Sorry, but strait out killing it and dumping its body still doesn't sit well with me. Let me get this strait, you want to kill it because it causes erosion, stinks and can't be eaten, and I'm the one with my foot in my mouth? From the quick research I've done I can't really see them being a big problem (care to provide links that prove me wrong?). As far as 'erosive damage' do you realize that they have been here for thousands of years causing erosion and this has never been a problem? Only when people build things on or around naturally eroding terrain is this a problem. Rain causes a LOT more erosion after all, what do you plan to do about that? Erosion is a natural part of the world and thinking we can change it by offing a few goats is just stupid. Wrecking fences, only when ranchers put up fences across their natural migration paths does it become a problem. Do you really think the most logical answer to this is to kill the goat? There are lots of animals that are not suitable for eating, lots of them stink too, is the answer to this kill them all because they are of little use to us humans?
I live in Wyoming where the majority thinks they should have the right to shoot and kill anything that comes on their property. I just get sick and tired of hearing the same old stupid arguments about killing wolves and the like because they are 'pests', when the truth is obvious, these people want to shot them for the simple sport of killing another living animal. They have been here for centuries and the problem has obviously been introduced by humans. It really just shows how egotistical, insecure and DUMB these types of people really are. I'm not saying you are one of them, or at least I hope your not.
Around here the Rocky Mountain Goat has been here a lot longer than we have, and is no pest as far as I can tell. I have been close enough to smell them, they aren't that bad, certainly not bad enough for me to want to kill them! In fact just this fall I was only about 30 feet above the ground, level with a ridge line high in the mountains, and was close enough that the goats actually saw me and watched me fly by. Maybe if you were exposed to animals in a different light you would have different feelings. I'm sure if you just tried you would find that you can enjoy nature more from behind a camera or from above in a glider than you ever will from behind a gun.
BTW your comments are offensive and generally negative, and show you really know nothing about me. If we are going to have a grown up discussion at least try to keep it civilized.
I'm not so sure you're comparing apples to apples here. Vulcan is talking about feral animals, not native animals. The Mountain Goats you have in your beautiful state of Wyoming (I admit it, I'm jealous of where you live) belong there as part of the natural environment (as do the wolves, etc, you mention). They are part of the natural ecosystem, work with it, and are even vital in some mannor to its overall health.
Not so with feral and/or invasive species, like the goat Vulcan mentioned. Those animals have been introduced by man's activities into an ecosystem where they don't belong, and often prosper at the expense of native flora and fauna. They generally don't have natural predators in their new environment and reproduce rapidly, with little/no natural population control. Other examples of these species would be carp (of several varieties) European Starlings, English Sparrows, pigeons/rock doves/sky-carp, Eurasion Water Milfoil, Purple Loosestrife (probably a problem near you?) Zebra Mussels, sticklebacks, feral cats (domestic animals), feral hogs, pheasants, and a whole slew of others (some even consider non-native americans to be an "invasive species", hehe!)
Feral/invasive species are a major environmental concern, and are massively difficult/expensive to control. It goes way beyond finding a "use" for the dead critters. We can't just sit idle and wait until there's a "use" for a dead feral animal to solve the problem. The problem grows exponentially each year- any lost time in managing the problem could easily make managing it simply impossible.
Don't get me wrong- I'm not in favor of just killing animals "wastefully". I hunt and fish, and value the natural environment. But, sometimes doing "nothing" is more destructive than doing "something", even if it's a bit distasteful. In reality, the dead goat that Vulcan shot probably did more good to the ecosystem by rotting and feeding some scavengers than it ever could have done by living.
Even I've killed things with no intention of using them. I found a mouse in one of the traps in my kitchen today, and I doubt the wife will be thrilled if I put in the refridgerator to add to our supper menu. The fact that I don't really know how fresh it is won't help either... I also hit a skunk on the highway, and just left it. I didn't kill it intentionally (like I did the mouse), but I was driving intentionally, and was passing through some prime skunk habitat...
