The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1918-05-17
WAGING WAR ON
FOOD DESTROYERS
Predatory Animals in Western
States Cause Immense DAM
age Each Year.
HUNTERS ARE NOW At WORK
In Two and Half Years $4,000 Wolves,
Coyotes, Bobcats, Lions, Bears
and Other Beasts Killed by
Paid Hunters.

Inc city purchaser or meat uOeS not
always realize the really serious diff
culties to be overcome before choice
cut of steak or cheaper stewing piece
can be brought to market. He buys
what he wants or can afford, always
marveling at the increasing cost. If
the supply of food were increased by
$3000O0,000 worth, the cost would be
correspondingly less, and when the
purchaser is informed that this value
of meat and other foodstuffs is wan
tonly destroyed every year in the Unit
ed States he is likely to sit up and take
notice. More, he is likely to investl-
gate the cause of the waste and to
help stop it, if possible. FOOdstuffs
WORTH these millions of dollars are de-
stroyed every year through the raw
ages of wild predatory animals and of
small grain-eating and crOp-destrOying
rodents.
Unlike the hordes of injurious in
sects which prey on the crops almost
unseen, these animals are large enough
to be coped with singly and ut COM
paratiyely small cost.
Yearly Damage by Wolf.
Wolves, for instance, are caught one
At time, either in the trap or by
poison or with powder and shot. These
animals do not prOwl the country over
night after night with only an Occa-
sional meal once or twice week, but
like other beasts must obtain their
food more or less regularly. AS live
stock are especially choice mOrsels for
them, the destruction each animal in
fliCts on a herd is enormous. 1t does
not require any stretch of the imagi-
nation, therefore, to grasp the fact that
each wolf destroys annually an aver
age of $1,000 worth of live stock. The
growing boy could not be so vOraciOus.
Therefore, every wolf destroyed means
a years supply of food for several boys
or grown men. Multiply this $1,000
destruction of good food by the total
number of wolves in the country and
we have large part of the $500, ,OOO,-
900 worth of food taken from dOmesti-
Gated flOcks and herds.
In the summer and early fall of last
year hunters of the bureau of biologi-
cal survey of the department of agri-
culture killed nearly 200 wolves, more
than half of them in Texas, one of the
greatest meat-producing states of the
Union. Wyoming, Arizona and New
hn off fOV. 0x-iu
lost in this campaign about 90 of these
marauders.
Damage by Other cuIprits-
But wolves are not the only culprits
that need to be dispatched if we are to
market all the meat actually produced
on our extensive ranges. 1t has been |
estimated by officials of the department |
of agriculture that mountain lions and |
stOck-killing grizzly bears each destroy |
annually $500 worth of live stock, |
and that each coyote and bObcat con-
sumes a tenth of this amount. Coyotes |
and bobcats, however are many times
more numerous than the mountain |
lions and bears, judging from the
numbers destroyed by hunters of the |
biological survey. During part of the
last summer and fall eight mountain
lions and 27 bears paid the death pen
atty for their marauding, while in the
same time more than 1000 bobcats and
more than 10000 coyotes were exter-
Had these animals been allowed to
go about their nefariOus work unmo-
Tested through the year, and through
the rest of their natural lives, they
would have taken the usual toll of our
meat supply accordingly. The pelt of