BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The current situation on the grasslands of western China offers local farmers a real dilemma --wolves are taking their livestock, but under the country's environmental laws they are a protected species that must not be killed.

    Since January, more than 1,000 domestic animals are believed to have been killed by the voracious predators in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, China Daily reported Thursday.

    One shocking incident happened on Dec. 21, 2004, when a lone wolf chased a teenager down the street in a county town in Baicheng, Jilin Province, in northeast China. Police came to the rescue and with approval from their boss, police shot the wolf down, said the English language newspaper.

    A local official in charge of wild animal protection explained that under normal circumstances, one should not harm a wolf, but self-defence is justified.

    Fifty years back, Chinese would think it natural to kill a wolf, but environmental awareness emerged in China in the 1980s, when there were hardly any wild wolves left and laws and regulations were phased in to protect the animals from random hunting.

    The wolf is high up in the food chain and is therefore essential in keeping the balance of nature, Teng Enjiang, an expert with the China National Environmental Monitoring Center, was quoted as saying.

    However, now it seems the protection measures have been too successful. Wolves are once again coming into conflict with people, and herders are calling for hunting to be reintroduced.

    According to Yuan Guoying, chairman of the Xinjiang Ecology Institute, wolves do not usually invade human territory. But the thriving livestock industry has taken away much of room for wild wolves, resulting in "an overlapping of these animals' living spaces".

    Experts say there should be studies to determine the number of wolves appropriate for an area of a certain size. "If there are too many, there should be a controlled cull of the wolf population. Before a cohesive policy is adopted, the herders who lost animals should be compensated by the government," Teng told China Daily.

    Some local governments are heeding the suggestion. Damao Bannerin Inner Mongolia has introduced three measures. First, herders must take all reasonable measures to protect their animals; second, a fund will be set up to pay damages to those who have suffered big losses; and third, a patrol team will cruise the prairie to keep wolves at bay. Enditem