Idaho Requests More Money for Its Wolf “Control” Board: This week, news surfaced that Idaho’s Governor Butch Otter is requesting an additional $400,000 to fund a second year of the state’s wolf control board. This money will go exclusively towards killing wolves. The wolf control board was implemented by Governor Otter in 2014; the legislation requested $400,000 per year for five years to drive Idaho’s wolf population down as low as possible. News reports say that money from the Wolf Control Board in 2014 has gone towards killing 31 wolves from Aug. 7 –December 31, at a cost of $4,600 per wolf. The wolf control board has already contracted out an additional $235,000 of work between now and the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2015. Throwing money at lethal control programs without even considering effective non-lethal options for keeping wolves away from livestock makes absolutely no sense! And many such programs do exist. Working with ranchers, Defenders has pioneered many practical solutions to help livestock and wolves coexist – for example the Wood River Coexistence Project in central Idaho –uses proven, effective nonlethal deterrents like fladry, range riders, electric fencing and guard dogs to help protect livestock and build social acceptance for wolves.
Help us continue to fight efforts like this one in Idaho >>
Advocates Testify in Opposition to Bills That Would Weaken Protections for Washington Wolves: Two committees in the Washington State legislature held public hearings this week on a series of bills that would weaken protections for wolves in the state. Offered as “solutions” to the wolf-livestock conflicts involving the Huckleberry Pack last summer in northeastern Washington, the bills included one to authorize increased lethal control of wolves and another to delist wolves in large portions of the state. Defenders of Wildlife and numerous other wolf advocates testified in opposition to these bills, highlighting for legislators how these proposals are likely to increase conflicts and tensions among stakeholders, generating needless controversy and reducing the chance to produce common ground. We will keep you posted on these bills as they are considered by the committee.
“How Anti-Wolf Propaganda Threatens The Survival of the Species:” We wanted to share a particularly compelling news story this week from One Green Planet which discusses the ways in which anti-wolf propaganda undermines wolves’ continued recovery. The article hits the nail on the head: “Anti-wolf fanatics have been hard at it spreading myths and fairy tales, and sadly some people seem susceptible to this scaremongering and genuinely believe that the big bad wolf is going to enter their homes with fangs bared to gobble them up for dinner. You think I’m joking? I’m really not. But that’s not even the worst part. This anti-wolf rhetoric has made its way into the corridors of power.” False portrayals of wolves as cruel and threatening creatures only serve to undermine their recovery. You can help by sharing this article on your social networks and by reminding your friends and family that false depictions of wolves in the media have real world consequences for the species.
The post Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog.
Idaho state officials have just requested another $400,000 to kill even more wolves.
It’s breaking the bank and breaking our hearts.
Idaho is at it again – state officials have just requested another $400,000 to kill even more wolves!
Enough is enough. Your urgent support for Defenders of Wildlife will help us protect wolves and other vulnerable wildlife.
The state calls it the “Wolf Depredation Control Board.” We call it the “Wolf Kill Board.” What it really does is funnel state taxpayers’ money for the sole purpose of killing wolves.
And make no mistake – this wolf-hating panel wants to kill every wolf it’s allowed to.
Here’s what one Wolf Kill Board member told state legislators at a budget hearing: “We think we’re going to need every dime of that money before this is over.”
Many of these killings are sanctioned to artificially inflate deer and elk numbers!
Idaho’s wolves have been in growing jeopardy since Congress stripped them of protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2011. Since Idaho took over their management, the number of breeding pairs, which are necessary to maintain the population, have plummeted.
Defenders is the only national organization with staff on the ground in Idaho working not only to help restore wolves but at the statehouse and state wildlife commission testifying against these actions threatening wolves. Your urgent support will help us fight to end Idaho’s rogue war on wolves.
Keep the dream of red wolf recovery alive
Why would a federal agency completely abandon three decades of painstaking wolf conservation for no good reason?
Hard as it is to believe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is actively considering abandoning recovery efforts for the critically endangered red wolf. It would be an unjustifiable and tragic act on their part. And we can’t let it happen.
Your urgent donation to Defenders will help protect red wolves and other vulnerable species from coast to coast.
Just last month, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission passed a resolution asking FWS to declare the red wolf extinct in the wild. This would bring more than three decades of painstaking wolf conservation to a screeching halt and could doom the last wild packs.
Shockingly, FWS officials have said they will seriously consider the request!
Red wolves, smaller cousins of the gray wolf, once roamed across the southeastern United States. Habitat loss and extermination took a deadly toll. By the 1970s, only a few of these shy animals remained in captivity. In 1987, red wolves were reintroduced into a small area in eastern North Carolina. Today, roughly 100 red wolves are making their last stand for survival in a five county area in North Carolina scrub forest.
Defenders has been a stalwart supporter of red wolf reintroduction since the program began, and we have consistently won court battles to secure the protection of red wolves.
Please help us continue the fight to save endangered red wolves and other vulnerable wildlife!
As recently as 2013, we went to federal court to stop the practice of night hunting for coyotes in the red wolf recovery zone. Coyotes and red wolves look a lot alike in broad daylight. At night they are nearly impossible to tell apart. Dozens of red wolves have been shot and killed in recent years as a result. After the court ruled in our favor on night hunting, the state agreed to discontinue the practice.
For FWS to agree with the North Carolina Commission’s request to walk away from red wolf recovery in the wild and shut the program down would be a monumental mistake and tragedy.
With your continued support, we can keep the dream of red wolf recovery alive.
How Anti-Wolf Propaganda Threatens the Survival of The Species
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Well the three little pigs and Little Red Riding Hood are certainly not fans … but apart from myths, legends and children’s fairy tales, why is this beautiful creature so demonized in the modern world?
If someone asks you what is more likely to kill you; a wolf or a cow? You would probably go with the wolf, right? I know that’s what my first thought was. But let’s have a reality check.
Cows are responsible for an average of twenty two human deaths in the U.S. each year. On average wolves are responsible for zero. In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning or killed by an elevator than be killed by a wolf. In the 21st century, only two known deaths have been attributed to wild wolves in the entirety of North America.
So what’s with all the hysteria? Anti-wolf fanatics have been hard at it spreading myths and fairy tales, and sadly some people seem susceptible to this scaremongering and genuinely believe that the big bad wolf is going to enter their homes with fangs bared to gobble them up for dinner. You think I’m joking? I’m really not. But that’s not even the worst part. This anti-wolf rhetoric has made its way into the corridors of power.
Fairy tales are influencing legislation, regulations, public opinion and threatening the recovery of wolves and their vital contribution to our ecosystems.
I could give you countless examples of this war on wolves but let’s take a look at what’s going on in Washington state, where wolves are only just beginning to re-establish themselves after being very nearly wiped out by human persecution.
Anti-wolf fanatics have launched a campaign to demonise the wolf. In a crusade to win over the hearts and minds of Washingtonians a group by the name of Washington Residents Against Wolves (WARAW) have erected billboards carrying a warning of death and destruction to all by the big bad wolf. Snarling teeth, glaring vicious eyes … at first glance you could mistake it as an advertisement for a new horror flick. They even say that the wolf is going to kill your children! Reminds me a bit of a dingo stole my baby.
So it is pretty clear that calm, fact based debate is not on the table for the anti-wolf fanatic’s. They are steadfast in their quest of fairy tale ideologies. They even seem to openly admit this. With a quick browse of their Facebook page I noticed they have a picture of Little Red Riding Hood brandishing a gun and the message, “looks like Little Red decided to join WARAW and fight back on the wolf issue.” Well at least they are honest about the fairy tales within their ranks.
The sad fact is that, as ridiculous as this anti-wolf hysteria is, wolves do suffer and will continue to suffer as a result of this demonization. Just look at Idaho.
Over 1,470 wolves have been killed in Idaho since 2009 when the state demanded the chance to control wolves within its territory. Wolves have been slaughtered by various methods including firearms, aerial gunning, trapping and snaring. And shockingly this is just the beginning of Idaho’s war on wolves as a wolf killing fund has been set up to kill hundreds more wolves. All of this despite the fact a recent scientific study shows that killing wolves actually increases livestock predation. What an absolute tragedy.
Could this be the future for Washington’s wolves? Reassuringly Washingtonians are not falling for the fairy tales. Billboards where erected by Defenders of Wildlife to counter the anti-wolf campaign and the bulk of the funding was actually initiated by locals who thought the anti-wolf bill boards needed a response. It is wonderful to see local people taking a stand for their natural heritage and rejecting the crusade of the fanatics. But we must also speak out for wolves.
So What Can You do to Protect Wolves?
Wolves need you now more than ever to secure their full recovery.
As an apex predator, the wolf plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy and thriving ecosystem. When the wolf population was removed from the Yellowstone region of Wyoming, we saw an increase in small, grazing animals who decimated the local verbiage, making tree roots less stable, leading to an increase in soil erosion. Soil erosion poses a threat to local waterways and can damage the health of aquatic life. The wolf is the stable peg that holds the entire ecosystem in balance and if we do not wish to see this same sort of degradation in Washington, or other regions of the U.S. it is up to us to protect the wolf species.
The greatest threat to wolves in the U.S. is the proposal to delist them from Endangered Species Act Protection. Demand that this reckless delisting proposal is abandoned and secure the full recovery of gray wolves.The wolves in Idaho desperately need your support. If you are sickened by the 1, 470 wolves already killed then please take part in this action.
Lead image source: Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr
See something, Say something. Bookmark, share and help further build our directory of Animal Rescue Hotlines and let's be prepared to help animals today!
Otter Encourages Discussing Medicaid Expansion in Idaho
Medicaid expansion might be part of Otter's agenda this year
Lee fights extradition in Moscow shooting
Governor To Undergo Surgery
Idaho Campaigns Benefit from Broadband Contractors' Largesse
Idaho's GOP Guv Is Pushing For A Medicaid Expansion Debate
Idaho governor resting after hip replacement surgery
Idaho governor resting after hip replacement surgery
Otter: Boost education funding by 7.4 percent
Cornyn Bill Would Protect Texans Against Burdensome Endangered Species Settlements
