Alaska kills one wolf per 1,218 tries

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

FAIRBANKS, Alaska– – The

Alaska Department of Fish and Game on

April 7 ended the first phase of its wolf-

killing campaign in Game Management Unit

20-A, the sector southwest of Fairbanks.

State killers bagged 94 wolves, 80 in snares,

two in leghold traps, and 12 with rifles.

Private hunters and trappers killed 37 more.

The state declared the total of 131 met the

winter quota of 150.

The “predator management” pro-

gram, ostensibly undertaken to protect moose

and caribou, also killed by accident 12

moose, of 23 caught; two caribou, of eight

caught; six coyotes; 13 foxes; a protected

golden eagle; an endangered wolverine; and

a snowshoe hare. Two grizzly bears were

aught, but escaped alive. In all, 36% of

the victims were non-target species.

Evidence escapes

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

HARTVILLE, Ohio––The Sharon

Woods deer saga took another twist on March

25 when 74 of the 76 whitetailed deer in cus-

tody of elk breeder Robin Rodabaugh disap-

peared after someone cut the fence. The deer

were the last of 286 whom Rodabaugh and 10

volunteers removed from heavily overpopulated

Sharon Woods Metro Park, on the outskirts of

Columbus, during December and January.

Rodabaugh said three witnesses provided infor-

mation linking the fence-cutting to an alleged

“known poacher,” who apparently wanted the

deer to get out where he could shoot them.

Ocean species

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

The National Resources Defense

Council sued the U.S. Navy on April 17 in

Los Angeles, seeking to block 270 sched-

uled underwater explosives tests near the

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary,

slated to start April 24 and go on for five

years. The suit claims the permits issued to

the Navy by the National Marine Fisheries

Service violate the Marine Mammal

Protection Act, the National Environmental

Policy Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty

Act. Co-plaintiffs include Save The Whales,

the Humane Society of the U.S., American

Oceans Campaign, and Heal the Bay.

Guest opinion: Hunting, violence, and child molestation

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

by Dr. Emmanuel Bernstein, psychologist

Adirondack Counseling, Saranac Lake, New York

The March 1994 issue of ANIMAL PEOPLE pre-

sented New York state hunting participation and crime statis-

tics that clearly show an association between incidence of

hunting and child molestation. This is especially impressive

since the statistics were presented in a manner that took into

account the possible influence of population density––and the

apparent influence of hunting proved stronger.

As ANIMAL PEOPLE noted, University of New

Hampshire director of family research Dr. Murray Strauss in

1987 found the number of hunting licenses sold to be a major

indicator of regions “culturally disposed toward violence.”

He also found that the states most culturally disposed toward

violence were the states with the highest rates of teen homi-

cide.

Endangered ocean species

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

Russian whaling commissioner

Alexei Yablokov on February 21 confirmed

that Soviet whalers for decades killed far

more whales than they reported to the

International Whaling Commission. For

instance, he said, in the 1960s one ship reported

killing 152 humpbacked whales and 156 blue

whales, but actually killed 7,207 humpbacks,

1,433 blue whales, and 717 right whales, a

species protected by the IWC since 1946.

Another ship killed 1,568 humpbacks and 1,200

right whales during the winter of 1961-1962,

but reported none of the right whales while the

USSR said its entire fleet killed only 270 hump-

backs all year. Two years later the same ship

killed 530 blue whales; the USSR said the fleet

total was just 74. The revelations mean IWC

estimates of whale numbers may be far too high.

Sealing and child sex trade

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

TORONTO, Ontario––The International Fund for Animal Welfare drew

headlines across Canada on March 7 with graphic newspaper ads depicting the penis

bone of a seal and decrying Canadian support of the slaughter of at least 50,000 seals

off the Atlantic coast, allegedly to supply penis bones to the Asian aphrodisiac trade.

As IFAW pointed out, that trade is closely associated with the forced recruitment of

children to staff brothels in Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and elsewhere, which

cater to the belief that sex with a virgin can rejuvenate an aging man’s potency. More

than 400,000 children are currently victimized, The New York Times Magazine of

January 16 reported, many of whom contract AIDS and other serious diseases.

As many as 150,000 seals may be killed to get 50,000 penis bones, since

much of the hunting is done from small boats by men with rifles, the sexes of seals are

not obvious, and as even seal hunt defender George Wenzel has acknowledged, as

many as two out of each three shot seals who get off of ice floes into water sink before

they can be gaffed aboard a power boat. Canada contends that the penis bones are a

byproduct of hunting for meat, pelts, and seal oil, which sell for about $20 per seal;

the penis bones go for $130 apiece.

Opening Pandora’s box: ZOO SURPLUS STOCKS CANNED HUNTS, ROADSIDE EXHIBITS, PRIVATE BREEDERS

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

HOOSICK FALLS, New York––The young

Himalayan snow leopard paces the corn crib cage, situated at the

edge of a woodlot. As roadside zoos go, his home at the Flag

Acres Zoo is fairly good––comparable, even, to some accredited

zoos of 30 years ago. But it isn’t where one would expect to find

an apparent prime example of a highly endangered species.

In fact, the snow leopard is genetically redundant “sur-

plus,” neutered and loaned to Flag Acres by the Seneca Park Zoo

of Rochester, New York––a facility accredited by the American

Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. According to

Seneca Park Zoo director Dan Michalowski, the snow leopard

was removed from the captive gene pool to reduce the risk of

inbreeding. A conditional loan to Flag Acres seemed preferable

to euthanasia. The Seneca Park Zoo may reclaim him if at any

time he appears ill-treated. The deal is a model of the AAZPA-

recommended protocol for the disposition of surplus animals.

Birds

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

The Clinton administration on

February 23 unveiled a management plan

for 24 million acres of public land in the

Pacific Northwest that cuts the rate of log-

ging to 20% of the pace in the 1980s. Most

of the 5.3 million acres of old growth on the

public lands will be off limits, to protect

spotted owls and more than 1,000 other old

growth-dependent species. Although the

plan will make permanent the layoffs of

about 9,500 forest products workers, it is

expected to be what The New York Times

called “the final blueprint” for settling the

spotted owl crisis. Studies of the impact of

logging on spotted owls go on; critics of owl

protection may enjoy the March 13 disclo-

sure that the Seattle Center for Wildlife

Conservation is getting $107,000 from the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to check spot-

ted owl guano from logging areas for hor-

monal signs of stress.

Alaskans slaughter caribou “protected” from wolves

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

FAIRBANKS, Alaska––While

Alaska sponsored the slaughter of at least 92

wolves to make caribou more plentiful in the

Delta area southeast of Fairbanks, officially

known as Game Management Unit 20-A, the

caribou wandered into a free fire zone on

March 5––as they may have done for years.

Independent wildlife expert Dr.

Gordon Haber discovered while doing an aer-

ial survey on March 5 for Friends of Animals

that up to 1,500 caribou––30% of the Delta

herd––had moved out of 20-A into an area

east of Cantwell where intense roadhunting

and hunting from snowmobiles has been

underway since early January. Hunters in the

vicinity claimed a 90% success rate.

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