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Author Archives: Exposing the Big Game
2024 Open Season | Proposals Threaten Fur, Hunting Industries in Colorado
Open Season Open-season | Aug 25, 2024
Rachel Spencer Gabel
- https://www.tsln.com/news/special-interest/open-season/proposals-threaten-fur-hunting-industries-in-colorado/
Throngs of visitors to the Mile High City make their way to the National Western Stock Show in Denver each January. For many, it’s a tradition to take in a rodeo or a draft horse pull, wander through booths with a red beer in hand to browse Western goods, find a new felt cowboy hat to add to their collection, and then inject some of their hard-earned dollars into Denver’s economy through a steak dinner. A ballot proposal in the city and county of Denver would criminalize the sale of that cowboy hat. It would also criminalize the sale of many of the beautiful, artisan Native American items sold at the Denver March Powwow, now in its 48th year, and the Colorado Indian Market and Southwest Art Fest. And as sportsmen gather for the International Sportsmen’s Expo, there will be no legal avenue to purchase fishing flies, hand tied by masters, that use tiny bits of wild fur. These are merely a few of the effects of one of the proposals to ban fur sales.
The proposal to ban slaughterhouses in Denver is equally nefarious, and the effects of that will reach lamb consumers and producers from coast to coast. The primary facility affected if the proposal were to pass is Superior Farms, the largest lamb processor in the state and the source of nearly all the lamb found in restaurants and grocery stores in Colorado and the U.S. at Walmart, Kroger, HEB, and 19 other grocery retailers. Superior Farms represents 30% of the lamb processing capacity in the U.S. The Regional Economic Development Institute at Colorado State University’s report on the effect of the ballot box ban found the closure of the slaughterhouse in Denver – Superior Farms – would cause a reduction of $861 million in current economic activity and 2,787 jobs. The best-case scenario of the study assumes 80% of the economic activity lost in the ban somehow remains in state, and still represents a loss of over $215 million in Denver alone.
flyfishing
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- Malibu, California, USA – April 2, 2023. Chumash Day Pow Wow and Inter-tribal Gathering. The Malibu Bluffs Park is celebrating 23 years of hosting the Annual Chumash Day Powwow.
Chumash Day Pow Wow and Inter-tribal Gathering. The Malibu Bluffs Park is celebrating 23 years of hosting the Annual Chumash Day Powwow.
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Even in the shadow of the disastrous results of ballot box biology and allowing extremist-driven and funded wildlife management with the reintroduction of wolves, there will also likely be a ballot question about outlawing the hunting of mountain lion, bobcat, and lynx. Notably, lynx is federally and state protected.
The group pushing the mountain lion and bobcat hunting ban, Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs), appears to have some connections to Wild Earth Guardians, which should sound familiar to those following along with regard to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission appointee who was not confirmed by the Senate due to extremist ties. CATs also count Carole Baskin among their spokesmen and donors.
Dan Gates, executive director of Coloradoans for Responsible Wildlife Management, said the push to ban mountain lion, bobcat, and lynx hunting isn’t new. The group previously and repeatedly approached the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission and were rejected unanimously. Two of the instances where their attempts were thwarted were by Gov. Jared Polis’ own appointees. With three swings and misses, they tried the legislative route in 2022 finding a willing sponsor in Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis.
The bill was killed on a vote of 4-1 in the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Public comment in support and opposition required multiple hours and additional seating in the room.
According to Coloradoans for Responsible Wildlife Management, the proponents of the anticipated ballot proposal “Prohibit Trophy Hunting” are depending upon misinformation as their weapon of choice. Gates said the group has coined the phrase “trophy hunting” to mislead the public and potential voters, veiling their true intentions behind a facade of concern over fair chase, cruelty, and mismanagement. The mission of the group, which is a 501(C-4) is to halt this anti-hunting agenda before it morphs into a nationwide ban on all hunting, but Gates said that mission is an expensive one and depends upon the support of hunters, anglers, and voters across the country.
At press time, the Colorado Secretary of State is still verifying signatures submitted by proponents and the two paid signature collection companies in their employ, though it appears likely that the question will be posed to voters in November. The title expected to appear on the ballot reads:
“Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning a prohibition on the hunting of mountain lions, lynx, and bobcats, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the intentional killing, wounding, pursuing, entrapping, or discharging or releasing of a deadly weapon at a mountain lion, lynx, or bobcat; creating eight exceptions to this prohibition including for the protection of human life, property, and livestock; establishing a violation of this prohibition as a class 1 misdemeanor; and increasing fines and limiting wildlife license privileges for persons convicted of this crime?”
The actual measure revises statute to prohibit trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, or lynx and defines trophy hunting as “practiced primarily for the display of an animal’s head, fur or other body parts, rather than for the utilization of the meat.” It goes on to say it is “almost always conducted by unsporting means” including the use of hounds.
In the summary draft, though, trophy hunting is defined as hunting for sport rather than food. The summary then clarifies certain scenarios — the defense of human life; by an employee or contractor of CPW; as a result of a motor-vehicle accident; or for scientific research or humane euthanasia, etc. — are not considered trophy hunting. Gates said none of those scenarios are hunting.
In summarizing the arguments for the initiative, it reads, “Bobcat and mountain lion populations do not require hunting to regulate their numbers. Research does not support that banning hunting of these animals will increase the density of a population or cause any negative effects on their habitat and environment.”
The fiscal impact will be included in the second draft but there are several points to consider. The costs incurred by CPW to remove a lion from an area of conflict include time and resources of CPW staff, but it also incurs federal costs by enacting the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CPW and USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services for coyotes, lions and bears.
If it cost taxpayer-funded agencies $1,000, for example, to do something a non-resident hunter would have paid more than $800 (based on proposed increases planned by the commission but not yet finalized) for the license alone to do, that lost revenue is only compounded by the loss of revenue brought to rural communities by that hunter. Further, mountain lions kill one deer per week and based on a non-resident deer license price of $586.80, that’s potentially $30,000 of lost revenue per mountain lion annually.
For the rural communities supported, in part, by hunting, the reality of lost revenue is significant. A non-resident lion hunter who hires the services of an outfitter will pay $6,500 or so for the hunt plus the license, fuel, meals, souvenirs for the family, more fuel and other dollars injected into the communities. Those dollars not only circulate within that community another eight to 10 times, portions of that $6,500 find their way back into the tills of local businesses and to support the management and monitoring of lions by CPW. That monitoring, coincidentally, is done with the aid of contracted houndsmen and hounds who tree the lions to count, determine gender and identify.
One of the points in that section reads: “Wildlife management in Colorado should be overseen by experts who make science-based decisions to achieve the state’s ecological objectives, which include preserving biodiversity, ensuring sustainable ecosystems and protecting endangered species. This measure threatens to undermine these objectives by disregarding the expertise and research necessary for effective wildlife management.”
Nothing in the document references Colorado Statute 33-1-101 that reads, “It is the policy of the state of Colorado that the wildlife and their environment are to be protected, preserved, enhanced, and managed for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the people of this state and its visitors.” The statute also directs that “The state shall utilize hunting, trapping, and fishing as the primary methods of effecting necessary wildlife harvests.”
As reported in The Fence Post Magazine, CPW released a fact sheet on mountain lion management that confirms mountain lions as a game species (ban proponents including Pat Craig, founder of the Wild Animal Sanctuary, claimed in a guest commentary that mountain lions are not hunted for meat or management, though hunters of mountain lions are required to prepare big game for human consumption) and said lion populations have grown in Colorado since 1965 when classified as a big game species. CPW said bobcat populations are also stable and may be increasing in some areas.
According to CPW, healthy and robust lion and bobcat populations, which Colorado’s current management is designed to maintain, are important to functioning ecosystems. CPW values carnivores and their prominent role in our landscapes, and harvesting a sustainable number of carnivores each year doesn’t reduce the ecosystem services provided by the larger population. CPW’s demonstrated track record of promoting and protecting strong mountain lion, bobcat and lynx populations across the state supports CPW’s mission of conserving wildlife and providing sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that educate and inspire current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources.
This track record of the successful management of the state’s 961 species is a result of management guided by the North American Model for Wildlife Management. Successful management of Colorado’s wildlife, which belongs to hunters and anglers and ranchers as much as to animal rights extremists, depends upon the agriculture producers that supply the majority of the lands where wildlife is found and it depends upon the hunting and angling community who, in large part, foot the bill.
30 Coyote Dirt Naps in One Compilation Video
https://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2024/08/30-coyote-dirt-naps-in-one-compilation-video/#google_vignette
30 Coyote Dirt Naps in One Compilation Video
By angelamontana
Posted: August 26, 2024
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Part of celebrating National Dog Day includes celebrating management of wild dogs, which includes coyotes and wolves in the US.
We found this compilation video to honor the hard-working coyote hunters that help ranchers and management of wildlife by hunting these canines.
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Fox Hunters in the U.K. Want Protected Status Under Discrimination Law
Fox Hunters in the U.K. Want Protected Status Under Discrimination Law – The New York Times
A lobbying group is preparing a bid to define hunting with animals as a protected belief. Many experts have questions.
Aug. 26, 2024Updated 9:23 a.m. ET
Members of the Warwickshire Hunt in February 2023, in Warwickshire, England. Since fox hunting with packs of dogs was banned in 2005, many hunts use trail hunting, where dogs follow a scent trail of fox urine instead of a live animal.Mary Turner for The New York Times
English fox hunters have tried, for years, to push back against a nearly 20-year-old ban on their beloved sport.
The centuries-old tradition of using packs of dogs to chase and kill foxes — or any wild mammals — became illegal in England in 2005, after a long parliamentary struggle driven by campaigners and lawmakers who opposed it on animal welfare grounds.
So far, the law has stood, and fox hunting remains hugely unpopular among the general public: 80 percent of people in Britain think it should remain illegal, according to YouGov, a polling company.
Now, a pro-hunting activist has a new plan of attack.
Ed Swales, the activist, founded Hunting Kind, a lobby group that aims to protect hunting with dogs and other forms of hunting, in early 2022. He wants to use Britain’s Equality Act — which protects people from discrimination because of their age, race, sexuality or religion, among other things — to classify a pro-hunting stance as a protected belief.
That would put it in the same legal category as atheism, pacifism, ethical veganism, and, ironically, a moral opposition to fox hunting.
“If he’s ‘anti-hunt,’ well, you can be ‘hunt,’” Mr. Swales said. “It’s just the same law.”
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Trail Hunting: A Pack Of Lies
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KP wildlife department imposes ban on hunting of partridges
Idaho Investigation exposes black market hunting tag scheme and group harassing wildlife with helicopter
TWIN FALLS — An electric company executive and a pilot have been charged after they reportedly harassed wildlife with a helicopter, illegally sold hunting tags and much more.
According to court filings, Karl Studer, 43, was charged with three felonies: one count of unlawful possession of wildlife, and two counts of felony unlawful killing or wasting wildlife. He was also charged with 17 misdemeanors and Fish and Game violations for:
- Taking more than a lawful bag or possessing more than one deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, or gray wolf.
- Molesting game animals or birds with a motorized vehicle or unmanned aircraft.
- Hunting to spot or communicate the location of wildlife from an aircraft.
- Interfering with hunting, fishing and predator control.
- Criminal solicitation to commit a crime.
- Outfitting and guiding without a license.
The term “molest” refers to the annoying, disturbing, chasing, following after, stalking or lying in wait for, livestock or domestic animals, according to Law Insider.
Police reports say Studer owns 3 String Cattle Company Ranch and is the president of electric at Quantra. The company website says Studer is a “co-founder of Probst Electric and Summit Line Construction, Inc., operating companies acquired by Quanta Services in 2013.”
Probst Electric and Summit Line Construction are both based in Heber, Utah.
Kevin Sielaff, 48, was charged with eight misdemeanors for molesting game animals or birds with a motorized vehicle or unmanned aircraft, hunting to spot or communicate the location of wildlife from an aircraft, and interference with hunting, fishing and predator control.
Sielaff flies for Alpine Aviation LLC, according to court documents.
Several others were also charged with misdemeanors related to the allegations.
Allegations
In a probable cause affidavit, a senior conservation officer with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says Sielaff and Studer “hunt(ed), scouted for wildlife with the helicopter and during numerous scouting trips molested wildlife with said helicopter.”
Court documents say Studer hired Sielaff to take him scouting for big game animals via helicopter.
The officer writes that, according to multiple invoices, Sielaff was paid approximately $133,500 to fly Probst Electric employees so they could shoot coyotes.
Officials also say Studer “killed two trophy bull elk” and “failed to immediately tag them as required by law.”
Studer also allegedly “continued to hunt after killing the two elk, taking a third, and continuing to hunt even after that, attempting to overlimit on elk.”
Officials also claim there is evidence of “the unlawful marketing, sale, and solicitation for Landowner Appreciation Program (LAP) tags involving two men named Rodney Gonsales and Ryan Smith, marketing and selling tags and Studer soliciting those tags.”
What happened in 2023?
Illegal selling of hunting tags
The 66-page affidavit details a plethora of allegations, including that in 2023, Studer spent $114,920 on chances to win “super tags.” These are sold on a lottery-based system, and Studer ended up winning tags for deer, pronghorns, moose, elk, black bears, mountain lions, black bears, two gray wolves, an elk muzzleloader and a deer LAP.
According to the report, Studer paid at least $153,000 to multiple people for hunting tags, which are nontransferable and illegal to sell.
The officer reportedly found numerous text messages showing they knew selling the hunting tags was unlawful.
“During (a) text exchange, Smith says, ‘We want to keep the landowner to ourselves,’ to which Studer responds, ‘Agreed, let’s leave it very quiet’ and Smith responds, ‘It’s a good resource and don’t want anyone else to find out. Thanks,’” writes the officer.
On Aug. 1, Smith allegedly texted Studer, “I didn’t end up getting any deer tags this year. If you have any rifle tags available, I’d buy one from you.”
Studer replied, “I’ll see what rifle deer tags I have. I think we only got one of the 52 tags. My Dad might kill me if I let that go.”
Three days later, text messages indicate Smith went to Studer’s home to buy tags.
Paying for unlawful hunting guiding
According to court documents, Studer provided a man named Landon Sielaff with a Starlink so he could also guide him toward animals for hunting while working remotely for his full-time job.
Text messages show after Landon told Studer he would think about guiding for him, Studer replied, “$$ – I’ll make it work it for ya.”
Studer also reportedly provided Landon with “hunting gear, a phone, a spotting scope, tripods, a phone scope and a place to stay.”
On Nov. 11, 2022, Landon texted Studer, “Hey karl, quick question for you. Are you going to 1099 me or is everything under the table? I’m trying to figure out what taxes are going look like with the extra income.”
Studer reportedly replied, “No, 1099 – just under the table.”
Helicopter molesting wildlife
On July 30, a man reported that he was near Mormon Reservoir looking for deer when he saw a “red helicopter with a white stripe come from the east and begin circling around a butte on SV Ranch property by the gravel pit.”
The helicopter flew toward a crowd of deer that started running and split into two groups. According to court documents, the helicopter followed the deer for a mile and a half and was 200 yards off the ground.
Three more witnesses spoke to police, who said they took photos of the helicopter while it was molesting the deer.
One of the witnesses described the incident as “groups of deer acting flurried around and panicked when the helicopter circled them.”
The officer determined Sielaff owned the helicopter due to the description and tail number.
They further tied the allegations to both Sielaff and Studer from their cell phone GPS data, including a video found in Studer’s cloud account reportedly showing the helicopter “stirring up a group of deer and then following after a large buck that is running from the helicopter.”
On Aug. 11, the officer found more videos, this time in Sielaff’s cloud account, showing several images and videos of a helicopter “clearly harassing multiple deer, most of which are large trophy class mule deer,” according to court documents.
Officers found text messages between Studer, Sielaff and another man, Brandon Wilcox, on Aug. 10 and 11. The messages discussed departure times to molest the animals and alerted each other to when they saw animals both on the ground and in the helicopter.
At one point, Wilcox messaged the group, “WE F****** FOUND HIM!!” to which Studer replied, “Where is that b**** at??” Wilcox responded with the location and said “That mother Ffer needs to die.”
Officials received more complaints from different individuals about the helicopter molesting animals on Aug. 12, 14 and 24; Sept. 1; Oct. 1 and 14; and Nov. 2 and 18, 2023.
Illegally keeping a live, injured pronghorn buck
Officials say they found two videos proving that Studer illegally possessed a live pronghorn buck after it was shot.
Court documents say the videos were found in Studer’s iCloud account, showing “a pronghorn gasping with its head up in the back of a brown Toyota truck.” Studer is allegedly heard in the background while the animal is gasping, saying, “Do you think you should go home and hang at the ranch?” He also claims he shot the buck.
In text messages, Studer claims he shot the animal, it passed out, and then woke up in the back of his truck.
EastIdahoNews.com contacted the Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs, who declined to comment. We also contacted the Magic Valley Region Fish and Game Regional Office, who also declined to comment.
We also contacted Studer’s attorney, Charles Peterson, as well as Sielaff’s attorney, Michael Bartlett, and left both messages, but we have not heard back from either.
Court proceedings
Studer is expected to appear in court on Wednesday in Twin Falls County. If convicted, he could face at least 15 years in prison.
Sielaff pleaded not guilty to all charges on Aug. 15, and is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 16.
Though all suspects have been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
