The Daily PollWOLVES WERE ONCE common in Ireland, but the animal was hunted to extinction almost 250 years ago. It’s believed the last native animal was tracked down and killed on Mount Leinster in 1786.
Now, some environmentalists here are hoping to see the species return to the island.
There are, obviously, downsides to consider – not least concerns that the animals would pose a threat to livestock and even to vulnerable humans in isolated areas.
Backers of the idea, however, say the presence of an apex predator can have a massively beneficial trickle-down effect on an ecosystem – as documented in Yellowstone in the US, where wolves were brought back in the mid-1990s.
Wolf-watching, it’s argued, could also provide an economic boost for isolated areas of the island.
We examine the debate in the latest edition of our Ireland 2029 podcast.
So what do you think?: Should Ireland reintroduce the wolf?
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