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Minnesota cattleman has lost 7 calves to wolf attacks in ’19

An east-central Minnesota cattleman says he’s lost seven calves to wolf attacks this year.

Keith Carlson runs a cow/calf operation in Pine County.

“The cleanest place to calve your cows out is on pasture, (and) the wolves have been a problem for us this year. We’ve had problems in the past, but this year especially (as) we’ve lost seven calves to wolves. Five of them have been confirmed by our local game warden.”

Speaking to Brownfield at the Minnesota State Fair Thursday, Carlson says because gray wolves are on the Endangered Species List, he can’t protect his livestock.

“The wolves have free rein, they can do whatever. So if we do lose an animal, we call our local conservation officer and he will come out and verify that it was actually a wolf kill. The way he does that is we need to have a wolf track.”

Carlson says there are several livestock producers within 10 miles of him who have also lost animals to wolf attacks in 2019.

“They don’t just prey on calves, there’s horses and sheep and various animals. People have even lost dogs killed by wolves.”

Despite attempts by both the Obama and Trump Administrations to return wolf management to states, activists have successfully sued to keep the federal government in control of the species.