It’s a story you may have noticed before, now in the same box with some differences; it’s another rancher, it’s another type of slaughtered farm animal, and Colorado is closer than ever to reintroducing wolves to the state.
Farmer Brian Anderson says 3 of his lambs were attacked last week and all were killed. One of the lambs was eaten, the other two were simply killed and left alone afterwards.
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Anderson said Colorado Parks and Wildlife told him they were likely the same wolves or wolves that killed the cows in 2022, part of a herd that lived near or around the state’s northern line. This is one of the few cases that Jackson County citizens have noticed with this package.
“We have to be informed to live with them,” Anderson said. “The ultimate goal is to achieve a successful arrival in the state of Colorado. “
Anderson’s father, Philip, was the first to discover the bodies. He said what bothered him most was his granddaughter’s reaction to the slaughter of lambs less than 100 yards from her home.
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“She said, ‘Grandma, what would I do if I was outside and a wolf chased me?’Now an 8-year-old shouldn’t have to worry about that,” he said.
Anderson said they’ve effectively used an electric fence with tapes to help deter the wolves’ calving seasons this spring, but it’s only attached to the fence temporarily.
He now plans to leave his sheep in a pen with the rest of the animals at night for added protection.
Despite the loss of livestock and what he considers a risk to his family, Anderson sought to make that message loud and clear.
“We want to paint together,” Anderson said. We want to change the way we understand the way we raise cattle. . . But we have to work together, otherwise it might not work. “