To think the reintroduction of the wild Wolf to Belgium is insanity?

[HoppsAndSpice]

Wild Wolves have been reintroduced into Belgium over the last couple of weeks. This has led to the great dismay of the local farming community and outrage from the country as a whole. I am personally thinking about the many farmers who will lose cattle and sheep to the wolves and the impact it will have on their livelihood. Also the impact it will have on the wider ecosystem as a whole which could see various creatures such as rabbits, hares and other small mammals hunted in large quantities.

Wolves have a very inefficient digestive system as do most carnivores which means they need large quantities of meat to survive.

Its a very interesting one but I think this needs resolving urgently as a matter of urgency.

My (usually very clever) dh told me yesterday that they were from China, so I’ll blame him for that lapse.

I like Ben Goldsmith's approach to rewilding, especially badgers.

He tweeted this about the wolf recently:

twitter.com/BenGoldsmith/status/1609956695291068417

Belgium is landlocked on all sides including the side which faces the uk (landlocked by the UK as it covered the entirety of the border meaning the country doesn’t have a clear view out into the ocean)

What you are saying is that the British Isles function as an 8ft fence spoiling Belgium's view over the ocean.

I think Belgium need to complain to the council.

And writing ‘I prefer my furbaby wolfie to any humans!’ while advocating that the lonely get themselves a rescue wolf because wolf-walking around the local rec is a great way to meet friendly people.

I don't really know too much about it, and ecosystems are far more complex than they appear. I know its more complicated than too many herbivores lets introduce carnivores to control them.

But here (Forest of Dean) there are too many deer and wild boar than the woods can support and they have to be culled quite regularly. To be frank the boar especially are a pain in the arse to farmers, foresters and householders around the area as they are so destructive and aggressive.

They have introduced beavers to the forest as an experiment, and they manage flooding with their dams and have changed their part of the forest for the better creating a wider variety of environments and increasing biodiversity.

LIke the boar there used to be beavers in the forest 100s of years ago. There also used to be wolves and wolverine, maybe putting the wolves back again will control the deer and boar naturally and they wouldnt need to be culled.

Of course populations would need to be closely monitored and managed and that would probably make the whole thing unsustainable. What must be avoided is unmonitored releases of animals that become a nuisience. This is how the boar and muntjac came to be here.

Please go and look at a map of Europe and find out where Ostend is.
Or just read this: Belgium has a coastline - it is NOT landlocked.

I’m not exactly in favour of wolves roaming around either - but they are not an invasive species. Wolves were hunted to extinction in England and Wales in the medieval period but lasted longer in Ireland. Wolves have continued to live in many parts of Europe and have recently increased in number in France, Germany etc. They are killing livestock as it is difficult to fence farmland well enough to prevent them getting in. So yes, there are issues to consider, but some of the points you are making are totally incorrect.

I’ve just read a great book about re-introducing wolves and how beneficial it has been. It claims its bollocks the wolves are killing a large percentage of livestock (as is claimed by farmers). That it’s actually very few. Surely an electric fence would solve most problems?

There are plenty of wolves in North America (primarily Alaska but other states too). It's been over 100 years since the last time a healthy wolf killed any humans in the US. We're not their preferred prey unless they're starving or sick.

As long as they have space to roam and an available food source I think it's fine.

oh I do love the water troll. It’s a shame the thread will disappear since there is just such a great level of batshittery/bisonshittery/wolfshittery about every single post.

No I’m just a wolf and general animal geek 😁

OP I am not sure where you are getting your information from because I live in Belgium and haven't noticed any national outrage. This project started years ago! There have been a few complaints from sheep farmers. I think quite a few people are supportive of the project and a lot of primary school children are learning about ecosystems off the back of it!

As for Belgium being landlocked, some pps need a lesson in basic geography! 😄😄

Did you know that Belgium has the world's longest tram line in service -
67 kilometres (42 miles) in length - that er, runs along the Belgian coast?

I recommend taking a ride and, when in season, stopping off for some mussels and frites half way! Also recommend watching the Belgian heavy horses being used to fish for shrimp in the sea!

Well now I have John Fennimore's song about Belgium stuck in my head. 🤣

I know, but it's so funny I hope it doesn't go poof

They are coming.

Wild wolves are all over Europe OP.

www.oysterworldwide.com/news/wolves-in-europe/

Though maybe they aren't just wolves. Maybe thats only one of their forms 😱🌕

Actually this is not bonkers. An unchecked population of deer is destructive to the ecosystem as was seen in a similar way in Yellowstone Park in the US where wolves were successfully reintroduced in the 1990s.

There are definitely wolves in the Pyrenees already; I have heard them!

That's what I was thinking but couldn't find any mention yet of the late Queen and the Pistachio plot.....

are you in Belgium? If not - beak out, OP.

I haven't read all your posts but it seems you're worried the wolves will swim across from Belgium?

In any case, nobody just thought "oh i know, I'll put wolves in Belgium" on a whim and that was it.

(we have them in Germany too. The farmers moan, they moan about everything tbh, but then as pp mentioned they moan about the deer too)

Just doing my bit for the Belgian tourist industry, which has taken a battering on this thread! 😄

It is possible that working in conjunction with certain humans these wolves would be reintroduced globally especially into ecosystems which are now very fragile and could not handle the influx for example the Amazon.

OP, are you okay? You seem to think the wolves are conspiring. How would they do that, exactly?

But where do you stand on bison OP?
Something tells me you have a definite stance on bison.

Also, does your team operate from a pooly-lit but conveniently well-equipped industrial basement, are you all lookers in your 20's & 30's, & are you comprised of a weapons expert, a brainiac scientist, a martial artist, a computer hacker & shady financier? Because I think I've seen you on Netflix, you may want to name-change.

😂😂😂😂😂

What are your credentials, OP? What's your professional and educational background RE ecology?

Unless they can swim the channel i don't think we need to worry about them spreading here.