30 May 2014
Posted by: Melanie Gade |
You Did It! Public Outcry Prompts Animal Planet to Remove “Man-Eating Super Wolves” Show: Animal Planet removed it’s outrageous and damaging “Man-Eating Super Wolves” episode
from the network’s Monster Week late-week line up after more than
80,000 Defenders of Wildlife members and other activists contacted the
network in outrage over the episode. The episode was aired once on
Wednesday, May 21, and was then taken down from the station’s
programming. Animal Planet claims the show was only scheduled to air
once, but various TV schedules showed “Man-Eating Super Wolves”
had subsequent air times for Sunday, May 25; Tuesday, May 27; and
Wednesday, May 28. Thankfully, these air times were removed from further
programming.
In response, Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark said: “There
are real-world consequences to airing a fictitious portrayal of wolves
based on sensationalism instead of on science. Demonizing wolves does
serious harm to these imperiled animals and erodes public support for
their continued recovery. We’re glad to see that Animal Planet dropped
this episode from its schedule and are proud that our members spoke out
so forcefully on this important topic.” A big thank you to all of our
members for speaking up for these too-often misunderstood and demonized
animals!! Defenders Wolf Expert Suzanne Stone Shares Her Story:
Suzanne Stone is Defenders’ senior representative for the Rockies and
Plains and has worked as a wolf and livestock conflict prevention
expert
for over 25 years. She was also one of the original recovery team
members to actually restore wolves to Yellowstone and Idaho. Take a look
at her latest blog in High Country News for her perspective on Idaho’s war on wolves. In her own words: “…What
is truly destructive is that [Idaho’s] state officials seem bent on
perpetuating a culture of fear and loathing toward wolves. They repeat
gruesome tales from mythology and fail to tell the true, full story
about successful ranching in the presence of wolves, or the many reasons
why the elk population has declined. And counter to the media hype over
wolf attacks, livestock losses to wolves have always ranked among the
lowest causes of livestock loss in the West.”
Pups from Oregon’s Wenaha Pack.
Alaska Firefighters Rescue Wolf Pups Threatened by Fire: News broke this week that Alaska firefighters helped rescue
a young litter of wolf pups stranded close to an encroaching fire in
the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. A firefighter reported hearing the
cries of a wolf pup on Tuesday, and wildlife biologists came to rescue
the abandon pups shortly after. Right now the pups are being cared for
at the Alaska Zoo. Check out some adorable photos and video from NBC News.
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