Mont. aims to reduce wolf numbers for first time
By MATT VOLZ (AP) – 16 hours ago
HELENA, Mont. — Montana wildlife commissioners approved a plan Thursday that aims to reduce the gray wolf population for the first time since the once-endangered animal was reintroduced to the region 15 years ago.
The proposal approved by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission calls for at least doubling the number of wolves that hunters can kill and introducing an archery season to go with the rifle season.
The population of wolves in the northern Rockies has increased every year since they were reintroduced to the region in 1995 after being nearly wiped out in the last century due to conflicts with humans and loss of habitat.
There were at least 524 wolves in Montana at the end of last year, and 1,706 wolves in the combined northern Rockies region of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of Washington and Oregon, wildlife officials estimate.
Ranchers and hunters say the wolf population has now grown too high, which has led to more attacks on livestock and game. Read More
Wildlife management is essential for the health of the wildlife involved. I’ve shared with you before about what happens if humans don’t manage these populations. When those numbers get too high, Mother Nature causes them to starve to death or unleashes devastating diseases that wipe out significant portions of them. That certainly doesn’t appear to be the humane option to me. Along with that, human safety and that of our domesticated animals needs to always be a priority in this equation. No wolf is worth a human life. Keeping a viable controlled population needs to be the goal.
Showing posts with label wolf hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wolf hunting. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wolf Hunt Successful
Official: Wolf hunt was effective
MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 11:45 pm
An examination of Montana’s first public gray-wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.
Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and stopping increasing attacks on livestock and big-game herds.
However, the hunt in Montana and a wolf season in neighboring Idaho must first pass muster with a federal judge in Missoula. About 1,350 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies were removed from the endangered list in the spring. About 300 wolves in Wyoming remain on the list.
At least nine of the 72 wolves killed were in the Big Hole Valley — site of frequent wolf attacks on livestock. Just two breeding female wolves were killed among an estimated 34 statewide.
There were about 500 wolves in Montana last year. Even with the 72 killed by hunters — and another 127 killed by wildlife control agents, poachers, ranchers and other causes — that figure was projected to grow during the last year. If that happens, it could defuse arguments that hunting is harming the broader population. Read More
While the hunt may have created quite a bit of controversy, it’s clear that the intended results were achieved. In order to have a healthy population of wolves, and to keep the livestock and human interactions to a minimum, a hunt was necessary. There seems to be too many people that think the best way to manage wildlife is to no manage them. They would rather see disease and starvation cause unnecessary suffering for these animals. It doesn’t matter if it’s wolves, mountain lions, feral horses or anything else, population management needs to occur.
MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 11:45 pm
An examination of Montana’s first public gray-wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.
Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and stopping increasing attacks on livestock and big-game herds.
However, the hunt in Montana and a wolf season in neighboring Idaho must first pass muster with a federal judge in Missoula. About 1,350 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies were removed from the endangered list in the spring. About 300 wolves in Wyoming remain on the list.
At least nine of the 72 wolves killed were in the Big Hole Valley — site of frequent wolf attacks on livestock. Just two breeding female wolves were killed among an estimated 34 statewide.
There were about 500 wolves in Montana last year. Even with the 72 killed by hunters — and another 127 killed by wildlife control agents, poachers, ranchers and other causes — that figure was projected to grow during the last year. If that happens, it could defuse arguments that hunting is harming the broader population. Read More
While the hunt may have created quite a bit of controversy, it’s clear that the intended results were achieved. In order to have a healthy population of wolves, and to keep the livestock and human interactions to a minimum, a hunt was necessary. There seems to be too many people that think the best way to manage wildlife is to no manage them. They would rather see disease and starvation cause unnecessary suffering for these animals. It doesn’t matter if it’s wolves, mountain lions, feral horses or anything else, population management needs to occur.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
How Wolves Are Affecting a Family Ranch
October 5, 2009
Dealing with wolves on an Oregon ranch
Curt Jacobs
On Good Friday morning three generations of Jacobs got to experience firsthand the havoc two wolves could wreak.
Just a two-minute jaunt from our sleeping households, four of the five documented wolf attacks occurred on what we call the "Home Ranch," a 640-acre chunk of farm and pastureland, just a part of what we make a living on in this high desert country.
From that day in April until today, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Animal Damage Control confirmed 29 lambs, a pet goat and one calf killed on two ranches. This act stirred and spread the hotbed of debate in our small ranching community of Keating Valley to the Legislature in Salem and beyond.
We not only suffered the loss of these confirmed cases, but that of five more non-confirmed kills on both the Moore Ranch north of us and our own ranch. Our livestock has been harassed and chased through fences, and now our dogs display behavior that signifies "Beware, 'they' are out there!" We have tracked the wolves coming right down the road by our corrals behind my mom and dad's house. The feeling of being watched for a weak spot in the line is not a pleasant one.
Read More
It’s easy to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and support the current rules that don’t allow ranchers to protect their livestock or themselves from wolf attacks. But until you are in the position of going to bed every night wondering if your livelihood will still be there when you wake up, you probably can’t understand what that’s like. So even though these wolf advocates don’t seem to care about these affected families, they should at least read this account of the fear and agony this is causing.
Dealing with wolves on an Oregon ranch
Curt Jacobs
On Good Friday morning three generations of Jacobs got to experience firsthand the havoc two wolves could wreak.
Just a two-minute jaunt from our sleeping households, four of the five documented wolf attacks occurred on what we call the "Home Ranch," a 640-acre chunk of farm and pastureland, just a part of what we make a living on in this high desert country.
From that day in April until today, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Animal Damage Control confirmed 29 lambs, a pet goat and one calf killed on two ranches. This act stirred and spread the hotbed of debate in our small ranching community of Keating Valley to the Legislature in Salem and beyond.
We not only suffered the loss of these confirmed cases, but that of five more non-confirmed kills on both the Moore Ranch north of us and our own ranch. Our livestock has been harassed and chased through fences, and now our dogs display behavior that signifies "Beware, 'they' are out there!" We have tracked the wolves coming right down the road by our corrals behind my mom and dad's house. The feeling of being watched for a weak spot in the line is not a pleasant one.
Read More
It’s easy to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and support the current rules that don’t allow ranchers to protect their livestock or themselves from wolf attacks. But until you are in the position of going to bed every night wondering if your livelihood will still be there when you wake up, you probably can’t understand what that’s like. So even though these wolf advocates don’t seem to care about these affected families, they should at least read this account of the fear and agony this is causing.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wolf Management is Necessary, Not For Fun
September 8, 2009, 4:12 pm
Killing Wolves for Fun
By Randy Cohen
The Issue
The Interior Department has ruled that wolves have sufficiently increased in numbers in the Western continental United States to allow some wolf hunting there. The Idaho hunt began on September 1; Montana’s starts on the 15th. A case might be made for the right to hunt for food and to manage wildlife populations, but surely some of the more than 14,000 people who bought wolf-hunting licenses are interested in neither wolf sandwiches nor animal husbandry: they simply enjoy hunting. Is it morally acceptable to kill a wolf for the fun of it?
The Argument
Unsurprisingly, I believe it is wrong to inflict pain and death unnecessarily on a creature capable of suffering. (Peter Singer more broadly examines the moral standing of animals here.) While this belief might not compel us to be vegetarians, it does demand significant changes in the way we raise animals for food, and it forbids wolf hunting as a form of entertainment. To be clear, I concede all putatively practical justifications for hunting and repudiate only the idea that hunting is a legitimate recreation. It is the person who claims as much who bears the burden of proof — a wolf need not make a case for its not being shot in Montana. I’m not persuaded that hunters have made their case. Read More
The hunting of these wolves is a necessary thing. I’m sure from an office in New York it’s hard to imagine wolves being anything but warm and cuddly but in the real world they need to be managed. These wolves are an apex predator that can severely threaten a family rancher’s livelihood. The population level of these wolves has increased drastically and if they are not managed properly, disease and starvation will threaten them. If this reporter is worried about unnecessary suffering, he should be favoring this hunt.
Killing Wolves for Fun
By Randy Cohen
The Issue
The Interior Department has ruled that wolves have sufficiently increased in numbers in the Western continental United States to allow some wolf hunting there. The Idaho hunt began on September 1; Montana’s starts on the 15th. A case might be made for the right to hunt for food and to manage wildlife populations, but surely some of the more than 14,000 people who bought wolf-hunting licenses are interested in neither wolf sandwiches nor animal husbandry: they simply enjoy hunting. Is it morally acceptable to kill a wolf for the fun of it?
The Argument
Unsurprisingly, I believe it is wrong to inflict pain and death unnecessarily on a creature capable of suffering. (Peter Singer more broadly examines the moral standing of animals here.) While this belief might not compel us to be vegetarians, it does demand significant changes in the way we raise animals for food, and it forbids wolf hunting as a form of entertainment. To be clear, I concede all putatively practical justifications for hunting and repudiate only the idea that hunting is a legitimate recreation. It is the person who claims as much who bears the burden of proof — a wolf need not make a case for its not being shot in Montana. I’m not persuaded that hunters have made their case. Read More
The hunting of these wolves is a necessary thing. I’m sure from an office in New York it’s hard to imagine wolves being anything but warm and cuddly but in the real world they need to be managed. These wolves are an apex predator that can severely threaten a family rancher’s livelihood. The population level of these wolves has increased drastically and if they are not managed properly, disease and starvation will threaten them. If this reporter is worried about unnecessary suffering, he should be favoring this hunt.
Monday, August 31, 2009
AR's Protest Wolf Hunting
Animal Rights Group Calling for Boycott of Idaho Potatoes
KPVI.COM
In just a few days one animal rights group is calling for a boycott of one of Idaho's biggest exports, potatoes.
The Connecticut based animal rights group is angry over Idaho's proposed wolf hunts that are supposed to start on Tuesday, September 1st.
The group called Friends of Animals is urging those in opposition of the hunts to boycott Idaho grown potatoes. The group is also criticizing Governor Butch Otter and his support of the wolf hunts.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is putting the warning out though that Tuesday's wolf hunt doesn't have a green light just yet.
A district judge in Montana still has to weigh in on environmental groups efforts to stop the hunt as part of their push to have Federal Endangered Species Act protections restored to the big predators that now number over 1,600 Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday where a final decision will be made.
The wolf hunts are supposed to start Tuesday in Idaho and on September 15th in Montana.
Idaho Fish and Game officials are asking hunters to check their website at www.fishandgame.idaho.gov or call the toll free wolf hunt information hotline at 1-877-872-3190 for more the latest information on the court proceedings. Link
It’s usually evident that most animal rights activists don’t have the best interests of the animals in mind by the things that they protest. Take the wolf issue for example. Rather than be supportive of proper management, they only support the absolute protection of them. But when this population isn’t controlled by humans, Mother Nature will take over and thin the pack through starvation and disease. So in essence, they would rather see these wolves suffer and die over the course of several weeks than meet their end with the swiftness of an accurately placed bullet.
KPVI.COM
In just a few days one animal rights group is calling for a boycott of one of Idaho's biggest exports, potatoes.
The Connecticut based animal rights group is angry over Idaho's proposed wolf hunts that are supposed to start on Tuesday, September 1st.
The group called Friends of Animals is urging those in opposition of the hunts to boycott Idaho grown potatoes. The group is also criticizing Governor Butch Otter and his support of the wolf hunts.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is putting the warning out though that Tuesday's wolf hunt doesn't have a green light just yet.
A district judge in Montana still has to weigh in on environmental groups efforts to stop the hunt as part of their push to have Federal Endangered Species Act protections restored to the big predators that now number over 1,600 Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday where a final decision will be made.
The wolf hunts are supposed to start Tuesday in Idaho and on September 15th in Montana.
Idaho Fish and Game officials are asking hunters to check their website at www.fishandgame.idaho.gov or call the toll free wolf hunt information hotline at 1-877-872-3190 for more the latest information on the court proceedings. Link
It’s usually evident that most animal rights activists don’t have the best interests of the animals in mind by the things that they protest. Take the wolf issue for example. Rather than be supportive of proper management, they only support the absolute protection of them. But when this population isn’t controlled by humans, Mother Nature will take over and thin the pack through starvation and disease. So in essence, they would rather see these wolves suffer and die over the course of several weeks than meet their end with the swiftness of an accurately placed bullet.
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