IT IS one of the oldest conflicts between man and beast: farmers killing marauders such as wolves, lynxes, lions and leopards to defend their livestock from the predators.
This ancient tension has increased as people have encroached ever further into the wilderness, and many predators have been driven to the verge of extinction as a result. Wolves were nearly wiped out in the US in the last century, leaving just 4000 today. Norway has considered culling up to a quarter of the 80 or so wolves in southern Scandinavia to appease farmers who claim they are killing their sheep. And…
