Mar 29, 2020
Holly Firlein
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty.
Wolves are controversial carnivores whose management generates intense debate. That debate, and the response from wolf managers, often fails to adequately account for rural communities’ fears about wolves. These fears, if ignored, can lead to the frustration of conservation objectives and a disrespect for the law itself. In order to avoid these consequences, nongovernmental organizations and governments involved in wolf management must survey rural communities and implement wolf management strategies that account for rural concerns while honoring conservation objectives. This Note explores rural attitudes and their consequences in the United States and Europe, and proposes a new way forward in navigating the divide between rural stakeholders and wolf managers.