside, I don't think that there would be much danger of other Irish animals being hunted to extinction by the wolves ... sure we're more of a danger to the animals!!

I think my only hesitance to the re-introduction of the wolf is born from a fear of meeting one myself whilst staggering drunk home from the pub!

johnnyc

I agree they should be introduced what about throwing then into killarney national forest they would kill those damm deer we wouldn't have to pay for the deer to be culled.

Why is Donegal the designated place to reintroduce natively extinct animals these days?

[Jackass]

Set up a safari park in cavan. I want to see some of these celtic tigers everyone keeps banging on about, but no-one has ever actually seen!

As for wolves, there are far more feared prey of sheep than them, like the native welsh man for example...and sheep still survive there.

I want to see the resteration of things like wolves, boar, snakes, eagles, hawks, travelers and any other animals we used to have that could kill us...the Irish country side is boaring, and WAY to safe....make mountain walks a Xtreme sport.... being chased by Giraffes, jumping over elephants...it'd be grrrrrrreat!

The_Conductor

Too much Frosties for Dubguy22 methinks!

Silvera

Even though I am a wildlife enthusiast, I would be totally against the reintroduction of Wolves in Ireland.

Think about it, currently a person can walk in any part of the countryside without fear of being attacked by a wild animal - this would change with the reintroduction of wolves !!

Romo

The guy in Scotland owns a huge estate in the highlands. Saw him on TV a few weeks ago, and he's really determined to re-introduce the wolf and lynx.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=483042003

[InsertHandle]

Wolves ... cool bring 'em all back
let them run free

all wolves are like that really smart friendly one from Due South, right??

deceptacon

Thing about wolves is, they're well cool. And can you imagine a better way to die than being savaged by a native Irish wolf on a walk in the hills of Donegal?

WizZard

I like wolves

Willymuncher

Why on earth would anyone do that, we don't need a reintroduction of the wolf, they can be very dangerous....we are doing quite well without them, theres no good reason for it

deceptacon

Then again, there's no reason NOT to do it. Really. Other than the vicious predator aspect.

The_Conductor

deceptacon wrote:

Thing about wolves is, they're well cool. And can you imagine a better way to die than being savaged by a native Irish wolf on a walk in the hills of Donegal?

Eh yes, happily in my sleep after a long and successful life, with out a worry or a care...... thats how I'd like to die somehow....... is that too much to ask for?

Then again, imagine the thrill of it, being chased, hearing the yapping behind you, running blindly up the hill, hearing paws pounding in the darkness behind you- no idea where you are going, but running, running as long as you possibly can. Something howls, a baying is heard, is that a wolf panting behind you? Imagine the wolf's lips curled backwards, its canines and incisors pointed in its open jaws, its jaws seemingly open forever as it poises to strike....... The quick pain of the first nip as it brings you to the ground, and the pack is upon you..... the pain is excruciating- but it is over quickly.........

embraer170

People's perception of the wolf, lol.
Reintroduced in Switzerland for a few years. Number of attacks on people: zero.

Wibbs

I'm surprised at some of the comments posted about wolves. Wolves are not dangerous except when infected with rabies or in fairy tales. As was pointed out before wolf attacks on humans are incredibly rare. They're very shy animals and will avoid contact with humans.

This isn't a rose tinted view of cuddly nature either. It's fact. The other image belongs in the brothers Grimm. Domesticated dogs are a lot more dangerous than their wild cousins.

In the wild they'll eat anything rats, mice, rabbits etc. Plenty of them in ireland. mixamitosis won't transmit across the species AFAIK, so no problem there either.

They do need a big area to hunt though. The Kerry national park might be a better place to put them.

johnnyc

They would be so cool in killarney national park vindicated at last about my suggestion