All Out War on Wolves [View all]

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http://www.cascwild.org/identifying-and-dealing-with-the-anti-wolf-forces-pg-13/
Identifying and Dealing with the Anti-wolf Forces (PG-13)

(This a PG-13 rated article. We purposely omitted profanity laced posts, death threats, and pictures of blood and gore because we feel that the evidence of bigotry is obvious and the need for action compelling.)

By Bob Ferris


In late December an “event page” on facebook was attacked. The page was celebrating a prayer vigil for wolves that was to be held in Salem, Oregon. And the attackers swooped down electronically the day after the event and filled the page with bloody pictures of wolf kills and fetal deer purported to have been “aborted” by wolves. The action was disturbing and eerily like the protests held by the Westboro Baptist Church, where they show up where they are not wanted and act in the most offensive and inappropriate manner possible.

The Westboro mob is classified as a hate group and rightfully so. They—like the anti-wolf folks—are generally overflowing with unbridled faith, strongly held opinions and self-righteousness and somewhat bereft of relevant education, understanding, or any form of tolerance or compassion. Both groups are classic bigots in that they hold unfounded and yet deep beliefs and will not let facts or reason dissuade them from dishing out broadsides of vitriol towards the object of their scorn whether it be homosexuals, people of color, members of other religions or wolves.

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What the anti-wolf crowd cannot win via honest and fact-based debate is achieved through insult, bullying and threat. They are emboldened in this approach by the successes they achieve when rolling out their tortured arguments on like-minded forums such as the Skinny Moose site where they are thick as fleas. In contrast, where they are largely absent are from forums occupied by working wildlife biologists such as The Wildlife Society, Society for Conservation Biology, and Wildlife Professionals discussion groups on LinkedIn. I suspect that their absence has to do with past responses they have received from folks with grounding in science and tendencies toward respectful and analytical debate.

The Raiders and Their Colleagues

There were a handful of folks who aggressively invaded the facebook event page, which was eventually taken down. The core perpetrators were Scott Rockholm, Chandie Morse Bartell, and Bill Kelly. These are names known to people working on wolves who have suffered through venomous dialogues with these anti-wolf zealots who can selectively quote chapter and verse from flawed reports or irrelevant studies, but like what we classically envision as Bible-thumpers do so with self-interest at the forefront and little understanding of actual meaning or context.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/01/11/podium-wolves/NomNekRbtLlMcR5wNq6uTJ/story.html

Stop the slaughter of wolves

By Virginia Fuller | JANUARY 11, 2013

The delisting of the wolf in many states more than a year ago has resulted in 872 deaths and a threat to wildlife management, warns Virginia Fuller, former president of New England Wildlife Center.

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Up against the lust to kill, this caveat counts for nothing. In the most recent hunt, 872 wolves were killed: 121 in Idaho; 102 in Montana 102; 43 in Wyoming; 26 in Predator Zone; 117 in Wisconsin; and 407 in Minnesota. And the hunting season still continues in Idaho and Montana.

Beyond those stark figures are more disturbing facts. One is the imbalance between the importance of the wolf in its role as predator and the power of the rancher who grazes his herds on the public’s land. In Washington State, a particularly upsetting event occurred. Despite the fact that ranchers are compensated by the state for apparent wolf predation, nevertheless two members of the Wedge pack, first to arrive in the area since wolves were eradicated decades ago, were gunned down after reportedly preying on cattle.
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http://m.startribune.com/?id=185560681

Wolf season closes with more than 400 wolves killed

Hunters had registered 405 wolves by Thursday afternoon. Department of Natural Resources officials aren’t concerned that the target quota was exceeded.

Blog post by: Doug Smith

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http://www.greatfallstribune.com/viewart/20130110/NEWS01/301100027/Montana-FWP-proposes-expansion-wolf-hunting-trapping

Montana FWP proposes expansion of wolf hunting, trapping

HELENA — State wildlife officials planned to ask lawmakers Thursday to make it easier to hunt and trap wolves in Montana, while a Bozeman legislator wants to cap the state’s population of the predators at 250.

The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee was to take up both proposals as the wolf debate takes the spotlight in the first week of the 2013 legislative session.

Ranchers and hunters have called for an expansion of hunting and more liberal rules after 166 wolves were killed out of the 220-animal quota set for 2011, the state’s second-ever wolf hunt. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials responded by making the 2012 season longer, eliminating most quotas and allowing trapping for the first time.

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