In defence of the wolf
Wolves are returning to their former ranges across Europe and North America, resurrecting a centuries’ old war with humans. Yet wolves are losing this battle, because in our arsenal we possess not only guns, traps, and poison, but something much more powerful: the human imagination. Despite the fact that wolves are considered one of the most charismatic species on the planet, and scientific evidence proving that they pose very little threat to humans, the ‘Big Bad Wolf’, a bloodthirsty killer, resides in our collective subconscious, creating a fear of wolves that is in-built from childhood. Anti-wolf activists capitalise on this fear to persuade others that wolves and people cannot co-exist, especially when farming is concerned. However, wolves do not know that sheep-hunting is a capital offence, or that there are areas where they are not welcome. They are not ‘bad’, but are simply animals trying to survive in a world in which they are increasingly unwelcome. Read more in The Conversation.
Elizabeth Marshall is a PhD Researcher, Wolves in Anglo-Saxon Literature, School of English