Re: The story about crops being destroyed by moose “Munching moose destroying crops in Newfoundland, but province says they can’t be shot: farmer,” The Telegram, Sept. 12.
Farmers in Newfoundland have to fight the weather, insects and weed and of course wildlife. By not allowing farmers to defend their crops against moose and caribou sends a wrong message to farmers and the general population, that wildlife is more important than farmers trying to produce food to feed the people.
One moose in one night can destroy more cabbage than 10 families can eat in a year. It soon eats into the slim profit margin of what a farmer makes and quickly discourages a farmer from growing cabbage to feed moose — a moose does not pay for the crops that they destroy.
As far as sending conservation officers to take care of those moose can get costly. Moose do not feed in daylight hours, so officers would have to work outside their eight-hour day to take care of these moose, therefore be paid overtime.
Moose also eat on the weekends — more overtime.
A farmer has a vested interested in taking care of said moose and will cost taxpayer nothing. The said moose will not go to waste as some hunter will be called to pick up the moose and fill his hunting quota.
I sometimes wonder who come up with these harebrained ideas.
I know moose and caribou are worth money to the government but if you discourage farmers from growing the few vegetables that we can grow here, then you can forget supplying even as much food as we do now. Flying in food will be costly if we get back to back storms that won’t allow the ferry to cross the gulf.
Everett Adams,
Wooddale
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