3 ms·

I'm in a cow county, but here both people and cows are outnumbered many times by elk and deer. A large part of the local economy is about supporting hunters fro

I'm in a cow county, but here both people and cows are outnumbered many times by elk and deer. A large part of the local economy is about supporting hunters from the cities. A local rancher told me that they make almost all of their money from hunting parties in elk season. They wouldn't bother with cows except that the cows improve the foraging for the elk, improving their business. The cows are cultivating, seed distribution and fertilization devices in service of the elk herds. I think that the more wild forage we can maintain along with our domesticated food system, the better. In paradise it's the rule rather than the exception.

bjoli 4y ago
I have been thinking about this lately. In Sweden we have a huge amount of elk, held high by forresting practices (clearcutting releases a huge amount of energy for elk), virtually no predators (we have less than 500 wolves) and policies to keep the number high. Elks are by far the most dangerous wild animal in Sweden, killing about 10 per year in traffic accidents. Add to hat the cost of the elks to the forresting industry and suddenly we are left with very few reasons to keep such an artificially huge elk population. The outtake (in meat), which is already considered to be at a maximum, only covers 2-3% of Swedish meat consumption. I have started considering it a very marginal industry eith large drawbacks and very small benefits.