No-kill wolf ban spurs nonlethal options GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill. But for the past year, Oregon has been a "wolf-safe" zone, with ranchers turning to more modern, nonlethal ways to protect livestock. While the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven't — and now conservation groups are hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild. "Once the easy option of killing wolves is taken off the table, we've seen reluctant but responsible ranchers stepping up," said Rob Klavins of the advocacy group Oregon Wild. "Conflict is going down. The no-kill ban has been in place since September 2011. At the end of 2012, wolf numbers in the state had risen to 46 from 29 in 2011, according to state fish and wildlife officials. View gallery In "no-kill" Oregon, ranchers disagree.
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness Cougar policy in Calif. under review A new state mountain lion policy that would give California wardens more options besides killing the animals was proposed Friday under pressure from legislators and residents who were outraged by several lethal encounters last year, including the shooting of two cubs. The draft policy by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is the first state document focusing specifically on cougars. It creates a category for the lions, called "potential human conflict response," which gives wardens more discretion to use nonlethal methods. It also establishes a team of experts from around the state for wardens to consult when dealing with the predators. "We have seen an increase in mountain lion encounters or sightings, and we expect to see future increases in mountain lion/human encounters," said Jordan Traverso, spokeswoman for the Department Fish and Wildlife, who blamed the increase primarily on human encroachment and habitat destruction. State Sen.
National Pig Day, Brutal Breeding, and the New York Times March 1 was National Pig Day so I was unpleasantly surprised, and so were many people who wrote to me, to see an essay in the New York Times on 28 February by John Eligon called "An Iowa Farmer’s Quest for No Ordinary Pig". The story is about a pig farmer named Carl Edgar Blake II who is trying "to breed the perfect pig. Fatty and smooth. Meaty and flavorful." Dead pig walking: What happens at Rustik Rooster Farms What surprised me about the New York Times essay was how flippant and dismissive it was not only about the breeding of these highly intelligent, emotional, and sentient animals for unneeded meals, but how it glorified the abuse of these amazing beings. There's even scientific research that shows that pigs can be optimists or pessimists depending on whether they live in enriched environments or places where there's continuous stress and suffering. "You ain’t taking them over my dead body” Back to Mr. There was also a suspected case of poisoning and Mr.
Is interest in wolves waning? | Wildlife Conservation Science & Policy Recently I’ve had several conversations with colleagues about how the news media portrays large carnivores–especially wolves. Some people are concerned that the editorial rule “if it bleeds, it leads” is being applied with reckless abandon, which may lead to increased perceptions of risk, and in turn, lower tolerance for wolves. Our recent study did find some support for the notion that wolves were being portrayed more negatively in the news media. Specifically, Houston et al. (2010) found that the content of news articles about wolves become increasingly negative over a 10-year time period (1999-2008). We also found that the majority (>70%) of the ~30,000 paragraphs we coded portrayed wolves negatively. Meanwhile, Mech (link) recently accused scientists and the media of the opposite–i.e., disproportionate coverage of the positive or “beneficial” aspects of wolves: (Note: Figure 4 shows harvest-related searches across the US states. P.S. Literature Cited Mech, L.D., 2012. Like this:
The Pet Fox: Choosing a Fox: What Species Is Best? What species of fox makes the best pet? The answer depends as much on the owner as it does on the fox. As with breeds of dogs, there is no one "best" species of fox, only foxes with differing traits and needs. However, to make things a little more clear, I will offer a comparison on the different species to the best of my knowledge. In the interest of full disclosure, I have only personally owned reds, so I can only pass along what I've heard from the owners of other species. Reds tend to have more laid-back and doglike personalities than the other species do (given how hyper Gizmo is, I hate to think what the -not- laid-back species are like.) Next up are Arctic foxes. As for fennecs, they tend to be a bit easier for new fox owners to handle because they are so small. 3 lbs of fennec is a lot less intimidating than 17 lbs of red fox. The remaining three species you can find in the pet trade are grey foxes, swift foxes, and corsac foxes.
<h1 style='color: red'>THIS SITE WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY UNLESS YOU ENABLE JAVACRIPT. PLEASE E-MAIL <A HREF='mailto:support@sxsw.com'>SUPPORT@SXSW.COM</a> FOR HELP.</h1> Photos by Tammy Camp and Hutton Supanic Don’t miss this golden opportunity to attend both SXSW Film and Interactive! This item is not currently available for purchase How to Turn Your Mac Into an FTP Server Several weeks ago, we showed you how to turn your Mac into a web server. That article is useful for individuals needing to host web pages on their Mac in a pinch, but it doesn't really go far enough. After all, any good web server should be remotely accessible - that is, you should be able to add and remove files from your Mac when you're away from home. You need to turn your Mac into an FTP server! You're using your Mac as a web server and you need to add files to your website while you're away from home.You're in a band, and your friend wants to hear the songs on your newest CD. Every Mac ships with a built-in FTP server, and it's easy to turn on and use. Turn on FTP Access The first step to setting up your Mac's FTP server is to actually turn it on. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.Click Sharing, and then click the Services tab.Select FTP Access, and then click the Start button. Close the System Preferences. Make Your FTP Server Accessible to the World
WOLVES, STATE AGENCIES AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY By George Wuerthner State Fish and Game agencies are in the midst of a funding and mission crisis. They appear unable to adapt to shifting political and demographic changes much as the Republican Party is failing to adjust to new voter realities. The crisis is nowhere more evident than in their attitudes towards predators like wolves. The financial dilemma is created by their reliance upon the sale of hunting and fishing licenses to fund their bureaucracy, as well as federal funding that comes from a tax on the sale of hunting and fishing equipment. Unfortunately for these agencies, the number of hunters and anglers is rapidly waning and with that decline in participation, comes a major shortfall in operational funds. Though there are fewer and fewer hunters, there are more and more wildlife lovers and that is the conundrum for these agencies. Let’s examine these claims. We find the same lack of context for allegations of livestock impacts.
The Daily Coyote Wolf management will include lethal removal, state officials say OKANOGAN — State officials assured Okanogan County residents Thursday that some problem wolves that kill livestock will be trapped and euthanized this year ... Stay with the story. Get full access to The Wenatchee World online for just pennies a day! For as little as 27 cents a day, you can have complete access to all the local news, photos and video content from North Central Washington's primary news source.
Exclusive: Nat Geo star and expert Casey Anderson on Swedish wolf attack mauling Smallscreen Features By April MacIntyre Jun 18, 2012, 20:42 GMT Anderson is a fifth generation Montanan who is deeply involved in film and television production with National Geographic Channel as a wildlife naturalist, host and actor. The news of a horrific mauling and subsequent death of a zoo handler in Sweden has brought the spotlight on wolves' natural behaviors, specifically when they are housed in a pack in an artificial environment meant to replicate nature. A female zookeeper was mauled to death by a pack of eight wolves in Sweden, described by eyewitness accounts to the SUNUK news. The victim (not yet named) was found by a colleague after fellow zoo workers formed a human chain and rushed the wolves, allowing them access to her remains. The Sun reports that Jan Tengeborg, one of the rescuers, said: “We couldn’t get into the enclosure because the wolves clearly did not want us in there. The Sun also reports that these wolves who attacked the zookeeper will not be put down.