Group 7
Amanda Homsey, Hannah Swanbom,
Matt Fray, Justin Linderman, Anthony Lackore
Case Study: Introduction of Canadian Wolves
Leroy Smith, owner of Triple H Ranch, is a third generation rancher on a 125,000 acre ranch south of I-70 in Paonia, Colorado. Leroy and his wife Clara have three young children; Tommy, Jonny and Sue. His wife works at the localelementary school in which their children attend. Leroy’s ranch consists of a 10,000 head purebred Simmental cow/calf operation. He also growscorn, alfalfa and wheat for feed use. Leroy currently employs seven ranch hands to assist in daily activities.
Over the past few months Leroy has been attending Colorado Rancher’s Association meetings regarding the issue of reintroducing the endangered Canadian Grey Wolf into Colorado. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has been the predominant force behind the reintroduction to recreate Colorado’s natural wildlife habitat. The division also hopes that reintroducing the wolves will help manage theelk herd size, which has become a problem over the last couple of years.
A few weeks ago, the Colorado legislature passed a law stating that if an individual’s property lies south of I-70, the individual cannot kill wolves that are on their property. However, if an individual lives north of I-70, they can legally kill any wolves on their property. This law has caused a lot of controversy among the general public and rancher’s regarding their safety and livestock.Individuals south of I-70 caught killing wolves will face the consequences of up to ten years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and loss of personal possessions and property.
Over the past month, while checking hisherd Leroy stumbled upon multiple calf carcasses each week. Upon speaking to some of his neighbors he has discovered that they are also finding dead calvesin their pastures. After inspecting the carcasses he begins to speculate that wolves are responsible for the deaths of his cattle. Then one day,Leroy comes home to find his beloved chocolate lab Rooster dead in the backyard where his kids usually play. Leroy has decided to take matters into his own hands. He has started to carry a rifle around to protect his livestock and his family. Late one evening while checking his herd he witnesses a wolf attacking one of his calves. With the wolf in close proximity, and knowing that he could end up in jail and lose his ranch, he reaches for his gun.
Questions
Is it morally permissible for Leroy to kill the wolf considering the consequences?
Is it ethical to allow individuals north on I-70 to kill wolves, while not allowing individuals south of I-70 to kill them?
What are the other avenues he could use to deal with this problem?
Is it ethical to kill an endangered species?