A lawsuit was filed today in Reno, Nevada against the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners by Nevada residents, Mark Smith and Don Molde, claiming the Commission has failed to protect animals, birds and domestic pets from private fur trappers … continue
Dr. Robert Crabtree, President and Founder, Yellowstone Ecology and Research Center in Bozeman, MT, and visiting scholar at U. Montana and U. Victoria beautifully describes what is known about coyote habits and preferences…information that could be of great use to wildlife management agencies if they would only listen. Nobody does this topic better than Dr. Crabtree. read more
Nevadans for Responsible Wildlife Management was started by Mark Smith, Incline Village, and Don Molde, Reno to provide a social media forum for those who share our concerns about wildlife management practices and needed reforms in order to protect Nevada’s wildlife. Our current issues with wildlife management in Nevada include but are not limited to the following … continue
WARNING THIS CLIP IS GRAPHIC: A red fox, caught in a leghold trap and killed by the trapper’s foot crushing his chest. One of the widely used and archaic killing methods we discovered. Click here to watch the video.
View the investigation findings at http://www.bornfreeusa.org/victimsofvanity In early 2011 Born Free USA and Respect for Animals conducted a landmark investigation inside the world of fur trapping. They uncovered the shocking cruelty and brutality involved in the trapping of wild animals for the fur trade.
This is a powerful, well researched and well written piece on our taxpayer-funded federal Wildlife Services. Here are a few excepts:
Since 2000, its (Wildlife Services) employees have killed nearly a million coyotes, mostly in the West. They have destroyed millions of birds, from nonnative starlings to migratory shorebirds, along with a colorful menagerie of more than 300 other species, including black bears, beavers, porcupines, river otters, mountain lions and wolves. [Click here to see statistics.]
In most cases, they have officially revealed little or no detail about where the creatures where killed, or why. But a Bee investigation has found the agency’s practices to be indiscriminate, at odds with science, inhumane and sometimes illegal.
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Gary Strader, an employee of the US Dept of Agriculture [Wildlife Services], stepped out of his truck near a ravine in Nevada and found something he hadn’t intense to kill. There, strangled in a neck snare, was one of the most majestic birds in America, a federally protected golden eagle.
“I called my supervisor and said, ‘I just caught a golden eagle and it’s dead.’ He said ‘Did anybody see it…if you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don’t say nothing to anybody.”
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A dog owner’s anguish
Sharyn Aguiar writes about the death of her German Shepherd Max, who poisoned by a government M-44 sodium cyanide cartridge in Utah in 2006.
“I kneeled at the top of his head, bending over him, crying and trying to figure out what happened to him. I remember crying out ‘I don’t understand, I don’t understand’ as I looked at his mouth. His mouth had a pinkish/salmonish colored foam coming from it.”
[Click here to see more Wildlife Mysteries Revealed.]
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This investigation’s findings include:
• With steel traps, wire snares and poison, agency employees have accidentally killed more than 50,000 animals since 2000 that were not problems, including federally protected golden and bald eagles; more than 1,100 dogs, including family PETS; and several species considered rare or imperiled by wildlife biologists. [For more on trapping problems, click here.]
• Since 1987, at least 18 employees and several members of the public have been exposed to cyanide when they triggered spring-loaded cartridges laced with poison meant to kill coyotes. They survived – but 10 people have died and many others have been injured in crashes during agency aerial gunning operations since 1979.
• A growing body of science has found the agency’s war against predators, waged to protect livestock and big game, is altering ecosystems in ways that diminish biodiversity, degrade habitat and invite disease.
See the full story and the many interesting attachments at: Sac Bee
The natural cycle of life and death helps maintain genetic diversity and a strong gene pool. Trapping is indiscriminate. Trapped mothers are killed, leaving litters to die. Many traps are set on or in creeks to kill by drowning, and some animals suffer for up to 20 minutes under water. Young animals are killed. Old or sick animals may survive instead of young and healthy, since the healthier animals spend more time foraging and thus cover more ground and are more like to encounter a trap. Trapping does not balance nature; it upsets the balance. There is nothing humane about trapping.
Trapping and fur industry proponents claim trapping provides a viable income for many Americans. However, surveys show that most trappers trap for a little extra income, basically as a hobby with a small commercial incentive. In response to a 1997 API survey, state wildlife agencies indicated that income from trapping was either extremely low or non-existent. A 1992 Missouri Department of Conservation study reported that “approximately 30% of all trappers in 1991 reported no household income from trapping … Most trappers reported earning small incomes from trapping. This suggests that motives other than monetary gain are also important to trappers.
The trapping of wildlife for profit is an anachronism in today’s society, and runs directly counter to The North American Wildlife Conservation Model which bans taking wildlife for commercial gain. Its blatant cruelty can no longer be masked under the guise of economics or wildlife management. However, the trapping/fur lobby is powerful and well-funded, and countering its entrenched political power requires dedicated, passionate citizens who recognize that wildlife has intrinsic worth above and beyond its economic value. We encourage you to get involved.
The question of non-target species, and in particular, domestic pets caught by trappers is of concern to many. We know from information obtained from the Nevada Department of Wildlife that a relatively small number of trappers (perhaps between 10-20% of those in the field any given year) reported catching 195 domestic dogs over an 8-year period with 16 of them found dead in traps. Domestic cats numbered 116 caught with 28 found dead in traps during the same time frame. We believe that many more are caught..probably in rural areas…and that missing pets in winter which are blamed on coyotes may have been victims of fur trappers. These are not just pets let off leash, trapped dogs include working animals, including birding and cattle herding dogs.
And we’ve not mentioned that other species….from pack rats and rabbits to magpies, an occasional golden eagle or owl, on to mountain lions are impacted by fur trappers. Mountain lions in particular are frequently accidentally caught (It is not legal for fur trappers to trap mountain lions in Nevada.). We know of a few cases where a lion has starved to death, or nearly so, due to trap injuries. We know that many others suffer injuries such as missing claws and toes, foot pad injuries, broken bones, dislocate joints, broken or missing teeth, and probable frost bite injury to the portion of the foot below the capture point of the trap in sub-freezing weather. We will be posting some of this information before long for those interested to review.
VERIFIED COMPLAINT AND FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
COMES NOW Plaintiffs/Petitioners above named, as and for their complaint against Defendants/Respondents, allege as follows:
Wildlife in this State not domesticated and in its natural habitat is part of the natural resources belonging to the people of the State of Nevada.
The preservation, protection, management and restoration of wildlife within the State contribute immeasurably to the aesthetic, recreational and economic aspects of these natural resources.
Continue to read the Injunctive Relief (.pdf version)
Our friend, Steve, raises some important questions about who and what is honored in the North American Wildlife Conservation Model designed for all wildlife and for all people. Take note!
While we appreciate what true sportsman did for wildlife conservation, significant excise tax from guns and ammo also comes from many guns purchased for personal protection such as handguns, or target shooting. In contrast, there is no excise tax on traps.
“The North American Wildlife Conservation Model
The North American Wildlife Conservation Model is the only one of its kind in the world. In the mid-1800’s hunters and anglers realized they needed to set limits in order to protect rapidly disappearing wildlife, and assume responsibility for managing wild habitats. Hunters and anglers were among the first to crusade for wildlife protection and remain some of today’s most important conservation leaders.
History
As early settlers made their way West, North America’s wildlife populations diminished due to market-hunting and habitat loss. Many species were on the brink of extinction. Elk, bison, bighorn sheep, black bears—even whitetail deer—had all but disappeared across the country. Hunters and anglers realized they needed to set limits in order to protect what they loved and assume responsibility for the stewardship of our natural resources.
Hunters like Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell rallied fellow sportsmen. They pushed for hunting regulations and established conservation groups to protect habitat.
Basic Principles
Their efforts are the backbone of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. The model has two basic principles – that our fish and wildlife belong to all Americans, and that they need to be managed in a way that their populations will be sustained forever.
The principles of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model are explained more fully through a set of guidelines known as the Seven Sisters for Conservation.
Sister #1 – Wildlife is Held in the Public Trust
In North American, natural resources and wildlife on public lands are managed by government agencies to ensure that current and future generations always have wildlife and wild places to enjoy.
Sister #2 – Prohibition on Commerce of Dead Wildlife
Commercial hunting and the sale of wildlife is prohibited to ensure the sustainability of wildlife populations.
Sister #3 – Democratic Rule of Law
Hunting and fishing laws are created through the public process where everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to develop systems of wildlife conservation and use.
Sister #4 – Hunting Opportunity for All
Every citizen has an opportunity, under the law, to hunt and fish in the United States and Canada.
Sister #5 – Non-Frivolous Use
In North America, individuals may legally kill certain wild animals under strict guidelines for food and fur, self-defense and property protection. Laws restrict against the casual killing of wildlife merely for antlers, horns or feathers.
Sister #6 – International Resources
Wildlife and fish migrate freely across boundaries between states, provinces and countries. Working together, the United States and Canada jointly coordinate wildlife and habitat management strategies. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 demonstrates this cooperation between countries to protect wildlife. The Act made it illegal to capture or kill migratory birds, except as allowed by specific hunting regulations.
Sister #7 – Scientific Management
Sound science is essential to managing and sustaining North America’s wildlife and habitats.
Wildlife Funding
Hunters also recognized the need for a significant and sustainable source of funding for wildlife stewardship. In 1937, sportsmen successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which put an excise tax on the sale of all sporting arms and ammunition. This was followed in 1950 by the Dingell-Johnson Act, which placed a similar tax on fishing equipment. Today, every time you buy hunting and fishing gear, you contribute to this fund. It generates upwards of 700 million dollars every year. This money has been used far and wide to conserve America’s key wildlife habitat. When you combine funding from the excise tax with the state license and tag sales sportsmen pay each year, it constitutes the majority of funding for wildlife in North America. It’s not just funding for huntable wildlife, but for ALL wildlife.
( Source: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
