Manitoba farmers say wolf attacks on livestock are on the rise

Farmers in Manitoba’s Interlake region say an increase in the number of wolves is posing a threat to their cattle herds. Joseph Bernacki reports.

Ross MacMillan has farmed Holstein dairy cows for decades west of Warren, Man. Among rising fuel and supply costs, a new threat is looming — one on four legs.

“We never really had wolves around, but they showed up a few years ago and nobody thought much of it,” Ross said on Tuesday.

“But now they start killing these beef cattle. (I) figured it’s been 25 that they’ve ripped apart and killed.”

Ross said wolves have killed at least 25 cows in the area since last May.

He’s heard from neighbours and has seen for himself that they are appearing at all hours of the day, not just at night.

He said his family got a scare last fall as they prepared cattle for sale.

“We come back the next morning, and here’s one dead, had the throat ripped right out of it,” Ross said.

“(I) could see one wolf track, just one track. I didn’t think one wolf could pull that cow down, but it did.”

He said the cow was between 1,200 and 1,300 lbs.

Jeff MacMillan farms black angus cattle just down the road from his dad. He believes the rising deer population and habitat loss due to wildfires last year have driven the wolves southbound to the Interlake.

Jeff said the predators are wreaking financial havoc as more cows are killed.

“In the community pasture and all over the place, they’ve lost 20 animals over however many years. You take them at $4,000 an animal. They cost farmers $80,000,” Jeff said.

Jeff said it’s difficult to get compensated for losses because the agency in charge, the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), needs a full cow carcass to process a claim.

“I know one guy that lost, I think, seven or eight, and he only found three or four carcasses,” he said.

“So he was personally owed about $16,000.”

“The farmers are right. There’s a requirement that we view a carcass prior to compensation being paid,” said MASC chief product officer David Van Deynze.

“Our job at MASC is to validate that the loss was due to a predator and that there was actual loss there.”

Van Deynze said coyote attacks correlate with the top reason for livestock loss claims in the province.

Jeff was with his dad when a cow was killed by a wolf on his property. They were preparing the cattle for an auction sale in Saskatchewan.

“That day cost me $4,200 bucks,” he said.

“I was fortunate enough to find the carcass, so I got the payout, but these guys that lose seven and you only find three, you’re only getting paid on the three. So the other four are toast.”

Chris Enright, senior director of zoological operations from Assiniboine Park Conservancy, said Manitoba currently has a stable wolf population, and the animal is very territorial.

Enright said it is possible new packs could settle into the Interlake near livestock farmers should the deer populations remain strong as well.

“They know where their food can be found,” Enright said.

“They know where the shelter is, but sometimes circumstances change, and this might be an example of something like that.”