Dear Editor,
Regarding the article “Counties try to help with cattle loss,” it doesn’t stipulate public-land ranchers vs. private-land ranchers.
Helping a private-land rancher with loss from wolves is a reasonable thing to allow our native lobo to once again become part of the intricate web of native wildlife.
If access to these funds is for public-lands ranchers, we have a right to question why any public monies should be allocated since they are utilizing our public lands where the public has decided that wolves should once again roam free here.
The arid Southwest takes very large swaths of land to raise cattle. So large that it becomes difficult at best to watch over their herd adequately.
Is it really the public’s responsibility to ensure profitability of such a business? Every other business I know has a choice of whether to purchase insurance to cover any potential losses or accept such losses. Perhaps the cattle industry should set up a fund to help with such issues rather than relying on the public to fund their business.
Michael Sauber
Silver City
