Posted on 10/05/2015 11:58:54 AM PDT by SJackson
Gray wolves are killing cattle and family pets in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, and all residents can do is stand by and watch thanks to a federal judge’s ruling.
In December, US District Judge Beryl Howell overturned the Obama administration’s decision to take the gray wolf in the Great Lakes states off the endangered species list, The Detroit Free Press reported. Howell’s action effectively banned hunting and trapping of wolves in those states.
Farmer Miles Kuschel watched a pack of six wolves surround his cattle on Easter, but decided not to shoot because of the ruling. When he came back, a calf was dead.
“They came, they killed and they left, but they’re still around. They just move on to the neighbor’s place,” Kuschel told Watchdog.org.
Others have had similar experiences.
“There was a big gray timber wolf,” Laurie Anderson told Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). “The wolf grabbed Curly by the neck, and headed down toward what we call the West Branch of the Knife River. And I’ve never seen my little dog again.”
Anderson’s poodle, Curly Moe, was one of several dogs carried away by wolves in the region around Duluth in April, MPR reported. The wolf attacked when Anderson and Curly went outside to get the mail.
Howell’s ruling keeps wolves on the endangered species list, which means they only can be killed in defense of human life. That means Anderson and Kuschel could have been prosecuted for a federal crime if they shot the wolves to defend their animals.
Farmers Are Helpless
“You could be watching your pasture and you could see a wolf killing your cattle, which is like watching someone at the ATM taking money out of your bank account, and you can do nothing to stop it,” Charlie Poster, the assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, told Watchdog.org.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service took the gray wolf in the Great Lakes Region (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) off the Endangered Species List three years ago. Animal rights groups and environmentalists appealed, and Howell reversed that decision.
That means farmers and ranchers need to get federal permission to shoot wolves they see killing their cattle. It also effectively ended wolf hunting seasons in the three states and wolf trapping in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It also means that property owners have no way to protect their pets from wolves.
Farmers can get compensation for livestock killed if they take pictures of slaughtered animals and send them to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Unfortunately, that process can take months — and it is getting longer. Poster said his agency is dealing with a back log of claims for compensation for wolf attacks.
Supporters of the judge’s ruling defended the decision.
“The wolves needed to go back under federal protection,” Jill Fitz, the director of the Michigan Humane Society, told The Free Press. “The courts recognized the basis of the delisting was flawed.”
Wildlife officials estimate that there are currently around 2,400 wolves living in 470 packs in Minnesota, and 636 wolves on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. More could be crossing the border from neighboring Ontario. The wolves are getting more aggressive, according to wildlife officials.
“Within the last half a year, we’ve had I would say probably a spike of wolves that are coming in and going after some domestic animals,” Kipp Duncan, a Minnesota conservation officer, told MPR. Duncan knows of at least five dogs that were attacked and eaten by wolves. He knows of at least one case in which a wolf killed a dog chained to a house.
On average, around 100 farm animals and five dogs a year are killed by wolves in Minnesota. Duncan thinks the wolves are getting more aggressive because the population of their favorite food – deer – has decreased.
“I think it’s a function of wolves being hungry and not finding as much food as they normally do in the areas they normally forage in,” John Hart of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service Program told MPR. “So they’re moving to where the deer are, which happens to be where the people are.”
Granted, it was a cougar, but still...
Hunting the UP for grouse, local hunters warned me to not shoot and kill a wolf in its tracks. Their advice was to gut shoot it and let it run off and die in the swamp. Their reasoning was that they didn’t kill it, they just scared it and it died of natural causes.
Hunting the UP for grouse, local hunters warned me to not shoot and kill a wolf in its tracks. Their advice was to gut shoot it and let it run off and die in the swamp. Their reasoning was that they didn’t kill it, they just scared it and it died of natural causes.
Anyone coursing wolves with Irish Wolfhounds would be wise to have several in case they encounter a pack. An IW can easily handle a wolf one-on-one but not an entire pack. An IW is a more robust dog than the borzoi - taller and quite a bit heavier but not as fast or agile.
I wonder if it would be legal to course wolves in Idaho or Montana where it is legal to hunt them? Probably limited to harvesting them with a firearm or bow. I hear that strychnine works really well.
The pictures are fake. You can see the rigor on the cat. Its legs are in the same relative position in every photo.
We have the bones of guard animals who have been killed on this property by lions and coyotes.
Sure, it can help but don’t count on it. The guard animal is a rather recent phenomenon and if it really worked, those who settled this country would have used them.
Tips:
The guard animal should be raised with what it is to protect.
You should have only one animal per herd/flock (If you have more than one then the loyalty is to each other, not the flock.)
There is no way a guard animal is going to work against a large number of predators.
Guard animals are a liability if a human trespasses. The old property laws are gone and you are liable if someone is hurt.
I only saw the dog mad once. He was sneak attacked by a Labrador who cut the IW's nose. Within seconds the lab was in full submission with the IW over him displaying a full set of nasty looking teeth and the ugliest growl you've ever heard. The reversal in roles was like I had walked up behind Mike Tyson and sucker punched him. The only reason that the lab survived five seconds after initiating the attack was that the IW chose not to kill him. I and the lab and the IW all knew it was easily within the IW's capabilities. The IW was agitated for a minute or so and then returned to the big, old lollipop that he always was.
So, wolves, illegals ... we got a problem Houston.
Farmers go out at night in groups quietly doing what they must.
Wolves belong deep out in the wilderness not around civilizations.
As to coursing, laws in most states are pretty specific as to what you can use dogs for. Birds aside, you can't use dogs to break deer, but I believe you still can some places in the south. You can use dogs for bear. I'd be surprised if they could be used for wolves, or even coyotes, anywhere.
Doubt they can. As long as you animals can't handle a firearm. And the dogs/donkeys/whatever don't have to respect legal seasons.
On the other hand, I can think of large tracts of the southwest, including National Monuments, which are unhikeable (I made up that word) today today and for the last decade because of illegals, illegal drug dealer caravans.
Same result in the end. Guess we've lost parts of our nation.
My quick perusal of the Idaho hunting regulations suggests that you could course coyotes in Idaho. The only big game animals where dog hunting is allowed are bear and cougar. So wolves would be out. However, coyotes are explicitly exempted from the list of big game animals, so absent finding any specific prohibition, I would assume that dog hunting would be allowed on coyotes. If I were going to course coyotes in Idaho I would check with the Fish and Game Department to make sure my interpretation is correct.
Was referring to Wisconsin and deer. Though you can use them to track a wounded animal. You could be right about coyotes, they’re a year round season here. As are boar, though there aren’t that many. Doubt they have regulations about pests. But you’re right, one should check state by state. Don’t know anyone who hunts raccoon, usually trap them, but dogs might be ok for them.
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