Attempts To Poison Wolves Hit Pet Dogs In Wyoming - 8 Killed So Far

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CHEYENNE, Wyoming — 'It had been a tranquil visit below the snowcapped peaks of Grand Teton National Park. Then Jim and Nancy Barrus' black lab began drooling, retching, and quivering uncontrollably. Two rangers at a campground store knew immediately what was wrong: The couple's pet Sammy was the latest victim of a poisoning spree — likely aimed at wolves — that has killed eight dogs and sickened 13 others.

Authorities believe someone has been putting poison in hot dogs and balls of meat and scattering them along roads in western Wyoming and eastern Idaho. "I equate it to local terrorism," Nancy Barrus said. "They don't care who they hurt."

Especially in rural areas, anger over the federal government's reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park almost a decade ago has grown alongside the wolves' exponential increase in numbers — and the rising number of cattle, sheep, and big-game animals they have killed.

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There have been no arrests, but the poison and how it was used closely resemble instructions posted on the Internet by Tim Sundles, an ammunition store owner in Carmen, Idaho. "I didn't feel like I could legally solicit anyone to kill wolves.... But I did feel I could provide information for freedom-minded people," he said. He denied involvement in the poisonings."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-06-08/s_24629.asp

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