Published on Mar 5, 2014
BOISE, ID, March 4, 2014 –
On Friday, February 28, Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced
that, working together with Wildlife Services, they succeeded in gunning
down 23 gray wolves from a helicopter in northern Idaho's Lolo elk zone
near the Idaho/Montana border. The state agency said this killing was
necessary to boost elk harvest levels in the area, despite independent
scientific peer reviewers' observations that habitat loss, not predator
influence, was the major factor in this localized elk herd decline.
Wildlife Services is currently the object of a formal review being
conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Inspector General for
effectiveness, justifiability and transparency, yet when asked by
Defenders of Wildlife in emails on the subject prior to Idaho Fish and
Game's announcement, neither agency revealed its aerial gunning mission
that resulted in the deaths of 23 wolves in the state. Defenders is now
requesting that a moratorium be placed upon Wildlife Services' killings
of wolves and other top predators until the Inspector General has
completed its audit of the agency's programs.
Suzanne Stone, Defenders of Wildlife Senior Rockies and Plains
Representative, and Idaho resident, provided the following statement on
the issue:
"This concealed aerial gunning program is just the latest in a series of
egregious actions by the state of Idaho and Wildlife Services to
irresponsibly drive down the wolf population in Idaho. For example, in
January, Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced a new predation
management plan, which would enable the agency to kill up to 60 percent
of the wolves living in the Middle Fork Zone which includes the Frank
Church River of No Return Wilderness Area in order to inflate elk
populations. The Frank Church Wilderness is the nation's largest
forested wilderness area set aside by Congress as a sanctuary for
wildlife to be "untrammeled by man." There is no livestock there and no
excuses that can justify this persecution.
"These actions are a preview of the type of wolf killing that could
occur on an even larger scale if Governor "Butch" Otter's proposed
lethal wolf control board is approved by the legislature. If the
proposed legislation is enacted establishing this board, Governor Otter
will have a green light to wipe out most of the wolves in the state,
using tools like Wildlife Service's aerial gunning program to
accomplish it.
"These agencies are leading the charge against wolves in Idaho by using
increasingly aggressive tactics to undermine the American people's
restoration of this species in our national forests and wilderness
areas. Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Wildlife Services are
killing for killing's sake. There is no rational need for this
eradication. USDA Wildlife Services, whose mission it is to help people
and wildlife coexist, should not be killing wolves and other predators
in a scientifically unsupported attempt to artificially boost game
populations. The state of Idaho is proving beyond any doubt that
Congress made a mistake when federal protections for wolves were removed
in Idaho just three years ago."
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native
animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1
million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading
advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for
generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org
source
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