Wolf News Roundup
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!
October 18, 2015
Support delisting? You're a "right-wing wolf hater"
The Center for Biological Diversity's most recent fundraising email is all about the "Right Wing Gunning for Wyoming's Wolves." The email, adorned with a large red "Donate Now" button, reads: "Wyoming's wildlife-hating fanatics are doubling down on their war on wolves. They're trying to slide through a congressional "rider" -- an amendment attached to a must-pass budget bill -- that would overrule the courts and reinstate a "kill-on-sight" approach. In a throwback to decades past, they want wolves reclassified as vermin, to be shot or trapped the minute they step across the state line, or outside of Yellowstone.
"Last year the Center for Biological Diversity won in court and successfully shut down Wyoming's dirty wolf-hunting business, but now right-wing politicians are trying to sneak through legislation to bring the wolf slaughter back. We need your help to stop them.
"You can help us protect Wyoming's wild wolves with a gift today to the Center's Predator Defense Fund. Your support will be crucial as we battle elected extremists and keep wolves safe in Wyoming and elsewhere.
"This bloodlust for wolves doesn't stop at Wyoming's border. Politicians are playing with wolves' lives in other states as well. They want to end hard-won protections and return to the bad old days when wolves were slaughtered on sight everywhere they roamed. They were mercilessly driven to the edge of extinction once before, and it will surely happen again unless we act to save them now."
The CBD letter is full of exaggeration and short on facts, failing to acknowledge that once wolves are removed from federal protection, they fall under state management authority, with provisions for regulated harvest – not outright slaughter as alleged – and that federal officials will require monitoring of the population lest they need for federal protection again arise.
Playing Hardball with the Feds
The New Mexico Game Commission has denied a request for a permit for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to release more Mexican wolves in the state. Although FWS applied for the permit, the state denied the permit. Well the federal government now says it doesn't need the state's permission anyway. Have a look at the links below to New Mexico news sources to learn why state wildlife officials are playing hardball with the feds, who seem to be making up the rules as they go.
Why "Wolf-friendly beef" is Patronizing to Ranchers
Wolf advocates suggest creating a new label for "wolf-friendly beef" for which consumers who support wolf conservation would pay a premium. Read up on why this notion is viewed as patronizing by those who raise livestock in areas inhabited by wolves (see link below).
Considering Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado?
Recent community discussions in Colorado have drawn attention to the possibility of reintroducing wolves into that state. See the link below for the story.
Misleading Trophic Cascade
You've heard the story of wolf reintroduction causing a wonderful "trophic cascade" of change in Yellowstone National Park. But it's not really true, and it's far more complicated than the public has been led to believe. Learn about it in Nature (linked below).
Wolf Hunters in France
In defiance of European Union law, the French government has deployed a team of wolf hunters to reduce wolf populations in areas of the country where livestock herds have been hit hard by the predators. See link below for entire story.
|
