Apex predators and Coloradans are having a tough time coexisting of late.
Wildlife officials must relocate a wolf pack for attacking and eating livestock, while First Gentleman Marlon Reis removed his Facebook account after attacking and arguing with a rancher.
Reis engaged in a heated exchange with the man in the comments section of his Facebook post that started off talking about grants to use nonlethal force in protecting livestock from wolves.
A 9News investigates report revealed Reis deactivated his account a couple days later, and published the receipts of the arguement.
In short, the First Gentleman and animal rights activist was not very gentlemanly in his constituent communication with Walden rancher David Gittleson.
Reis insulted him, called him out as a liar, and denigrated the livestock industry before claiming he wanted the rancher’s business to thrive.
From the screenshots provided to the news outlet, Reis blustered:
“The truth is I don’t care. I don’t care what you do or don’t eat. I don’t care what you think you know or what you think you’re qualified to comment on.”
“I don’t care why your family seems to love the limelight and never misses an opportunity to trash talk the Front Range. If you’re proud of being a rancher, act like it. All this complaining is leading nowhere fast,” Reis said.
“Your industry is no more important to the economy of Colorado than any other industry,” Reis wrote.
Well, agriculture is in the top 10 and raked in $7.1 billion last year, which is nothing to sneeze at.
A spokesman for Reis told 9News and later the New York Post the Facebook account was removed to stop the spread of misinformation.
“In recent weeks, the volume of negative commentary on his posts increased to such a degree that he felt his pages were no longer serving the goal of fostering compassion, appreciation, and respect for animals,” spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said. “Rather than allow his social media channels to become forums for misinformation, he decided to deactivate them for the time being.”
Meanwhile, ranchers are applauding the state’s decision to move the wolf pack responsible for attacking livestock in Middle Park, while animal advocates insist it’s a major setback for human-wolf coexistence in Colorado.
It seems that humans and wolves as well as mankind are most often better off coexisting in separate spaces.