Friday, November 14, 2014

Feds Approve Extension of #Wolf-Kill Derby, Triggering Another Legal Challenge

Posted By George Prentice on Thu, Nov 13, 2014

After sifting through thousands of public comments on the matter, federal officials have decided to extend Idaho's wolf-killing 'derby." The first-of-its-kind event was held in December 2013, which didn't result in the death of any wolves but saw 21 coyotes killed near Salmon.  Nonetheless, organizers sought a five-year extension of the predator-killing contest.

You may remember that the derby attracted quite a bit of international attention:

"Wolf and Coyote Derby Turns Small Idaho Town Into a Battleground," wrote Guardian Liberty Voice.

"Two-Day Holiday Killing 'Derby' in Idaho Targets Wolves and Coyotes," wrote the Huffington Post.

But late Thursday, Nov. 14, the Bureau of Land Management approved Idaho for Wildlife's request to continue the hunt this year, saying that the impact to federal lands would not be significant.

And that prompted Defenders of Wildlife to respond that they'll be taking the matter to court charging that the hunt "undermines the Northern Rockies wolf recovery program."

"Defenders and other conservation groups have asserted that such commercial predator-killing derbies are a reflection of 19th century thinking and hatred towards predators and have no place on federal lands in the 21st century," wrote Defenders of Wildlife.

BLM officials confirmed that they received over 100,000 comments on the matter.

“Commercialized killing contests to slaughter predators are something right out of the 1800s. It’s the same archaic tactic that pushed wolves toward extinction in the first place,” said Suzanne Stone, Idaho resident and Defenders of Wildlife Senior Representative for Rockies and Plains.


source

No comments:

Post a Comment