It's called free ranging and the land is leased by the sheepmen, always has been since way before hiking and mountain biking ever became popular out there.
One of the comments on the article made a good point. Have Silverton reimburse any farmer who loses one of his livestock to a predator the cost of that animal and there will be no need for the dogs. It's a win win for everyone......
As a side note, perhaps there should be an ordinance requiring all the hikers and bikers to remain a specified distance from any such herds of sheep.
“Have Silverton reimburse any farmer who loses one of his livestock to a predator the cost of that animal and there will be no need for the dogs.”
And, who exactly, picks up that tab?
WAIT! this makes a big difference
“the land is leased by the sheepmen”
then doesn’t that make it private land for the term of the lease?
I guess they aren’t allowed to put up barriers so what choice do they hae to protect their animals they are grazing on their leased land.
Screw the tourists then
I am with the dogs on this one now that I know the ownders lease.
besides those are some great looking dogs
2 things I wonder, how close they have to get to the sheep before the dogs show anything that looks like aggression, and if it’s an area where it’s likely to come upon the sheep without knowing ahead of time you’re going to walk up on them.
My impression of these sheep tending breeds is that they are not particularly friendly to people, so this problem doesn’t surprise me. Of course, I don’t think the Federal government should own so much land, they own something like 35% of the land in Colorado. But that’s another thread.
Mountain bikers are a pain in the butt. They make a damn racket in the woods and tear up the lnadscape creating gullys and turned up soil which leads to erosion.
And is somebody is leasing land to graze his livestock, he has a right to protect them.
Democrat response is typical. Regulate,control TAX.