For the last three years, Ray Bittner and a group of Manitoba livestock producers have been testing methods to reduce predation of cattle and sheep in the province. They have tried things like flashing lights, temporary electric fencing, fladry wire (wire fence with long narrow fabric streamers) and predator-resistant pens. Bittner is the leader of […] Read more
Tag Archives predators
Why coyote trap-and-release programs don’t reduce predator concerns
The operators of Agriculture Canada’s Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa have discovered that if you’ve got a coyote problem in the middle of the city, live trapping won’t earn any brownie points with environmentalists — and it won’t get rid of the problem, either. Earlier this spring, staff at the farm hired a company “to […] Read more
Wolf control measures are working: biologist
A provincial biologist says the evidence doesn’t support the theory that Manitoba’s wolf population is growing and that attacks on cattle are more frequent. For five years, the provincial government has paid trappers $250 per wolf caught in Duck Mountain Provincial Park and other areas where the moose population is at risk. Hank Hristienko, a […] Read more
Coyote costs not compensated
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Dave and Deb Spooner say they are overrun with coyotes and aren’t being properly compensated for the calves that they’ve lost. The livestock producers from Qu’Appelle, Sask., said the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp., which administers the province’s compensation program, doesn’t pay out on every animal found in similar circumstances and doesn’t […] Read more
Shutting the door on bears
Keeping grizzlies at bay | Ranchers share methods that protect livestock and feed from predators
TWIN BUTTE, Alta. — Poplar fluff winked in the sunlight that dappled a burbling Yarrow Creek June 21 as ranchers in this corner of southwestern Alberta recounted far less peaceful scenes. Mac Main had to repair a metal grain bin and pour a concrete floor to prevent grizzly bears from gaining access. Helen Cyr suspected […] Read more
