The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-12-24
RELATION OF PREDATORY
ANIMALS TO H|CH-PR|C[D MEAT
Only Adequate Protection to Young Stock and Poultry Lies in
Liberal State BOunties for Wolves, Coyotes and Cats

en- guard during the entire year not
far distant from the flock of sheen.
aud any that stray beyond the protec-
tion of the herder's rifle paw a tribute
with their lives to the cunning Of the
coyote. The loss to the. sheepman
from coyotes in a year is so great as
to be appalling. and is one of the fac
tors concerned in limiting he flock
master s profit Plauged as he is the
sheepman by coyotes bis loss in the
aggregate is only greater than that of
the farmer who is trying to raise a
flock Of poultry to supply his own
needs rs well as those of the market.
The coyote has driven thousands and
thousands of farmers out Of the poul-
try business. In fact it is neither
profitable nor possible to raise poul-
try in the range country on account
Of these tvarmints. - TURKEYS are
especially the prey Of the coyote Their
wandering disposition leads them into
his domain from which thev seldom
return. Then the chicken and duck
are wanderers by nature. seavenging
IN the surrounding fields from which
they are plucked one by one bv Mr..
Coyote until none remain to tell the
story.
The wolf being larger and stronger
than the coyote seeks a stronger and
better quarry The coyote freauents
scenes where settlement is well adj
vanced But the wolf, knowing that
mankind understands to nicety his
destructive tendencies and feeling
that the hand of every man IS raised
against him, seeks seclusion in the
fa Gf n of ha fn4
the broad. unsettled ranges. Travel
ing sometimes in small packs of three
or four, but generally alone, the wolf
is able TO meet and conquer anv do
nestle animal of any size or age Two
wolves will hamstring and slaughter
fully developed horses and cattle and
q single wolf finds it pleasure to run
down a two-year-old steer or colt in a
few minutes. 1t is not alone the fact
that the wolf possesses this murderous
power that alarms the stoekmen. but
the fact that at each going forth he
exercises it. Wolves are never <numer-
Gus like coyotes, but in all the range
country there exist a few which cause
losses of the greatest moment to the
stockmen.
Then we have the wild cat. last and
least among these animal plaques. He
feeds largely upon lambs and poultry.
His annual toll is enormous even
though his attentions are confined to
the smaller species of animals Wild
cats are very common, all over the
western country, and all one of them
requires to select his residence is an
available supply of poultry or small
stock. At lambing time nearly every
flockmaster pays a heavy tribute to
the wild cat and probably every night
the lambing camp is visited and one
or two lambs taken to enrich the
eat s larder. The sheepman, however
is not the greatest sufferer from wild
cats, for the poultry raiser in the ag-
gregate meets with greater loss
Chickens. turkeys, ducks and geese
furnish one-h half of the wild cat Is ra-
tions. In fact it is a habit of the wild
cat to scout about until he locates
well-stocked henhouse.
The stockman alone can never han
die THIS question. He has already
contributed his full share toward it,
In almost every western district the
cattle and sheep associations have
been paying from their own funds a
bounty on wild animals. I'm some in
stances these local bounties have
amounted to $50 for a wolf and $5 for
a coyote In addition to this, many
stockmen employ hunters at their own
expense While these efforts help inn
menselv the stockmen cannot destroy
these animals so long as the federal
and state governments permit them to
breed on their lands. Anyway, preda-
tory animals are migratory in char
acter and while the stockman may
destroy them in one portion of the
state, the loss is made up by the ad
ditions from another portion. Thus
if they are to he effectively removed
there must be broad, concerted action
behind which rests a state bounty
Money that a state spends in wild
animal hounties is soon returned to
its treasury in the form of increased
taxes through increased live stock pro
duction, and in more rapid develop
ment Of the resources of the state. All
of our western states are inviting
homesteaders to take up their waste
lands, but with the invitation should
90 an agreement to assist these home
builders in protecting their stock
against the ravages Of predatory ami
mails that are produced on the states
domain
We are all complaining about the
igh cost of living, but few have stop
ned to consider the increased cost oe-
aasioned by these wild animals. Eggs
and poultry sell at prohibitive prices
in the west, which prices are largely
due to the inroads made on our poul-
trv bv coyotes and wild eats Take
the case of the heifer calf killed by a
COYOTE and see the immense economic
less. The calf's mother having moth
inc to feed but herself during the
summer comes up in the fall fat and
il shipped to an eastern market thus
forever DENYING the state of her pro-
ductive capacity. The calf that WAS
,.,tl .lo.Il hava ru.sod ~ lpa ST fOnr