A wolf and coyote derby taking place this weekend has turned a small Idaho town into a battleground between hunters and animal rights activists. Animal rights groups such as WildEarth Guardians had protested the event, supposedly on the grounds that the derby organizers needed permits from the U.S. Forest Service for the hunts to take place. However, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Wagahoff Dale ruled the permits weren't necessary, and the event could proceed.
Derbies, such as the one taking place in Salmon, ID, are nothing new around the western state. Bliss holds its annual Hannah Bates Memorial Rock Chuck Derby, which raises money for various charities in honor of Bates, who died of cancer in 2008. There are other smaller hunting derbies in both Idaho and the surrounding western states; these derbies are held for the purpose of reducing both predator and rodent populations, as well as for fundraising. Coyotes, fox and, of course, rock chucks, are all subjects of these derbies; famed rock chuck Punxsutawny Phil would get no special protection here.
What has made this derby so different, however, is the addition of one specific animal - the wolf. Since wolves were reintroduced into the Idaho wilderness in 1995, they have been surrounded by controversy. Animal rights groups lauded the reintroduction; but farmers, ranchers and hunters were far from keen on the idea, and the hatred of the wolves has steadily risen among these groups.
Part of the problem with the wolves now found in the Idaho wilderness is the fact that they are not native to Idaho, as the indigenous populations had all been nearly wiped out. These wolves are from Canada, and are much larger and stronger than those native to the state. Not only that, but the ...
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...tivists are hoping for, especially when these threats are aimed at families and children. Salmon, like most of the tiny Idaho towns, is centered on family and community, and its residents do not take kindly to having either endangered; no child's life is worth than of an animal, no matter how beautiful, noble or majestic that animal may be.
Besides, a good number of Idaho's population took Hunter's Education by the age of 12.
The owner of the Savage Grill, Dave Larson, said the majority of the protests were coming from those who lived out of state, and "who don't have a clue what we do here or how we live here.”
Truth is, Larson is right; the activists most likely do not know how Idahoans live or what Idahoans do, and this lack of knowledge about a state, an area, a way of life, as well as the Wolf and Coyote Derby, has turned a tiny Idaho town into a battleground.
When Mowat journeys to the tundra to research the wolves as the culprits for the massive caribou killings, he is surprised at how many people actually despise the wolves simply because they don’t understand them. In the beginning of the book Mowat starts to believe what everyone else did, that wolves were scary, dangerous animals. Little does he know that his first wolf encounter of his trip would be that night. “I do not know what went on in his massive skull, but my head was full of the most disturbing wrong thoughts” (Mowat 54). Since it was his first encounter with a wolf Mowat feels uneasy by the thought of being mauled by an alpha wolf. To his surprise the wolf was just as scared of him as he was of it and ran as fast as he could away. Mowat begins to realize that wolves are the scapegoats to the real reason the caribou population is declining. When Mowat meets Mike, a trapper living in Canada, Mike tells him some surprising information and says. “ ‘Every trapper got to...
The history behind the extirpation of the grey wolf in the United States dates back to the very first European settlers that colonized eastern North America in the late 16th century. The killing of gray wolves was done primarily out of fear in an attempt to protect livestock, and, in some cases, to protect human life within the colonies. As more settlers expanded West, the practice of killing wolves was considerably increased to protect livestock that included cows, pigs, and chickens. As waves of European settlers expanded westward, they began to deplete the deer, moose, and elk populations. The gray wolves food source continual depletion gave rise to wolf populations actively targeting the settler’s livestock, causing great financial loss. The fiscal loss of livestock became such an issue to wealthy ranchers and settlers that they began to offer cash rewards for wolf pelts. This practice gave birth to a lucrative cottage industry of professional hunters and trappers. As the wolves began to move further West, and into Wyoming, they began to diminish the elk and moose population. To respond to this threat, Congress approved funding in 1914, to eliminate the native gray wolves from
In the past, because the glaciers disappeared slowly can make people have a low temperature, clean water during the summer, but at the same time the salmon begin and end their lives. With temperature getting warmer and our glaciers melting, every stage of salmon’s life cycle is getting hurt.
Isle Royal is an island surrounded by the cool Lake Superior. Wolf and Moose are the two largest species on the island, and the wolf and moose interaction is the longest running large mammal predator-prey study on earth (USNPS, 2014). The two populations were once said to exhibit some kind of “balance of nature,” now that is not believed to be the case (Vucetich, 2012).
Rosenau, Marvin Leslie, and Mark Angelo. Conflicts Between Agriculture And Salmon In The Eastern Fraser Valley / Prepared By Marvin L. Rosenau And Mark Angelo. n.p.: Vancouver : Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, c2005., 2005. UFV Library Catalogue
...I think that repopulating wolves in an area where they might have to deal with people is kind of a feeble-witted idea. Wolves are not an animal with a great reputation, even though they might not deserve that reputation most people do not like. I think that people as a whole would probably rather have deer in their back yard rather than wolves. Therefore, the questions what can happen, what should happen, and what will happen, with the deer problem all three have different answers. These answers will differ due to the area that the deer are in and the peoples' feeling towards these deer. It is too bad that there is not one perfect solution to the deer problem. Maybe in the future there will be, but until then we will have to deal with each problem that comes up individually.
...one has signed off on this plan before it went to Congress then it must be a good plan to manage the Grey Wolf population in the state. This is a highly controversial topic that will continue to be debated.
The red wolf is one of the most endangered wild canids in the world, once common throughout south eastern United States, the red wolf population was severely reduced due to intensive predator control programs and loss of habitat. A few remaining wolves were found on the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana, at this point in the 1970’s, the entire population was believed to be fewer than 100.
Coyotes and bears are a common sight in the woods. These animals, along with others, are predators that help to control deer population but also decrease the amount of land allowed to the deer. In Western NC, deer rates have fallen and bag limits have been reduced. In Pennsylvania, biologists have conducted a lengthy study to determine fawn mortality and predation. Predators killed 46% of fawns, (Hart). A study about coyotes in Ohio found that even though they kill numerous fawns, the population of deer continues to grow, (Hart). It would be critical to maintain...
"Training for Iditarod Means a Life Gone to the Dogs." Alaska Dispatch. Web. 14 May 2014. .
Ashley Dean, Shwartz,.Mark 2003. Salmon farms pose significant threat to salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, researchers find. Stanford University
The U.S. Department of Interior’s, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was appointed to carry out the Act and given the task of managing the herds of wild horses and burros. Consequently, BLM’s management of wild horse herds has been highly criticized by animal rights activists, horse advocates, news media, as well as members of Congress. There have been numerous lawsuits filed against BLM regarding their management practices and their appalling wild horse round-ups. However, unimpeded BLM continues with the controversial issue of wild horse round-ups, resulting in the death and injury of many wild horses and burros. The vast majority of these round-ups occur in Nevada, where an estimated sixty percent of the remaining wild horse herds reside....
It’s a brisk November morning like any other day, but today isn’t any other day, today is the first day of firearm deer season. Shots are going off everywhere like world war three declared on deer. I’m wrapped in every hunting garment I own but winters cold embrace always finds its way in. My cheeks are rosy red and my breath was thick in the air. As I raise my shotgun and pull the trigger, my heart races and my hands shake. As I race after my prize, the sounds of leaves crunching beneath my feet are muffled by the ringing in my ears. I’m walking face to the ground like a hound on a trail and then my eyes caught it, my very first whitetail. I will never forget my first deer and the joy I felt sharing it with my family. Hunting is a passed down tradition for my family and friends. Throughout the world, millions of people participate in the spoils and adventure of the hunt. Hunting has been a pastime since the beginning of man. Hunting is one of those things either you like or you don’t like. It’s hard to explain the joys of hunting ,because it’s something one must experience for his self. Hunting does have laws and regulations you have to abide by. Are hunting regulations benefiting the hunter or the animal? This paper will discuss some of the regulations and laws, types of game, disadvantages of regulations, the pros of regulations, poachers, and ways to preserve wildlife and there habitat.
Rodeo is a sport with long American traditions and loved by many spectators and participants. Past history has shown that rodeo needed to make way for a new era of riders and trainers with a larger emphasis on the welfare of the animals and not be discontinued or banned entirely. Today’s rodeos do not present a danger to the animals because the animals are well-cared for and protected, rodeos have strict rules and the stock are treated as prized animals.
The wolves’ were hunted in late 1800 s’ and early 1900‘s in the United States because farmers wanted more land for their cattle’s to graze upon. As farmers were moving out west they felt threaten that the wolves would hunt their cattles so the farmers thought that the best solution would be to take them out of the picture. This was possible because at the time there were no government regulations on hunting....