Tell DNR Commissioner and Min. Gov. Mark Dayton : To Stop The Nov 3rd Wolf Hunt!

“I’m posting this on behalf of my dear friend & fellow animal warrior Carol Crunkhorn. Whilst signing the following petition, Carol came across a comment which quite rightly should be shared & heard with all who are fighting for the rights of Wolves.”

“This is such an impressive plea from someone who truly is a voice for the wolves. It would be too heartbreaking to think this woman’s comments may not even be read by those who receive the petition!  For that reason, I want to share it and I hope you will all share with your friends”….Carol

18:41, Aug 26, Mrs. Louise Kane, MA

It’s impossible to express the outrage, anger and disillusionment that I experience when it comes to wolf policy in the west and midwest. Its also difficult to believe that this is 2012 in a world where entire ecosystems are disrupted and degraded by the livestock , agriculture and sports trophy hunting industries. Despite the science that shows the contributions that apex predators make within their ecosystems our state and federal governments still routinely target and kill large carnivores for suspected or real cattle and other livestock depredations.

In MInnesota this is particularly relevant as your population of wolves has been stable over the last ten years with no appreciable harm to the livestock or hunting industries. In fact these wolves illustrate that naturally occurring populations of predators do self limit without the need for trophy hunting or public trapping and snaring, which are horrifically and outrageously cruel, barbaric, and inhumane. I am quite sure you have seen these words used in the context of trapping and snaring and while they may be overused they are perhaps the most appropriate words that come to mind.

I believe as do many Americans that we need a better, more advanced and realistic approach to human predator conflicts or potential conflicts. There is no requirement or mandate in place for ranchers and livestock producers to regulate their cattle, employ predator avoidance tactics and or to retire grazing lands and permits.

Instead wolves, coyotes, bobcats, cougars and bears are routinely shot, poisoned or trapped at the behest of special interests while the rest of America sends petitions, places calls, writes letters and otherwise protests at the shortsighted policies and pandering that are passed off as “management”.

While I reside on the East Coast I am an ardent conservationist, and the not the type with a rifle in hand that only wants to see elk, deer or other ungulates roaming in our forests, rangelands and wilderness areas. Nor do I enjoy killing animals for sport and try and pass this activity off as conservation.

I have read widely on the subject of wolf reintroduction, the loophole in the ESA (section 10J) that allows for killing wolves ( even while listed), and understand the issues. I have also read most of the comments that were submitted in response to the midwest proposals as well as Idaho’s, Montana’s and Wyoming’s comments in response to their wolf management plans. I have also read the comments online submitted to the US Fish and Wildlife service in response to delisting proposals.

I am writing to you because I have seen evidence through these comments and through polls and petitions that Americans were and are against delisting wolves and hunting them for sport, they want to see wolves protected and they are largely unaware of the cruel and shoddy treatment that wolves and other carnivores receive in the west and midwestern states.

When I speak about the state “management” plans that call for killing all but 150 wolves in three of our largest states with huge tracts of federal lands, people look at me like I must have my facts wrong. When I tell people about Minnesota and that the wolves have remained stable but are now to be subjected to trapping and snaring at the behest of trophy hunters they are incredulous. Most people do not believe that trapping and snaring are legal.

The way our wildlife in America is managed is a terrible travesty. The way wolves were delisted using a sleazy non-germane rider attached to a spending bill was disgraceful and undemocratic. I can not think of anything that is more disturbing than the way wolves are being treated in the midwest and west. The states are supposed to be protecting wildlife and wolves instead of subjecting them to the whims of trophy hunters.

Its time to stand up to the livestock, agriculture and trophy hunting industries and to set a policy of no compromise when it comes to killing wolves and large apex predators. In order for the livestock , agriculture and trophy hunting industries to treat wolves with respect they must see that our state and federal agencies listen to all their constituents, they must know that Americans want our agencies to start doing the right thing, not the most politically expedient by catering to special interests that don’t represent mainstream America’s interests but whose archaic and inhumane ideas about wildlife management are implemented regardless of their effect on our earth and its ecosystems.

I am tired of watching the federal and state governments be browbeaten by these industries and tired of watching our wildlife perish in traps, snares, and being shot from helicopters or tracked by trained killers. I respectfully ask that you stop the Minnesota wolf hunt and and seek public comment from the American public on this issue.

I believe you will be dissuaded from this terrible and shortsighted decision. The states of Idaho and Montana have shown that killing wolves does nothing to appease special interests it only heightens the frenzy around killing these animals, makes wolf killing easier, and reinforces irresponsible stereotypes that need to be shelved instead of rekindled in a vicious, unproductive and destructive cycle of killing.

Louise Kane

Petition Link:-http://www.thepetitionsite.com/317/502/678/tell-dnr-commissioner-and-min-gov-mark-dayton-to-stop-the-nov-3rd-wolf-hunt/

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California condors won’t make it as long as hunters use lead ammunition, study shows

California condors will never be able to grow self-sustaining populations as long as hunters are permitted to use lead ammunition, according to a studypublished Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A California condor spreads its wings at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation.

The investigation, led by environmental toxicologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, offers the latest evidence showing condors are continually exposed to harmful levels of lead when they feed on animals killed with lead ammo or on lead-laced gut piles left behind by hunters.

A news release quotes lead author Myra Finkelstein: “We will never have a self-sustaining wild condor population if we don’t solve this problem.”

Condors, including many set free after being born and bred at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, are captured twice a year and their blood is tested for lead poisoning. “They still die from lead poisoning on a regular basis,” Finkelstein said.

As of May 31, the condor population stood at 416, with 236 flying free in California, Arizona and northern Mexico, and 180 living in a handful of breeding operations, such as Oregon’s.

Since 1997, about half of all the free-flying birds in California have required chelation therapy to remove lead from their blood.

Jesse Grantham, who recently retired as head of the condor recovery program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, estimates the condor program costs about $5 million a year, including contributions from the myriad agencies and organizations involved in the recovery effort.

Without the current high level of management, the species will decline again toward extinction, according to the study; in 1982, before captive breeding, only 22 California condors were known to remain worldwide.

According to the study’s authors, the findings suggest that greater regulation of lead-based ammunition may be necessary to protect condors. Hunting organizations and gun-rights groups have opposed such regulations, though alternatives to lead ammunition are available.

– Katy Muldoon  News Link:–http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/06/california_condors_wont_make_i.html

Hunter accused of shooting at grizzly bear near lodge

A trophy hunter who tried to shoot a grizzly bear in front of a fishing and wildlife-viewing lodge put lives at risk, says the son of the lodge’s 80-year-old owner.

Grizzly bears often lounge around on the beach in front of Forward Harbour Lodge and are watched by owner Isabel Hindbo and guests who rent the rustic cabins.

Last Tuesday, a licensed hunter turned up at the dock in front of the lodge and asked if it would be all right to shoot one of the bears on the beach, said Hindbo’s son, Marv Minty.

“I explained that we are a licensed tourist lodge and the owner . . . did not like the idea at all and could he please find somewhere else to hunt,” Minty said.

“Disregarding our request, he returned, shooting and probably leaving a large, wounded, pissed-off grizzly for two disabled seniors and an 80-year-old woman to deal with.”

The hunter said he fired two high-powered rifle shots into the bear from about 100 metres, but then could not find it and left two hours later without establishing whether the bear was injured, Minty said.

A grizzly bear with cub in front of the Forward Harbour Lodge.

“As he was leaving he said ‘I don’t know how I could have missed,‘ ” Minty said.

Under provincial rules, a hunter cannot discharge a firearm within 100 metres of a building — about the distance from which the shots were fired — and the hunter was on Crown land, not private property.

Under the Wildlife Act, if someone kills or injures an animal they must make every reasonable effort to retrieve it.

Forward Harbour is on the Central Coast, but can be reached only by boat from Sayward or by float plane from Campbell River.

Minty reported the shooting to Sayward RCMP and conservation officers.

The matter is under investigation, said Sayward RCMP Cpl. Rod Pick. “A grizzly bear can be quite aggressive and an injured bear is more likely to go into the community where there’s an easier food supply,” Pick said.

“Most responsible hunters will go to extreme measures. If they believe they have shot an animal, they will do their best to track it down and find that animal,” he added.

However, Hindbo believes the 500-kilogram grizzly might have escaped the bullets as a similar bear reappeared on the beach the next day.

“He didn’t seem to be hurt, but he was very agitated the next day. He was running around and wouldn’t settle down. He seems to have settled down now,” she said.

The bears have never bothered Forward Harbour residents, but, when new people arrive, they usually disappear into the woods for a couple of days, Hindbo said.

The hunter watched the beach for a day, Hindbo said.

“Then at 5 a.m. the next morning, he kayaked on to the beach and snuck into the trees and fired two shots,” she said.

Hindbo said she is not against all hunting and some family members hunt deer for food.

However, she cannot understand why someone wants to shoot grizzlies.

“I don’t see any sense to that. Live and let live,” she said.

The spring grizzly bear hunt runs from April 1 to May 31 in the Vancouver Island region, which includes the Central Coast.

The province estimates there are 15,000 grizzly bears in B.C., but the number is disputed by groups opposed to the trophy hunt.

This year, 3,716 tags were issued for the spring and fall hunts. Last year, 3,773 tags were handed out.

In both 2009 and 2010, just under 3,000 licences were issued.

An average of 300 bears are killed each year by legal hunters. “That’s still 300 bears too many!”

Chris Genovali, executive director of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said coastal grizzlies are often sitting targets.

Allowing the hunt “is not only anachronistic from a wildlife management perspective, it is ethically deplorable as well,” he said.

“Killing these magnificent animals for sport, trophy and profit has no place in today’s society.” “I couldn’t agree more, so let’s do something about it, it is a sport, pleasure a hobby; people won’t die of hunger if there are no bears killed!”

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Hunter+accused+shooting+grizzly+bear+near+lodge/6721571/story.html#ixzz1wq3yUEv1

Please read this extremely informative petition & then sign to help protect the bears

Trophy Hunting

by Ian McAllister, founding director of Pacific Wild

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/trophyhunt/blog/352

Will Wyoming’s wolves be next?

Last week, the Obama administration opened a brief public comment period on a revised plan to delist Wyoming’s wolves.

Wyoming’s wolves could be left at the mercy of a shoot-on-sight state policy that covers nearly 90% of the state.

Unfortunately, this plan is virtually the same bad plan that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected in years past and leaves Wyoming’s wolves at the mercy of a shoot-on-sight state policy that covers nearly 90% of the state.

Take action now: Tell U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that you OPPOSE the delisting of wolves in Wyoming under the current state plan.

The Wyoming wolf plan has changed little from past plans that federal officials found to be unacceptable. It relies on out-of-date recovery goals rather than the best available science. It allows wolf numbers to be significantly reduced in the state. And the plan still allows for indiscriminate wolf killing across the vast majority of Wyoming…even on national forests and other lands owned by the American taxpayer.

It’s still a flawed plan that does not treat wolves as the ecologically important wildlife that they are.

Speak out now to oppose the Wyoming wolf delisting plan before the May 16th deadline.

We simply can’t allow the Obama administration to walk away from its responsibility to ensure a healthy wolf population in the Northern Rockies by their approval of Wyoming’s wolf plan. The stakes are too high for the future of wolves in the West.

Idaho is already pursuing a race to the bottom in wolf management — killing more than 400 wolves in just the first year of delisting. If Wyoming is given the green light for their management plan, vital dispersal of wolves to other states where wolves have historically made their homes may become difficult.

And without federal protections, Wyoming could follow Idaho’s lead — modifying their management plan to make the situation even worse for wolves in the region.

We have already seen what can happen if the fate of wolves is turned over to states with extreme anti-wolf plans in place. We need to make sure the Obama administration gets it right for wolves in Wyoming.

Speak out now for the future of wolves in Wyoming and the West.

As early as this fall, wolves in Wyoming could be at the mercy of a state plan that allows these iconic animals to be shot on sight throughout most of the state.

More than 76,000 Defenders supporters spoke out against the Wyoming delisting plan during the original public comment period. Will you speak out now before next Wednesday’s deadline?

Together, we can ensure a lasting future for America’s wolves.

Tell U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that you OPPOSE the delisting of wolves in Wyoming under the current state plan.

Link:-https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2439&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr004=mto1078hf1.app223a

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Idaho’s War On Wolves – Please Sign Petition

We saw it coming. When Congress stripped federal protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies one year ago, we warned that hundreds of wolves in the region would be killed.

It’s especially bad in Idaho. Broken promises and political pandering to anti-wolf extremists has led to the elimination of more than 400 wolves — almost half the state’s wolf population — in just one year.

Starting today, we’re marking the first anniversary of wolf delisting with a series of actions aimed at shining the national spotlight on Idaho’s extreme wolf-killing policies — and the dangers it poses to wolf recovery in the American West.

Take action now: Sign our petition to Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and urge him to stop his state’s war on wolves — and to treat these animals like wildlife, not vermin.

Idaho officials aren’t stopping as the death toll surpasses 400 — they’re aiming to kill off as many wolves as possible until they drive the population down to 150. Officials have already changed their rules to make it even easier for hunters and trappers to kill even more wolves.

It’s clear that Idaho’s goal is to drive wolves down to the barest minimum of 150 wolves — decimating the state’s wolf population down to minimum numbers.

This is not wolf management. It’s a backwards attempt to once again eliminate an ecologically important predator from the landscape.

Tell Idaho Governor Otter that decimating the state’s wolves is unethical, unscientific and unacceptable in modern-day wildlife management.

Federal officials delisted wolves in the Northern Rockies based on Idaho’s commitment to maintain between 518 and 732 wolves. But the governor broke this promise, leading to Idaho’s policy of killing off hundreds of wolves. This gives new unfortunate meaning to the old phrase of “bait and switch.”

Quite simply, Idaho is refusing to treat wolves as wildlife — pursuing a path of targeting wolves as vermin, using troubling tactics:

• No quota limit throughout most of the state on the number of wolves that can be killed through hunting;
• Allowing hunting for 8-10 months out of the year, which includes through denning season in some areas;
• Increasing the number of wolves that can be hunted, trapped or snared per person;
• Using aerial gunning to wipe out entire packs of wolves to artificially boost game populations;

These extreme policies only feed a frenzy of anti-wolf rhetoric in the state.

Take action now and help us reach our goal of generating 75,000 signatures: Sign our petition to Idaho’s governor and tell him to get it right on wolves.

Wolf recovery is one of the most important conservation success stories in this country. We can’t let Idaho’s extreme actions turn back the clock.
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STOP THE POLAR BEAR RUG TRADE

Adding to the polar bear‘s bleak prospects under climate change, risky offshore drilling and toxic contamination, the international trade in endangered species parts is booming. The price for polar bear fur reached a record high this year as the bears’ numbers shrink along with their sea-ice habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering pushing for additional protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. At the last CITES negotiations, the Service led the charge to ban all commercial trade in polar bear parts, but Canada blocked the move. The agency is now “undecided” on its position for the upcoming round.

The United States granted the polar bear Endangered Species Act protections in 2008, but Canada refused to extend similar protections to its bears last year and remains the world leader in polar bear sport-hunting and commercial trade. The Center for Biological Diversity is pressing Canada to stop its egregious overharvest.

Please ask the Fish and Wildlife Service to take a stand for polar bears and champion these urgently needed trade restrictions.

Please sign the petition here:-http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10286

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Defenders of Wildlife – America’s wolves need our help!

America‘s wolves need our help!

America’s wolves were nearly eradicated in the 20th century. Now, after a remarkable recovery in parts of the country, our wolves are once again in serious danger.

• Federal sharpshooters are preparing for aerial wolf killing in Northern Idaho.
• In Montana, the anti-wolf Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife are offering a $100 bounty per dead wolf.
• Wyoming is moving forward with a plan that would allow wolves to be shot on sight across much of the state, including in National Forests and in some of the best available gray wolf habitat in the state.
• Politicians in the Southwest are preventing the release of Mexican gray wolves into the wild – despite critically low wolf numbers that threaten a second extinction in the wild for these rare wolves.

“I am honoured to be able to share this beautiful video, from my dear friend & animal warrior Loise Du Toit.  Louise is a strong advocate for America’s wolves, along with other animals facing danger from climate & human intervention. So for those who want to help save Americas Wolves;…Louise has compiled a comprehensive list of addressee’s to send your letters or emails to!.  

Louise du Toit – CD albums @ http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LouiseduToit

You can also download the Album  – ‘Ode to Magnificent’ -by Louise Du Toit-  From iTunes.

The song for HOWL ACROSS AMERICA was written by Louise du Toit as a contribution to the August 2011 events, organized by NIWA (Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance), Wolf Warriors, Howling For Justice and individual wolf advocates around the world, protesting against the killing of wolves. Music, lyrics, performance and recording by Louise du Toit in Greece, 2011. Video created and produced by Louise du Toit. The copyrights to the music and lyrics are reserved by the artist. The images in this video are not the property of the producer. This video was made as a contribution to the salvation of wolves, for nonprofit educational purposes, without any intention of commercial advantage or private financial gain. There is no intention of copyright infringement either.

Created by members of NIWA (Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance), Wolf Warriors, and Howling For Justice, HOWL ACROSS AMERICA is calling on all wolf advocates to speak up for the wolves in August 2011. Please join their page at the following link and add your voice of protest against the war on our precious wolves: 

http://www.facebook.com/HowlAcrossAmerica?ref=ts

List of contacts, courtesy of Louise :-All Contacts needed to write letters opposing wolf slaughter

Please sign all the petitions below:-

Petition:- Save the Lolo 75 Wolf

Save the Lolo 75

Federal sharpshooters are preparing to take to the skies of Northern Idaho in an ill-conceived attempt to kill as many as 75 wolves to artificially boost game populations.

The proposed plan is for Wildlife Services, a program under Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s supervision, to use helicopters and other aircraft to gun down wolves in the Lolo region near Clearwater National Forest — your public lands!

Conservation groups like Defenders have long sought to protect wolves from unscientific persecution, and we’re not about to give up on them now.

Petition:- Protect Wolves on National Forests

Protect Wolves on National Forests

Under a new plan proposed by the State of Wyoming, wolves in Bridger Teton and other National Forests in Wyoming could be shot on sight.

Denning wolves are at risk. Wolf pups are at risk. And the very mission of conserving wildlife on our National Forests is at risk.

Tell President Obama and Secretary Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, to draw a line in the sand and oppose the shoot-on-sight plan for wolves on Bridger Teton and other National Forests in Wyoming.

Petition:- Urge Western Governors to Prevent Wholesale Wolf Slaughter

Urge Western Governors to Prevent Wholesale Wolf Slaughter

Congress has eliminated Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Now the fate of our wolves rests in the hands of state officials. And while states like Oregon and Washington are adopting progressive plans to welcome wolves into their states, the legislatures and some governors and officials in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah are taking a more extreme approach to wolf management.

As bad as things are, the situation could get worse. Some extremists are pushing for the elimination of all wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

Take action now. Urge Western governors to adopt sound, sensible wolf management plans that ensure a lasting future for our wolves

Please click on the following to sign:- Don’t Give Hunters the Right to Hunt on Federal Lands

Petition:- Thank Federal Officials for Saving Unimak Wolves

Thank Federal Officials for Saving Unimak Wolves

Many of Unimak Island‘s wolves could have faced certain death this spring.Fortunately, federal officials made the right decision — siding with science and avoiding an unjustified slaughter.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service‘s courageous decision is a big win for science-based wolf management — and opens the door to a greater understanding into the underlying causes of caribou decline on the island.

Take action now: Thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their decision to spare Unimak Island wolves. Alaska resident? 

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