She should recuse herself and stay out of it. Wolf/farmer conflict isn't black and white, though, I have sympathy for keepers of livestock as well. Here in the US it flares up all the time and simplistic romanticized arguments on either side are not helpful.
Here in Europe farmers get generous reparations from the state when wolves or bears kill their livestock. Many wolves (and also eagles and hawks) are illegally killed anyway, probably because hunters and farmers consider them enemies.
Farmers only get reparations for proven wolf kills, meaning you need to find the leftovers, and have them DNA-tested. That seems to work out for (as I've heard) less than half of the cases where lifestock is killed, usually no body is found.
There are also cases of a herd getting paniced, trampling down a fence, falling off a cliff, or ending up on a highway. In those cases proving wolf or bear involvement is even less likely.
> Farmers only get reparations for proven wolf kills, meaning you need to find the leftovers, and have them DNA-tested.
Of course. And this is done by two solid reasons.
1) Because farmers unavoidably will try to game the system to optimize the money obtained, until sucking your reserves dry.
Europe could tell you about thousands of cases of corruption in this subsides. We could write a book with the tricks and plots.
2) Because a surprisingly large amount of those "wolf kills" are in fact killed by dogs.
Feral and also domestic dogs. How do we know it? doing DNA tests.
If your dog kills a cow, why should I be blackmailed to pay for it? Is your responsibility, not mine. Feed your f*ng dog, don't let it roam around at night, pay insurance, and keep it lashed when close to my animals.
Even more, do you know who are the owners of those dogs in thousands of cases?, the same farmers that cry wolf.
Everybody knows it in the village, nobody will talk because... hey! I have a very ill sheep and the vet bills would be expensive, can I borrow your mastiff? the morons in the city will gave us free gold!
As a rancher in Texas, I have more problems with Cougars than wolves. Neither or an issue really. Wild pigs and coyotes are a problem and must be managed. Water and air quality (much improved since I was a child 40 years ago) and the depredations of apex predators (moronic politicians guided by ignorant electorate) are the real killers.
That said, there are places in N America where the reintroduction of wolves can be an issue if the numbers introduced are too zealous (too many for their natural food source).
