Recent research on ungulate diseases like CWD calls into question the wisdom of states’ permissive, in some cases unrestricted, hunting and trapping of cougars, wolves, coyotes and bobcats. If the whole of nature is good, no part can be bad. It’s time for all hunters to recognize predators as allies, not competitors.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) approved a wolf kill order yesterday for the Couse wolf pack in southeast Washington.
State wildlife agencies are failing to restore and protect wildlife because they prioritize hunting, fishing and trapping over ecological conservation, according to a new study in the journal Bioscience.
A ballot initiative in Colorado would ban the hunting of cougars. Opponents say it would eliminate an essential management tool. This hunter doesn’t buy it.
By Fred Koontz.
In this op-ed by former Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Fred Koontz, he describes the current state of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife as a ‘political quagmire.’ “States are obligated to protect wildlife for current and future generations. The sad truth is that we are failing.”
By Chris Smith.
On April 1st, Roxy’s Law, which bans traps, snares, and poisons on public lands, went into effect in New Mexico. Despite this progress, New Mexico isn’t the beacon of wildlife management that it should be.
By Charles Fox.
Last year, NM passed Roxy’s Law, which will ban traps, snares, and poisons on public lands. The state Legislature also recently banned coyote-killing contests. However, the Department of Game and Fish allowed these cruel practices to continue for years despite massive opposition. “The Game Department’s backward policies are badly out of step with mainstream society and show little sign of improving. There is no excuse for repeating the mistakes and abuses of the past, no matter how longstanding.”
By David Stalling.
In the most recent post from his blog “From The Wild Side: Wild Thoughts from an Untamed Heart,” David discusses the immediate need for wildlife governance reform, citing the specific atrocities happening right now in the state of Montana.
By Deborah Slicer. Originally published in the Missoulian.
This article examines Montana’s Fish, Wildlife, and Parks commission and the dysfunctionality of the state’s current wildlife management system.
By Kevin Bixby and Jesse Deubel. Originally published in The Albuquerque Journal.
Following the governor’s latest dismissal of one of her appointed members, there are currently three empty seats on the 7-member New Mexico State Game Commission. This op-ed explores the need to either abolish or reform the commission.
By Carol Shaye. Reno News & Review.
The article discusses the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners 5-4 vote against banning coyote-killing contests. However, as the article mentions, at least one Nevada lawmaker has vowed to bring the issue to the Nevada Legislature if the wildlife board failed to impose a ban. Changing the composition of the commission is also something legislators may consider.
By Michael Doyle. Greenwire.
This story is noteworthy because indigenous activists are forthrightly declaring wolf management by the states to be a “social justice” issue. We couldn’t agree more.
By Nancy MacDonald. Originally published in The Globe and Mail.
Although this story is about events in Canada, it illustrates how provincial wildlife management, like its counterpart in state wildlife management in the U.S., is driven by an ethos of domination (often leading to the death of wildlife) rather than coexistence, a predictable result perhaps of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation’s view of wild animals as soulless resources.
By Hannah Grover. Originally published in The New Mexico Political Report.
A newly launched initiative seeks to reform wildlife management not only in New Mexico, but across the nation.
By Henry Redman. Reprinted by permission.
This article from the Wisconsin Examiner illustrates how wildlife issues are about much more than wildlife. They are about values, identities and power, and ultimately about who gets to decide what our relationship with non-human nature and the planet will be.
By Michelle Lute. Originally published in Earth Island Journal.
Wisconsin’s war on wolves is a war on its people, particularly the disenfranchised voices that speak up for a moral, just life. But their voices will not be silenced.