Written by John Cox, M.A., Trail Rider Cascade Mountains

In North America, there have been only 2 fatal wild wolf attacks — i.e. human involved, in the past century. In the lower 48, there have been 0 fatal wild wolf attacks in the past century. ​In North America, there have been only 22 nonfatal wild wolf attacks in the past century. Four were rabid.

FEAR! Advertising dollars, and taxpayer dollars, use the term quite freely these days, as well as the basis for large sales, or to manipulate the public into irrational disinformation campaigns too, for example, rid our Public Lands of Wild Horses, or Predators in our ecological habitats.

COUGAR — From 1890 until 1994, only “authenticated” 13 fatalities took place in North America. That number went up to 27 fatal attacks (i.e. 1890 to 2022) by 2022. . .

Indeed, we can look at Wild Horse Advocacy, and see it as well – the roundups conducted by DOI/BLM, the Fertility Controls for over-population scares, FEAR-BASED MANIPULATIONS – DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS conducted by DOI/BLM & Corrupted Non-Profits & USDA Wildlife Services, but in reality, simply do not exist. Politician’s use scare-tactics, or, misuse the term FEAR (similar to how Humane is used today = misused) to scare their constituents into believing they will protect them all from the dastardly (fill in here whatever the trend is for the day) _________________ , blah blah blah, and everything will be all right.

We see all of them misuse the term FEAR and HUMANE simultaneously, and often . . .

Riding trails a lot throughout the years, and I always run across questions about how often Bear, Wolves, Cougar, or other Apex Predators, attack us. When I tell people never, they just grin, and explain to me information they have heard from others, or, from ranchers, or, the government, or, Joe Scmoo the plumber and while at the bar last night. I then explain to them, that group where you got that information from are not, nor ever have been, a group of people to obtain good, nor truthful, information from. Information based upon FEAR, is simply irrational, and extremely out of proportion with any types of reality.

Last year, black and grizzly bears combined killed four people in Alaska and Canada, and in 2019, only 2 fatal bear attacks occurred. Between 2000 and 2015, grizzly bears killed a total of two dozen people in North America — Statistics suggest there have been over 180 fatal bear attacks in North America since 1784. While the majority of these fatal attacks have been carried out by wild bears, some are the result of bears held in captivity.

On the trails, we have more to fear from insects, bees, or the grasses the horses may graze upon (e.g. loco-weed et al.), or poison oak among other toxic plants that can make us sickly, if we do not avoid them. Traumatic Brain Injuries are by far something to be concerned about, to Horse-People, than being attacked from Apex Predators. The fact is, we can fear, by far, being on the mountain trails, or just in the mountains, from those who approach life with little to no common sense.

The resolution much easier, but not as dramatic, or worth telling a story-i.e. lie, abut one’s personal adventures in the mountains . . . Or, repeating misinformation, from those misinformed, or, those ranchers who receive government subsidies from Wolf Attacks when their cattle attacked and killed (most often statistics get in their way) supposedly by Wolves. . . The facts, or truth, directly conflict with both government, cattle ranching, and corrupted non-profits, when discussing Wildlife Management, or Wild Horse Management on Public Lands.

Or, when we look at the tremendous Taxpayer Expense, from these same lies after lies, about Wildlife Over-Populations, we begin to see a Truth — but not the expected truth . . . Fertility Programs and Experimentation on America’s Wildlife, are presumptive-only, with no data nor evidence to show the programs needed, or necessary.

We see government agencies and corrupted non-profits, together, both CREATING THE PROBLEMS, AND ULTIMATELY, ASKING TAXPAYER’S FOR MORE MONEY TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS THEY CREATED. When indeed, in most cases, as Evidence does show, consistently, if they had left the Wild Horses, or, other Wildlife alone, there would be no problem. Nature takes care of itself, when healthy and allowed to do so.

The fact is, and was, THERE CONTINUES TO BE NO OVER-POPULATION OF WILD HORSES NOR WILDLIFE OF ANY TYPE, WHAT SO EVER. AS A MATTER OF FACT, JUST THE OPPOSITE EXISTS, IN TRUTH.