The Minnesota Department of Agriculture paid out $107,460 to livestock owners who had animals killed by wolves in 2019. This is the lowest total paid out since 2015.
In order for ranchers to be reimbursed for livestock death, they must provide proof that the wolves were the reason ofr the death.
In 2019, there were 78 claims filed, down from 117 in 2018 and way down from the 137 claims in 2016.
According to MinnPost, authorities verified 74 calf kills, 11 cow kills, two sheep kills, two dog kills and 10 “other” animal kills in Minnesota as well as 13 animals wounded by wolves.
However, Mike Landuyt, the president of the Minnesota State Cattleman’s Association, believes the number of kills is far higher.
“When there’s a kill, sometimes there won’t even be blood. They lick the blood right out of the grass, so that’s what makes it so hard. There’s no legs or bones or even blood to say there was a calf there in the first place,” he told MinnPost.
Over the last decade, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture paid out $135,000 on average to livestock owners.