Free Republic

On Saturday, September 21, 2024, Chase Melton shot a wolf in defense of self and others. There were several witnesses. It happened near the town of St. Germain, Wisconsin, a township in the North Woods about 20 miles from the border of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A township is usually six by six miles square. Chase is 19 years old. He and several of his younger friends had risen early to hunt ducks and geese. They arrived at their chosen location at about 3:45 a.m. on opening day. They set up their blinds and threw out their decoys just...

Typical of rural and small-town Wisconsin residents, Chase Melton loves fishing and hunting waterfowl and whitetail deer, and he’s used to seeing wolves in his state’s great outdoors. “I’ve never have had any trouble with them,” he told Cowboy State Daily. So he was completely unprepared for what happened last weekend. He and two other duck hunters were surrounded by a pack of wolves in northern Wisconsin, and he had to shoot and kill one in self-defense. “When it first happened, I thought, ‘Oh my God, what did I just do? I just killed a wolf!’” said Melton, 19, who...

Decisions made contrary to the wolf plan and comments from the First Gentleman raise concerns.. Colorado ranchers and lawmakers have questioned how Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are making decisions about wolves since the animals were introduced to the state starting in December. Concerns have peaked in recent months, however, as wildlife officials have gone outside of recommendations in the Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, and have raised questions about whether Gov. Jared Polis is calling the shots on wolves. Sen. Dylan Roberts — who represents Senate District 8, which has been the epicenter of Colorado’s reintroduction efforts — asked...

Orcas relentlessly battered a yacht in a “terrifying” two-hour attack that didn’t end until the $128,680 vessel sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. ... they were not playing at all, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the weak points of the boat, and they knew how to sink it... “Their sole intention was to sink the boat ... The five orcas circled the 39-foot sailing boat and took turns smashing it to bits .. in a coordinated assault Powell compared to the carnage of wolves. ... The pod of five first focused on the rudder,...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: ‘Silent shepherds’ are betraying Christ with their apathy'I fear time is running out, and that we are fast approaching a time when the cord of Mercy may be withdrawn from Heaven, and in its place, the rope of Justice shall swiftly descend,' writes Bishop Strickland. Featured Image 'The Taking of Christ'Caravaggio“As he was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus, for to kiss him. And Jesus said to him: Judas dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?”...

As of last month, the global Muslim population achieved a remarkable milestone with over 2 billion adherents. This achievement bears great significance for both Arabs and Arab Americans. By exemplifying the expansion and impact of Islam and its cultural significance on a global scale. Approximately one-fourth of the world’s population consists of Muslims. As their numbers continue to rise, there is a greater acknowledgment and acceptance of Islam and its followers. This potentially fosters understanding and collaboration among diverse religious groups and ethnically diverse demographics. The Muslim population is rapidly growing due to Islam’s status as the world’s fastest-growing religion....

The historic removal of gray wolves from the U.S. West facilitated the rise of mid-ranking predators across the region, wreaking havoc on historical ecosystem dynamics, a new study has found. Yet just how much havoc — both to their immediate prey and much farther down the line — remains unclear due to a dearth of data, according to the study, published Wednesday in BioScience. The disappearance of wolves particularly led to a spike in elk populations, which then damaged plant communities through overgrazing, per the study. Also of note was an upswing in medium-sized carnivores like coyotes that threaten smaller...

The state's election office on Monday began proceedings against an advocate for wolves in Colorado over allegations of illegally lobbying during the 2024 session at the state Capitol. ... The complaints, filed in March by John Williams, who operates Colorado Wolf Tracker, claimed Stephen Capra and his organization, Bold Visions Conservation, lobbied multiple legislators on behalf of a paying client, all without registering and without disclosing the client’s identity as required by law. The Elections Division of the Secretary of State launched the proceedings against Capra ... The bill Capra was lobbying on was House Bill 1375, which was sponsored...

On April 17 and 18, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received reports of livestock depredation by wolves in Grand County. The agency confirmed that four cattle were killed... Four yearling cattle have been killed by a wolf or wolves in Grand County. Colorado Parks and Wildlife believes the depredation occurred between Monday night and Tuesday morning. In an email to Sky-Hi News, Parks and Wildlife officials stated that they responded to a possible livestock depredation incident on Wednesday morning and then again on Thursday morning. Both incidents occurred on the same property. On Wednesday, the agency investigated three yearling cattle that...

Some of the firestorm of public outrage over a Sublette County man allegedly capturing and tormenting a wolf before killing it has been directed at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, but the agency is in a delicate position, Director Brian Nesvik said. There has been a perception that the agency was too lenient with the man accused and has deliberately withheld information about the incident, Nesvik told Cowboy State Daily early Monday. But that’s not the case, he said.

On February 8th, 2024, my brother had started his morning exercise walk. It was 6:27 am his time when I received the phone call; it was still dark in northern Wisconsin. It wasn’t what I expected.Only 200 yards from his home, on a lonely country lane with dense forest and brush on both sides, he was confronting a pack of wolves, their reflective eyes easily visible in the beam of his headlamp. The pack of six was less than 30 yards away. Wolves are common in the area. Common and protected. The brush was fairly thick; the eyes were relatively...

Ranchers say they will 'shoot on sight' if endangered wolves from Colorado cross state lines into Wyoming. Last week Colorado Parks and Wildlife released five gray wolves onto public land in Grand County as a part of the state's voter-mandated reintroduction plan. The predators consisted of two juvenile females, two males and one adult male and are classed as endangered - but the animals lose their 'protected' status as soon as they end up in the state of Wyoming where they are classed as predators. There is every likelihood the wolves may end up in Wyoming given that the canines...

Colorado completed the transfer of 10 wolves into the state last week after the animals were captured in Oregon. For the people involved, it was framed as a success, a joyful occasion at an invitation-only event. For the rest of the public, the release details were kept secret, and many livestock producers were in the middle of a meeting with state wildlife officials when it was announced that the release of the first five wolves had taken place. Step 1: Ignore History On Monday, Dec. 18, Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared, “Today, history was made in Colorado. For the first...

Two wolves released on Dec. 19, 2023, in Grand County, Colorado, 2302-OR, a juvenile female, black color, 68 pounds, and 2303-OR, a juvenile male, gray color, 76 pounds, come from the Five Points Pack. According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Livestock Depredation Investigations, Five Points pack wolves injured one calf and killed another in separate depredations in July of 2023; killed a cow on Dec. 5, 2022; and injured a 900-pound yearling heifer on July 17, 2022. ... On July 21, OFW authorized the killing of up to four wolves from the Five Points Pack after two attacks...

In late 2020, Colorado voters did something relatively unprecedented in the nation’s history by voting to reintroduce wolves to the state. That process, several years in the works now, will involve transplanting wolves from Oregon — and even though the measure was given the goahead three years ago, some opponents of the measure remain skeptical. That in and of itself isn’t too surprising; you’d think that if people changed their mind on how they’d voted, it would likely happen after wolves returned to Colorado, and that hasn’t happened yet. A recent article at NPR by Kurt Siegler offers a good...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) warned city residents to beware of “lone wolves” in the wake of the deadly attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas over the weekend. Adams said at a press conference Tuesday alongside city officials that law enforcement will be monitoring social media sites for threats against religious communities as the fighting in Israel and Gaza continues. He said statements posted on social media platforms may exacerbate the issue, noting that “lone wolves” could be radicalized online.

CNN's Kristen Holmes reports on a new ad for former President Donald Trump claiming he is being attacked by "rabid wolves" as sources close to Trump are "bracing" for a possible indictment.

North Park rancher Greg Sykes said he has tried to do things the right way since wolves migrated across the boarder from Wyoming into the area near Walden. He has kept an eye on the predators as they could be seen in the distance around the ranch he manages and got guardian dogs to watch over his cattle. “I was that one rancher that said, ‘OK, they’re here. Let’s figure out how to get along,'” Sykes said. “That’s what I intended to do.” Early on Monday, March 13, wolves killed one of his cattle dogs named Cisco, according to Colorado...

The Gunnison Stockgrowers’ Association filed a 22-page comment with the Colorado Wildlife Commission detailing the group members’ concerns about the Draft Wolf Plan process laid out by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Ken Spann, who has delivered public comment to the CPW Commission on behalf of the group, said the endorsement of the comments lies in every acre of agricultural land in Gunnison County. The basis of their concerns is the survival of the area’s long standing ranching operations as well as the existing big game and other wildlife in the Gunnison Valley. According to Spann, established in 1894, the Gunnison...

The Federal Government has announced a plan to begin shooting feral cattle from helicopters in order to protect the environment. ... Local ranchers, however, have criticized the plan as cruel and have warned about the unintended consequences ... They say it sets a dangerous precedent, as more and more ranching plots are left vacant across the West and fences become untended. They claim that this could result in privately owned cattle wandering off and getting caught up in the mix. ... ranchers are also worried that the wolves who eat the carcasses of the dead animals will become used to...