Tell UC Davis to Correct Its Misleading Wolf Study Claims

Chancellor Gary S. May; Dean Helene Dillard, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences; Dean Mark Stetter, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Teaching Hospital

A wolf looks at the camera while white text on a blue background reads, "PETITION: Tell UC Davis to Correct Its Misleading Wolf Study Claims."

Wolves, Science, and the Truth Are Under Attack — We Need Your Voice

On April 21, 2025, UC Davis released a sensational headline: “Novel Study Calculates the Cost to Cattle Ranchers of an Expanding Wolf Population.” Without peer review, without context, and without balance, the university blasted out preliminary findings claiming that one wolf can cause over $160,000 in cattle losses.

The media ran with it. Headlines spread across the country, fueling public fear and reinforcing old myths that wolves are nothing but economic threats to ranchers. But here’s what the headlines didn’t say:
  • The data hadn’t yet passed peer review.
  • The study ignored other stressors outside of wolf predation.
  • The costs were calculated using assumptions that don’t hold up across different landscapes or operations.
  • The study ignored well-documented benefits wolves bring to ecosystems and communities, from tourism dollars to healthier landscapes.

Why does this matter? Because wolves have been fighting for their survival for over a century. Every misleading statistic and distorted claim is weaponized by anti-wolf interests — to push lethal control, block wolf recovery, and erase the hard-won gains made by conservationists, Indigenous nations, and communities working toward coexistence.

UC Davis is a world-renowned institution. When it spreads unvetted claims as if they are settled science, it doesn’t just damage the reputation of the university — it damages public understanding, fuels bad policy, and threatens the future of wildlife and ecosystems across the West.

We cannot let this go unchallenged.

Wildlife for All joined other leading wolf scientists and conservationists to demand corrective action in a letter to UC Davis. But we need to add public pressure.

Join us in calling on UC Davis to set the record straight, uphold scientific integrity, and stand up for responsible communication about wolves and wildlife. Add your name now.

Petition by
Mandy Culbertson
Michelle Lute, PhD
Sponsored by
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Wildlife for All

To: Chancellor Gary S. May; Dean Helene Dillard, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences; Dean Mark Stetter, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Teaching Hospital
From: [Your Name]

To: Chancellor May, Dean Dillard, Dean Stetter
University of California, Davis

We, the undersigned, call on UC Davis to take immediate corrective action following the publication of the April 21, 2025, article “Novel Study Calculates the Cost to Cattle Ranchers of an Expanding Wolf Population” on the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences website.

This article has spread widely across the media and public discourse, presenting preliminary and non–peer-reviewed findings about gray wolf impacts on cattle as settled fact — a move that threatens the hard-won progress toward human-wolf coexistence and spreads harmful misinformation about these keystone species.

Specifically, the article:
→ Presented unvetted preliminary data as if it were conclusive research.
Amplified sensational and misleading economic claims, such as that one wolf can cause over $160,000 in livestock losses — without proper context, explanation, or acknowledgment of other environmental stressors, variability across herds, landscapes, and management practices.

→ Ignored the well-documented ecological and economic benefits of wolves, including reduced deer-vehicle collisions, boosted tourism, and improved ecosystem health.

→ Skewed public understanding of wolf-livestock dynamics at a time when balanced, science-based, peer-reviewed research is urgently needed.

We urge UC Davis to:

→Publicly clarify that the April 21 article reported on preliminary, non–peer-reviewed results that are not yet accepted by an academic journal.

→ Acknowledge the limitations of the study’s findings, including that the reported costs are unlikely to apply elsewhere or be broadly generalized.

→ Establish clear internal policies to ensure that future university news releases responsibly communicate the reach, stage, and reliability of research findings — especially on controversial issues like wildlife conservation.

Public trust in science, universities, and conservation policy depends on honest, transparent communication. UC Davis has a responsibility to uphold the integrity of scientific communication — and to correct the harmful distortions caused by this misrepresented article.

We stand with wolf scientists, ecologists, conservationists, and the public in demanding accountability and truth.