Editor: It’s a sad day when one can log into social media and see that individuals fear more for the life of wild animals than they do for the lives of their children, and their providers.
In the past couple of days there has been a confirmed kill by a cougar locally. Now this isn’t to say that there haven’t been others, but this one in particular hits close to home.
I would like it to be known that crop protection and livestock protection is a legal and regulated process, and if there is wildlife threatening these things, then we should be grateful that we live in a society that has the resources to protect our providers. Packaged meats and dairy products, as well as fruits and veggies, come from local farmers —so why not support them in protecting their livelihood that helps feed our families and make it a possibility to have diverse meals daily.
For those who believe that these farmers have encroached on wildlife land, fine, but those townhouses and urban areas do so as well, and they are not providing sustenance for the community.
I think there is an important lesson to be learned from this. Perhaps we should realize that we too are animals, and we protect our own, just as wildlife does.
If we want to eat and feed our animals, then we might want to rethink our views on trapping or destroying large animals that pose a threat not only to livestock, but children and pets too.
Sarah Emilie Braaten,
Langley