Comments on: The Wisent, Roaming Free in A European Forest. http://americanelephant.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/the-wisent-roaming-free-in-a-european-forest/ Defending Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:06:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Subsidy Eye http://americanelephant.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/the-wisent-roaming-free-in-a-european-forest/#comment-15849 Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:14:40 +0000 http://americanelephant.wordpress.com/?p=30863#comment-15849 Indeed, a nice story. Europeans are kind of funny about mega-fauna in their own back yards. They’re OK with deer and moose, and even wild boar (which really get big and are much more dangerous than bison), but they have a visceral fear of critters like wolves (which were for centuries carriers of rabies) and bears, and by extension to deep forests. It can be extremely frustrating arguing with Europeans about reforming agricultural policy. “But some of the farms might revert to … to forest!” is the kind of panicky response I’ve heard many, many times. To a North American more accustomed to thinking of forests as natural places of beauty, not too dangerous if you are careful, such responses are almost incomprehensible.

So I’m not surprised that “some Europeans are nervous worrying about dangers to hikers or the environment.”

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