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| '''Wolf hunting''', is the practice of hunting wolves, usually the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus). The traditional justifications for wolf hunting are to preserve livestock, protect human beings, or just for the enjoyment of it. There has never been a properly documented case of a wolf attack on an adult human in Europe. | '''Wolf hunting''', is the practice of hunting wolves, usually the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus). The traditional justifications for wolf hunting are to preserve livestock, protect human beings, or just for the enjoyment of it. There has never been a properly documented case of a wolf attack on an adult human in Europe. | ||
| The most common justification is to preserve economically valuable livestock. Early settlers in the ] tried to eliminate wolves entirely, by offering bounties for each ] pelt as evidence of a kill. For several decades much of the ] area and ] were devoid of wolves. Some wolf sub-species were hunted into extinction. | The most common "justification" is to preserve economically valuable livestock. Early settlers in the ] tried to eliminate wolves entirely, by offering bounties for each ] pelt as evidence of a kill. For several decades much of the ] area and ] were devoid of wolves. Some wolf sub-species were hunted into extinction. | ||
| The European wolf population has been severely reduced over the centuries. Small populations remain, but are threatened by culling. In 2001 ] allowed the hunting of a pack of nine wolves out of a total Scandivanian population of about one hundred. In regions where wolves survive farmers are usually paid compensation for every animal killed by a wolf. Several types of dog have been specially bred in countries like Italy which will remain with a flock and protect them from wolf attacks. | The European wolf population has been severely reduced over the centuries. Small populations remain, but are threatened by culling. In 2001 ] allowed the hunting of a pack of nine wolves out of a total Scandivanian population of about one hundred. In regions where wolves survive farmers are usually paid compensation for every animal killed by a wolf. Several types of dog have been specially bred in countries like Italy which will remain with a flock and protect them from wolf attacks. | ||
Revision as of 23:46, 16 July 2005
Wolf hunting, is the practice of hunting wolves, usually the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus). The traditional justifications for wolf hunting are to preserve livestock, protect human beings, or just for the enjoyment of it. There has never been a properly documented case of a wolf attack on an adult human in Europe.
The most common "justification" is to preserve economically valuable livestock. Early settlers in the United States tried to eliminate wolves entirely, by offering bounties for each wolf pelt as evidence of a kill. For several decades much of the Great Plains area and Mountain States were devoid of wolves. Some wolf sub-species were hunted into extinction.
The European wolf population has been severely reduced over the centuries. Small populations remain, but are threatened by culling. In 2001 Norway allowed the hunting of a pack of nine wolves out of a total Scandivanian population of about one hundred. In regions where wolves survive farmers are usually paid compensation for every animal killed by a wolf. Several types of dog have been specially bred in countries like Italy which will remain with a flock and protect them from wolf attacks.
In the United States wolves are usually shot. They are considered challenging game, because they can take a bullet and keep going. Less sporting, as some view it, is aerial hunting via helicopter. After chasing an entire pack into the ground, hunters land, walk up to the exhausted wolves and shoot them at point blank range. This is widely seen as not very sporting. Alaska voted in a state-wide referendum on November 7, 2000, to ban this method of hunting. It is not well enforced.
Wolves are hunted by a variety of methods across the world. Perhaps the most unusual is the Central Asian practice of hunting wolves with eagles. The berkut is a type of Golden Eagle which Kirghiz people use to hunt wolves. These eagles are so powerful that they are capable of killing a fully grown wolf by diving at speed and striking the wolf on the back of the head or neck.
Russians have traditionally hunted wolves with a variety of specially bred dogs including the borzoi. Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy's masterpiece War and Peace includes a famous wolf hunt which, in itself, is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. It is included in Part VII and, with the rest of this section, marks the high point of the Rostov children's happy childhood and the beginning of their adult lives.