Poll shows Support for Wolves, ALSO that wolf management and are ranching are OK
Most telling is the fact that 68% of those polled in NM had little to no knowlege of the Mexican wolf recovery program.Â
wolf recovery survey summary NM
In Arizona 51% t0 52% had little to no knowlege of the Mexican wolf program.
wolf recovery survey summary Arizona
 Not reported in the major media is the fact that these same folks supported ranching on the land and felt it was good for the envirnonment.Â
On livestock Grazing
 49% New Mexico participants believe livestock grazing is good for the environment. 26% had no opinion.
51% Arizona participants participants believe livestock grazing is good for the environment. Â 28% had no opinion.
Spending taxpayer dollars on wolves, ranching and wolf control
79% New Mexico participants want taxpayer dollars to go towards helping ranchers who have experienced wolf conflicts to reduce them. 11% wanted taxpayer dollars to go to removing and killing wolves that cause conflicts.Â
71% Arizona participants want taxpayer dollars to go towards helping ranchers who have experienced wolf conflicts to reduce them. 11% wanted taxpayer dollars to go towards removing and killing wolves that caused conflicts. Â
Wolf control
In New Mexico, 33% of participants want to see wolves that kill 3 or more killed or removed. 25% are neutral on the matter (this means they don’t care if wolves are killed or removed). Only 36% oppose killing and removing wolves that kill livestock.Â
In Arizona, 28% of participants want to see wolves that kill 3 or more killed or removed. 24% are neutral on the matter (this means they don’t care if wolves are killed or removed). Only 44% oppose killing and removing wolves that kill livestock.Â
 Folks, this poll can certainly be interpreted to show widespread support for ranchers and ranching in AZ and NM as well as wolf presense. It shows that the majority of people do identify with ranchers on loss of personal property and their ability to sustain their livlihoods.Â
It can also be interpreted to show that wolf control is more important to the participants than removal of ranching to support wolves.
What this poll clearly says is that the extremists have been educating the public on the possibilities of wolf management and the ranchers are not getting the word out.Â
What this also says to is that in spite of the anti ranching agenda set forth by those commissioning the polls, despite the fact that most of the participants admit little to no education on the issue, the uneducated public opinion on the wolves and wolf reintroduction prevalent in the poll results, the public overwhelmingly supports livestock grazing.
The public also overwhelmingly doesn’t mind trapping or lethal control of killer wolves.
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June 20th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
First and formost we must remind ourselves that this poll was put up by the Rewilding institute. Second. The people polled were for the largest part urbanites. That being said, they STILL couldnt come up with the sort of mandate they would have liked to see.
What that tells me is that they have a well entrenched and funded spin machine.
I dont’ know what it will take for us to get our side of the story out. I think that Laura would do a fine job of it, but she has a life too. Shes a busy girl. I go anywhere I’m asked to go, but, there are those that think me somewhat “vitrolic”, guilty.
If anyone out in blog land has the base of knowlage and people skills to do anything in this regard, step up! You are needed.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:45 pm
This was indeed a “push poll” designed to elicit the responses desired by the sponsors. That is clear from the wording and arrangement of the questions asked.
Less obvious but also indicative of bias is that telephone polls are notorious for reaching people who are home to answer the telephone, well-known to be a sampling method that reaches housewives and shut-ins (not a representative sampling of the entire voting population).
However, despite those built-in biases, the poll results demonstrated widespread sympathy for ranchers.
Kudos to Laura for pointing that out. The spin was spun, but it didn’t get far.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
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