|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
This September marks the beginning of an unprecedented wolf-hunting season throughout Idaho and Montana. In some designated wolf-hunting zones, the season will last an incredible seven months. Idaho Governor Butch Otter reiterated his desire to buy the first permit to kill his trophy wolf and now equates wolves, a social family animal, with rattlesnakes.
A consortium of environmental groups is sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hoping to stop the hunt in Montana and Idaho. The presiding judge has not yet ruled. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is threatening to sue the federal government if the hunt is halted in his state. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is now selling wolf-hunting permits for $11.50. In Idaho, 3,400 were sold in the first few hours of the first day the permits were made available. They expect to issue an alarming 70,000 permits to kill 220 of Idaho's 880 wolves. When the quota of 220 wolves is met, the season will close. However, according to the Idaho Fish and Game regulations, wolf hunters are only "encouraged" to check to see if the season is still open the day they elect to go hunt their wolf. The hunt began Tuesday, September 1.
Approximately 21-million taxpayer dollars have been spent in the effort to reintroduce wolves to the Northern Rocky Mountains. The situation couldn't be much worse for wolves. Please join us and Living with Wolves. Our goal is to stop the slaughter.
As always, thank you for your support!
Sincerely, 
Jim Dutcher Jamie Dutcher
|
|
Are Puppies Fair Game?
All wolves are fair game. Among the wolves that will be targeted will be this year's puppies. Born in the spring, they resemble the pups in the photo below. Full of energy, constantly playing, they spend their days sorting out their puppy pack hierarchy and learning from adult wolves.
This is a quote from a new website, created solely just to guide hunters in killing wolves:
"With your tag, you are permitted to kill 1 wolf. Montana defines a legal wolf as: "Any male or female wolf, including young-of-the year". This means you can shoot any wolf you see including pups if you so choose." -www.huntwolves.com
Some will go to any length to get a wolf, even if it means bending the very principles hunting and "fair chase" were built on. 
"In 2008 a Wyoming man chased a wolf 35 miles on his snowmobile before he shot it. He considered (it) fair chase." -Idaho Statesman blog, August 20, 2009
Many hunters will be gunning for a trophy wolf. This in most cases will be the alpha of the pack, the leader. The alpha holds the knowledge, leadership, and experience that the members of the pack depend on for their daily survival. These attributes of the alpha keep a pack healthy and hunting their preferred natural prey. It is also documented that when the alpha of a pack is lost, the remaining pack members have higher propensity for getting into conflict with ranching interests.
|
Quotes And Comments From The Web
In our most recent newsletter, we included the following quote from a hunting blog:
"We need to get the word out to the hunters this fall, always aim for the guts until you see one you want on the wall then go for the vitals on the last one and tag it. The rest will simply run off and become food for the other critters. Together we can ruduce (sic) their numbers in a hurry...read the regs. They say you cant (sic) kill a wolf doesent (sic) say anything about shooting'em."
-Oregon Public Broadcasting, comment thread, May 9, 2009
Sadly, precisely this idea of fatally wounding, but not killing wolves, for maximum impact on the population, is no longer just rhetoric in the blogosphere but is being heard throughout Idaho communities.
Many hunters are responsible and hunt with the principle of eating what they kill. However, others hunt for different reasons. People do not hunt wolves for food. It is odd, but most of the feedback coming from eager wolf hunters isn't even excitement about getting their trophy wolf. The comments actually reflect a deep-seated animosity to wolves and what they represent. However, rather than explaining how some people feel, we find it better to let them speak for themselves. Below is a wide range of quotes from hunters to politicians. 
"Wait 'till Oct 1. I'll do my own Wolf Patrol. When I shoot and tag my wolf, watch for it strapped to my truck. I'll be driving it from Bellevue to Sun Valley all day long."
-Idaho Mountain Express, comment thread from "Wolf Eater", August 17, 2009
"You tree hugging hippies are all the same. If you do not decrease the wolf population, there will be no other wildlife left. So bring on the wolf tags and pass the ketchup. If I could shoot more than one a year, I would be all over it."
-Idaho Statesman, comment thread from "Purduefan72", August 18, 2009
Commenting on the upcoming wolf hunt,
"It will either be a state-authorized one or it will be an illegal one."
-Randy Budge, Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner at the Conference of Western Attorneys General, Idaho Mountain Express, August 5, 2009
After reading these comments, you may not find the following as much of a surprise:
"FAIRFIELD, Idaho - Six dead wolf pups have been discovered on national forest land in south-central Idaho, state officials announced today. Idaho Fish and Game officers found the partially decomposed wolves Friday north of the rural community of Fairfield, which is about 45 miles southwest of Sun Valley Ski Resort. Preliminary necropsies were performed, but the cause of death is still unknown. Additional test results are forthcoming, officials said. Anyone with information should call the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at (800) 632-5999. -The Spokesman-Review, August 25, 2009
|
What Can YOU Do To Help?
There are many ways to fight a fight. Living with Wolves' unique approach is based upon Jim and Jamie Dutcher's knowledge, gained from nearly 20 years in this field:
� living with wolves
� researching and writing three books
� producing three award-winning films
� and giving countless public presentations about wolves across the nation.
This record is unequalled anywhere. Jim and Jamie's large, educational stock of photographs, and audio and motion picture recordings were painstakingly assembled, and provide Living with Wolves at no cost, the means to share that knowledge at a critical time.
While other organizations are doing the important work of litigation, Living with Wolves has the best resources to educate the public about the true nature of wolves and their struggle. It is all of you who paid for their reintroduction and it is all of you who can make a difference. Minds have already been changed about the killing of gorillas, elephants, dolphins, and whales. When enough people learn about wolves and speak out, the courts will listen. 
To bring factual information about wolves to as many people as possible, and to combat myths and misstatements, Living with Wolves is currently raising money to print our full-page public service announcement in as many newspapers as possible in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. We have also contacted the federal judge who is presiding over the current lawsuit seeking to halt the wolf-hunting season. In addition, our new website, both beautiful and easier to use, is about to be introduced at this critical time. Watch for it! We'll send you an announcement.
If you would like to help us fund our lean, hardworking, effective operation, please Click Here to Donate. We appreciate your support!
|
|
This newsletter was made possible by a grant from The Otis Booth Foundation
|
|
|
|
|
|
