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.

Have you taken your meds?

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?

It's definitely an issue for farmers and shepherds in the Alps, where the cattle often graze unsupervised. I was in Austria recently and noticed several information posters displayed in public places against the wolf

Someone I vaguely know actually had a pet wolf.

When a lone wolf is sighted in a small, uninhabited archipelago just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, local resident and renowned wildlife photographer Cheryl Alexander goes in for a closer look. What follows is a seven-year relationship that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of lone wolf behaviour.

Cheryl’s never-before-seen footage details where Takaya came from, how he got to the island and how he has adapted to his new landscape. Working with leading experts to help decipher his remarkable behaviour, Cheryl is determined to show what this majestic hunter can teach us all.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000byp7

I'd luffs wolves (back) in Britain. Weirdly I'm not a dog person either.

Exactly this!

I'm in favour of the wolves! really benefits the whole ecosystem. Look at Yellowstone... Wolves only take a pretty tiny % of farm animals as I have understood. Appreciate upsetting for farmers, but seriously - we can't just worry about cute fluffy animals and pretty flowers, we need whole ecosystems - from slimy algae up to apex predators. Wolves are native and I'm sure farmers will be compensated for lost animals. It will all be very closely monitored - fairly certain tourists in Bruges will be fine...

In every kids story and fairytale wolves are shown to be very crafty and this is exactly how they are in real life.

ah. Yes. They are going to come across in small boats. It's going to go one of two ways here: Life of Pi style where the wolves eat the other people in the boats, or they'll be sent to Rawanda. Win-win?

PS - the Channel is pretty def not a river...

Just reintroduce the wolf and the wild boar simultaneously? Job done.

Yes but the fourth side is a sea side which faces the UK directly which is my main worry and because from Belgium if you go across from border each end into the sea you arrive at the UK it can be argued that the bit of channel that separates us from Belgium is just considered to be a river and therefore Belgium is landlocked

Considered to be a river by who, exactly? apart from you, that is.

You are batshit, sorry

Wolves are not invasive. Invasive is a species that was never an endemic population, which wolves were - along with lynx and bears, and wild boar and bison. And wolves were wiped out - not through natural selection, but by persecution and hunting by humans, quite often just because the posh boys wanted to hunt stag in the royal forests.

So it wasnt anything natural about it.

As a result the fragile ecosystem that you are banging on about has been seriously out of kilter, as the apex preditors were removed from the cycle and everything has gone out of whack since then. If you think our ecosystem in the UK is in balance you are having a laugh!

the reintroduction of wolves in places like Yellowstone, which I grant you is a far larger reserve than the East coast of Kent - has had beneficial impact across the board on flora and fauna.

If you want to take a look at what damage is happening to woodland, take a look at the ancient woodlands across Sussex which are being devastated by deer populations. Those deer wont be living their best life because of an absence of wolves - many of them are shot.

Wolves dont like people much. They are not avid killers of children. They prefer their natural prey. And of course they wouldnt fit into a heavily populated place. But in the wild areas? Why not. Im pretty sure there are some on the big estates in Scotland, so perhaps you should worry about the ones who are already here heading south, rather than pretend escapees from Belgium.

And as to 'how did they get to Belgium'? Well on the unpopulated wild areas at the boarders, Im assuming they just extended their territories. They cant read maps you know, no more than they can swim 20km or sail boats

Wolves are a keystone species. if you remove them, the species below them in the food chain have no natural predator and go out of control

There was a programme about wolves in Yellowstone Park that made this point. Before wolves were re-introduced, the elk population soared and stripped the vegetation. Once there were wolves hunting the elk, the population came back into balance and the trees recovered.

www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wildlife/wolf-reintroduction-changes-ecosystem/

Muntjac deer, Egyptian geese, Chinese mitten crabs, Terrapins and a load of other animals have already invaded OP, might be best to worry about them before you worry about wolves swimming the channel from Belgium.

MN, please don't delete..this is brightening my day!

Here's my contribution to the Belgian tourist industry . Just a beach bar, with a playground (one if many). Reached by the aforementioned longest tramline in the world. That is all, no wolves.

Bit disappointed that our campsite in the Ardennes last year didn't bother to warn us of the imminent danger

i love this thread, i hope it stays up.

Frankly? I'm quite on board with eradicating invasive species. I'd start with things like japanese knotweed and those nasty foreign bluebells. Also aren't there invasive non-native species of mussels or oysters devastating the coastline? alongside the crayfish (tasty, so should be caught and eaten)

Culling the deer and selling the venison sounds like a great idea, also the wild boar. But the invasive deer are the little Muntjack (sp? name?) ones that escaped from someone's stately home? (Chinese i think?). Then there are all the flippin' parrots and grey squirrels. There are a LOT of really harmful invasive species, before we get onto wolves.

My group is against people like you and I need you to know what you are doing is illegal

What's your group? and can we have a citation for the 'illegal' plz?

This thread is highly entertaining - highlight for me was when the OP said

“I don’t actually agree with any introduction of invasive species once they have been eradicated as once eradicated the species should take the loss and continue on as nature intended which animals like wolves should understand and the people who want to propagate them should be punished.”

Mitten crabs? Does that mean as well as checking shoes for spiders, we should be checking gloves for crabs? 😳

My dog recommends the wolves to forget swimming the channel just book themselves into the dog friendly lounge on the ferry.

They haven't been reintroduced, they have either traveled over the border (that they aren't aware of) or were born there in the last few years. Some farmers are complaining a bit but other than that people in The Netherlands and Belgium are quite fascinated by their return and not bothered in the slightest.

Just trying to picture the wolves swimming across the river Channel right now

Just out of interest, where do you stand on Lord Heseltine’s annual massacre of grey squirrels?

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Wolves don't like people much.

Actually most wild animals aren't too keen on people.

The most dangerous animal in the UK is humans. With the emphasis on "mans".

That’s the second best bit. The best bit is:

In every kids story and fairytale wolves are shown to be very crafty and this is exactly how they are in real life.