KREMMLING, Colo − Bloodshot eyes stared down at a “Don’t tread on beef” decal on the table as Conway Farrell breathes in the outbuilding’s wood smoke fire and the question.
He steadied himself as if to exhale a contemplative answer.
Mooing heifers and bawling calves filled the silence.
His wife, Nellie, stared at her husband, waiting for his answer with a look of concern. Half centered on him saying too much. The other half relief the weight of talking about the recent wolf killings on their ranches, including one this Sunday morning, would bring a moment of peace.
Conway Farrell was a reluctant public player in the wolf depredation game until Sunday’s (April 28) fifth cattle loss in 11 days to wolves. So for the first time since the depredations on his ranch began, he said it was time to play his hand, going public in a sit-down interview with the Coloradoan.
When Conway Farrell finally spoke, his raw emotions poured out.
“Yeah, I’m pissed,” he said. “Everybody up here is getting edgy and at our wit’s end. All of the headaches and stress you normally have, especially during calving season, and then to throw this all on top of it? It feels like you’re getting slapped in the face every freakin’ minute.”