Tell the Bush Administration It Has No License to Kill Wolves!

[~flower~]

http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/actionfund_wolfaerial

 The restoration of the gray wolf in the northern Rockies is one of America's greatest environmental success stories. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and the central Idaho wilderness in 1995 after being exterminated by settlers, trappers and the federal government. Since then, these new populations have increased to 1200 or so animals. Wolves play a crucial role in northern Rockies ecosystems, helping to preserve riparian forests and maintain healthy populations of raptors, rodents and coyotes. They are also a boon to the region's economy, generating tens of millions of dollars in tourist revenue each year.

But Rocky Mountain wolves are by no means out of danger. The Bush Administration has proposed turning over management authority to state agencies, and the governors of Idaho and Wyoming are seeking to kill off more than 700 wolves -- over two-thirds of the Yellowstone and central Idaho populations. Instead of killing wolves, these states should be redoubling their efforts to protect them in the face of mounting development and other habitat destruction. The Bush Administration should continue protecting wolves under the Endangered Species Act until the states have plans in place to ensure that wolf populations will flourish in the future. They should make certain that connections are maintained between the three populations in the northern Rockies so that these populations remain genetically healthy. These ecological bridges are increasingly important as rural sprawl and industrial development continue to fragment wolf habitat throughout the region.

Even as the Bush Administration pushes ahead with its plan to strip Greater Yellowstone's wolves of federal protection early next year, it has announced a separate proposal to authorize the mass killing of wolves -- even while wolves are still on the endangered species list. The administration wants to be able to kill wolves anywhere that elk herd numbers may be affected by wolves. It is focusing on areas where elk herds are smaller than the states want. But those few cases of declines in elk herds have been caused by a combination of factors including habitat destruction, drought and human hunting -- not just by wolves. And in most areas of the Northern Rockies, elk numbers are at all-time highs.

Government agencies have already purchased planes and helicopters that are capable of gunning down entire packs of wolves in minutes, and state officials have said they would begin slaughtering wolves immediately if the plan is approved, reversing more than a decade of recovery efforts. In Wyoming, wolves would be classified as “predatory animals” in three-fourths of the state, allowing them to be killed by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

[Vet]

I'm not going to go off on a tangent with this one (believe me, I could) but this is another case of ridiculous fearing "The big bad wolf" bullshit politics.  My understanding is the actual numbers of wolves that might be killed more than likely won't be 700, but even a few unless they are a direct threat to humans is too many if you ask me. 

The big irony of it is the wolves act to make the elk herds BETTER by culling out injured, weak, and sickly animals---including those that might harbor diseases such as CWD.  All they are doing is inadvertantly weakening the genetics of the population by managing it this way. 

[~flower~]

In Wyoming, wolves would be classified as “predatory animals” in three-fourths of the state, allowing them to be killed by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

 How could that be allowed if wolves are on the endangered species list?
 
   Free reign to kill them?   Open season on wolves?

 

[Vet]

How could that be allowed if wolves are on the endangered species list?
 
   Free reign to kill them?   Open season on wolves?

 

its a legal "grey area".   You see this all the time with different species.  Grey wolves (Canis lupus) has a world conservation union (IUCN) status of LC, meaning they are of lowest risk and do not qualify for a more at risk category.  Now, within the US, individual states can have "endangered/treatened" animal listings thorugh the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  This is the status of the wolf they are talking about. 

Two examples:  in Missouri, its illegal to own an alligator snapping turtle without special state issued permits registering the animal and allowing you to possess it because they are listed as an endangered species.   I got my alligator snapping turtle in Ohio as a gift for doing some work with a reptile breeder--there was no need for permits because it was a captive bred animal out of a state where Alligator snapping turtles are not native---they also are not native to Ohio, so a possession permit was not needed.  Unfortunately, because it was a gift, I have no breeding records on the animal, so I cannot obtain the necessary paperwork if I move back to Missouri, where it is classified as endangered, with the turtle. 

I had an American Alligator for years, kept him in a large tank in my living room.  This animal fell under similar regulations if I'd moved south with him. 



Unfortunately even with the IUCN status of some animals, human health concerns override.  When I was in college I worked night call for animal control.  Most of what I did was removal of wildlife and bite cases.  About 20 miles north of the the city was one of the largest breeding colonies of Indiana Bats in the state of Missouri.  Indiana bats are IUCN classified as endangered.   Despite this, animal control killed all bats removed from peoples houses because of teh threat of the spread of rabies via aerosolization from the bats flying around peoples houses.  I thought it was really stupid to kill an endangered species, so I released almost all of the bats I caught.  Even the ones I did turn in--those that were visibly sick or injured, not one came back rabies positive.  Even then, there were probably 25-30 killed per year by other members of animal control.  Thats too many if you ask me.