humans, sheep and the predators of sheep.

such a common recurring theme in human history, and the colonisation by europeans in particular is the villainifcation of anything that will prey on sheep, thats what im yacking on about today 

in australia, tasmnian tigers were hunted to extinction, the same very nearly done to quolls over the fear they were attacking sheep. the same issues and treatment prevail, now to dingoes, who do not receive the guilt and sympathy that the tasmanian tigers do. (note: please shift your grief and rage of what happened to tasmnian tigers to what is currently happening to dingoes!! im not saying feel no sympathy or regret for what happened to them, but the exact same treatment is happening to dingoes currently, and can still be stopped)

keas, while almost certainly a predator of sheep, are now nationally endangered in new zealand with a population of 7,000 or so, due to the threat they posed to sheep. a bounty had been placed upon them-much like tasmanian tigers, quolls, and dingoes-resulting in more than 150,000 being hunted from 1870-1970, when the bounty was lifted. 

bearded vultures have a synonymous name of 'lammergeier', a german word meaning 'lamb-vulture'. bearded vultures were prosecuted for many years out of fear and mistaken belief that they would attack lambs, young children, and chamois. the last bearded vulture of the alps in france and italy was shot and killed for a trophy in 1913. the last andalusian bearded vulture was killed in 1986.

the grey wolf was hunted in most of europe due to fears of livestock predation, namely sheep, and potential attacks on humans. they were critically endangered or extinct in many countries, but have made a comeback in some due to reintroduction.

in my opinion, i find it quite frankly inane that humans introduced one of the most easy prey to as many countries as possible, and never stopped to try and find defenses for the sheep, only killed the threat, or perceived threat. the only goal, the ideal goal,here is extinction of the species. many other species are legal to kill with a 'destruction permit', at least in australia, including but not limited to cockatoos, cormorants, swallows, black ducks, pademelons, and bennetts wallabies. we have technology to create deterants and protections for crops and livestock. why must we resort to the same technique used in the 1800s, of hoping you may kill enough of an entire species of animal, that it will not return the next year to a place of bountiful food, without immense ecological damage. puts pallet of grass in a woodland in europe with zero protection and then kills all deer after the grass is eaten.