by Karen Mehall Phillips, NRA Media – Tuesday, March 25, 2025

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Gray wolves are in the news again, this time because one of Colorado’s recently introduced gray wolves crossed into Wyoming, killed five sheep and was killed by U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife officials. The GPS-collared wolf, known as 2505-BC, was one of the 15 wolves transported to Colorado from British Columbia in January following passage of a 2020 ballot initiative mandating the species’ reintroduction, which passed by less than 1 percent.

As the officials took note of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) collar around the wolf’s neck, CPW received a mortality alert. In an official announcement, CPW explained, “Wolves are known to travel long distances to find food or mates, including into other states. The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in Wyoming was conducting livestock depredation mitigation in response to multiple livestock losses in Wyoming.” It added that it does not comment on wildlife movements, operations or regulations in other states and directed those seeking further information to contact APHIS, which is tasked with providing wildlife services and protecting agriculture, wildlife and other natural resources, property and human health and safety.

Of course, wildlife species do not understand state boundaries, and the wolf did not know it was supposed to stay in Colorado to help populate the species. Any of the 30 Colorado wolves that cross into Wyoming may meet the same fate in a state that not only has protocol in place to address depredation using lethal means but also a wolf hunting season to keep populations in check as managers of America’s renewable wildlife resources work to balance predator and prey species alike.

In the meantime, as Colorado’s reintroduced wolves do what wolves do—inside and outside state boundaries—the CPW Commission continues to issue depredation payments to farmers and ranchers and already has relocated some of the wolves for killing livestock. Adding to the concern, CPW commissioners just approved $343,415 in depredation payments, which leaves only $6,585 in the depredation compensation fund.

A bill has been introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature to open sandhill crane hunting in the state as well as provide financial support to farmers.

Paul A. Smith

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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For the third time in 14 years, a bill to open a sandhill crane hunting season in Wisconsin has been introduced in the Legislature.

The previous proposals failed to advance to the governor, even though they were authored by Republicans and introduced in a Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate. One even failed to get out of committee.

The coming months will tell if the Republican caucus – which still controls both chambers – has more support for the latest version of a crane hunting bill. The proposal is called SB112 in the Senate and AB117 in the Assembly.

Sandhill cranes were nearly eliminated from Wisconsin a century ago but thanks to state and federal protections and environmental improvements the birds have increased substantially in number. Wisconsin hosted an average of 51,000 cranes from 2018-22, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The increased population of sandhill cranes in Wisconsin has led to crane-caused crop damage estimated at $1.9 million annually, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most of the crop damage in Wisconsin occurs in spring when cranes eat newly-planted corn. Other losses occur later in the year to crops including peas and potatoes.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

The current crane hunting bill is different from its predecessors in two basic respects: it was prepared by the 2024 Legislative Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes and it includes new measures to provide financial compensation to farmers.

The Legislative Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes met five times last year to consider issues related to cranes in Wisconsin.

Since committee chair Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc, and author of the 2021 crane hunting bill) selected the group’s membership with a majority of representatives and individuals on record in support of crane hunting, it wasn’t a surprise when it voted 8-4 in favor of a crane hunting proposal.

The draft bill was advanced to the Joint Legislative Council which, as is customary, in turn introduced it in the Legislature. 

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The bill would direct the Department of Natural Resources to initiate a crane hunt in the state as well as provide a cost-share to farmers to treat corn with a seed coating to deter cranes and increase the agricultural damage surcharge on all Wisconsin hunting licenses to allow farmers compensation for crane damage.

The proposal would require $1.875 million of general tax dollars (called GPR) in fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. Combined with a 50% cost share, the state funding would reimburse producers for seed treatment covering 300,000 acres of corn, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council estimate.

If crane hunting were allowed in Wisconsin, farmers could apply for compensation for crane-caused agricultural damage. However, since the claims could exceed what is currently available in the fund, the bill would tack on from $1 to $4 to all Wisconsin hunting licenses, raising an estimated additional $1.3 million for the state’s wildlife damage claim fund.

It will remain to be seen whether the proposal’s mix of a new hunting opportunity and financial support for farmers bundled with additional costs to tax payers and hunters will help or hurt the bill’s odds of passing the Assembly and Senate.

Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Cameron), vice chair of the crane study committee, said in December the Republican caucus has mixed support on issues of sandhill crane management but he thought the bill advanced by the crane committee would have the best chance to make it through the GOP-controlled Legislature and budget-writing committee.

Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), also a member of the crane study committee, said he didn’t see compelling evidence to authorize a crane hunt in Wisconsin and his constituents didn’t want one. When he polled voters in his district 63% were opposed, 18% were in support and 18% didn’t answer, Spreitzer said.

In the only social science work on the issue in Wisconsin, a 2023 study by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center found 47.6% of its panel of state residents opposed crane hunting while 35% were neutral and 17.6% supported it.

It’s not clear whether Gov. Tony Evers would sign or veto the bill should it come to his desk. However he may have foreshadowed his preference on the issue in his 2025-27 state budget. Evers included a proposal to provide $3.7 million to reimburse corn farmers up to 50% of the cost of crane-deterring seed treatment. It does not include a crane hunting option.

Senate Bill 112 and Assembly Bill 117 would set the base cost of a crane hunting permit at $20 for a resident and $100 for a nonresident.

The Senate and Assembly versions of the bill were heard and referred March 7 and 11, respectively, to committees in their chambers.

The Senate version of the bill, SB112, was assigned to the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage. It is chaired by Sen. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond); the vice chair is John Jagler (R-Watertown).

And AB117 was assigned to the Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage. The committee is chaired by Rep. Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi). Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), who led the Legislative Study Commitee on Sandhill Cranes and authored the unsuccessful 2021 bill on crane hunting, is vice chair.

As of March 21 neither committee had scheduled a hearing for the bill.

Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame virtual ceremonies: The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame will hold virtual ceremonies April 5 to honor its 2025 inductees, J. Baird Callicott, David Carlson and Robert Freckmann.

The WCHF was established in 1985. Its slogan is “Celebrating, Advancing, and Sharing Wisconsin’s Conservation Legacy.”

One-hundred twelve members have been inducted since its inception, including Frederick and Frances Hamerstrom, Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Gaylord Nelson. 

The April 5 induction ceremonies will be held via Zoom. Each will feature speeches and presentations. Callicott’s induction is scheduled at 2 p.m. Carlson’s at 4 p.m. and Freckmann’s at 6 p.m.

For additional information on the WCHF, including how to support the organization and to register for the April 5 induction ceremonies, visit www.wchf.org.

Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%There’s now a local animal rights group set to speak to the Mobile City Council Tuesday in an effort to save the beavers.

By Shelby Myers

Published: Mar. 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM PDT|Updated: 21 hours ago

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -Taking care of “nuisance beavers” in the city of Mobile has become a hot button issue.

There’s now a local animal rights group set to speak to the Mobile City Council Tuesday in an effort to save the beavers.

The Mobile City Council has already voted to re-hire Randy Howell with Waylon Wildlife Services LLC for about $13,000 a year.

Howell said he’s been catching beavers in Mobile for close to 20 years.

Howell said he sets up and checks on multiple traps in 23 locations across Mobile.

The goal is to keep the beavers from damming up local waterways so debris doesn’t pile up in neighborhoods.

Howell said because of state law, he can’t take the beavers and re-locate them.

In his words, there’s “no magic land to take the beavers to”.

According to him, the beaver could carry a disease or spread a certain type of algae into other waterways. So because of that, he does kill the beavers after he traps them.

It’s a necessary evil, he said that must happen in order to keep roads from flooding and development to continue.

On the other side of that, Awakening Respect and Compassion for All Sentient Beings, or ARC, plans to speak to at Mobile City Council meeting Tuesday.

ARC director, Tracey Glover said they want a humane solution to the beaver problem instead of them being killed.

She said she plans to ask council about the process to trap and kill the beavers and present humane alternatives.

Howell said he would love it if he didn’t have to kill the beavers, but doesn’t think it’s possible.

“I expected some variation.”

by Alexis McDonellMarch 23, 2025

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We like to think we have animals figured out: Owls prowl at night, squirrels scamper by day, and bears sleep through winter. But it turns out wildlife isn’t following our rule book, and a new global study reveals just how much their schedules are shifting in ways we never expected.

What’s happening?

A massive study led by researchers from the University of Rhode Island and Colorado State University found that the presence of humans is dramatically altering the daily schedules of many animals, Earth.com reported.

By analyzing 8.9 million wildlife images from camera traps across 38 countries, scientists discovered that more than half (61%) of the 400 mammal species studied don’t follow the activity patterns we’ve assumed for years. And 74% changed their activity in response to humans.

“I expected some variation, but basically most species that we had adequate data on showed that they would change their diel activity,” said Brian Gerber, the lead researcher of the study.

Some animals have become night owls (literally) to steer clear of human activity, while others are embracing the daylight, possibly lured by city lights or the promise of an easy meal. These findings challenge our long-held beliefs that animal behavior is set in stone.

“The most striking thing is that when you are taught an animal is diurnal or is nocturnal, that is not always correct,” Gerber explained.

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Why is this change in behavior concerning?

Disrupting an animal’s routine isn’t a small change; it can have serious consequences. Animals that suddenly find themselves navigating an unfamiliar time of day may struggle to hunt, find food, or avoid predators. 

And it’s not only about survival. These shifts could lead to more unexpected run-ins with humans. A nocturnal animal suddenly venturing out in daylight might wander into traffic, and a species that’s normally out in the daytime could find itself in the wrong place at the wrong time when predators are lurking. These disruptions ripple through entire ecosystems, throwing off the delicate balance that keeps nature in check.

This is yet another example of how human expansion forces wildlife to adapt in ways they weren’t built for. Some species might be able to keep up, but for others, the rapid changes could be too much, contributing to population declines and threatening biodiversity.

What’s being done about it?

Conservationists are finding ways to reduce human disruptions to wildlife. Efforts like creating safe migration corridors, protecting green spaces, and dimming artificial lights help animals stick to their natural rhythms. Some cities have even launched “dark sky” initiatives to cut excessive nighttime lighting, making it easier for nocturnal creatures to stay on schedule.

• By: Niki Kelly Indiana Capital Chronicle
• Mar 24, 2025 Updated 5 hrs ago
• https://www.newsbug.info/rensselaer_republican/news/bobcat-trapping-season-gets-final-approval/article_3eae6bc1-f1b9-46a8-ba5b-7630d73617ba.html
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After receiving more than 3,000 public comments, Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission on Tuesday approved a bobcat trapping season in 40 southern Indiana counties.

The vote tally was not announced at the meeting but wasn’t unanimous.

There will be a statewide harvest, capped at 250 bobcats, allowing licensed trappers to take one bobcat per season and sell the hide. The season will begin Nov. 8. Trappers can use a cage trap, foothold trap types permitted under law or a snare with a relaxing snare lock.

Lawmakers mandated that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources establish a bobcat trapping season in 2024 legislation.

DNR gathered data before proposing specific rules. Project head Geriann Albers said the agency worked to procure data on bobcat populations, including by having Purdue University create a population model.

“Bobcats are important to us. We have a strong foundation and plans for the future to keep monitoring them because they are important to Indiana,” Albers said.

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DNR also held several public hearings on its plans and took written comments.

Aaron Bonar, an administrative law judge for the commission, acknowledged that the majority of public comments were against the proposal and many sought to establish a zero bag limit. But he said that wouldn’t be in compliance with the Indiana General Assembly’s mandate.

While before a House committee in February last year, bobcat season author Sen. Scott Baldwin said the bag limit would be driven by science.

“DNR’s process could very well result in season one (having) zero bobcats allowed to be taken. That’s very much a possibility. If science dictates, season one may not allow the taking of any bobcats,” Baldwin said. “All this bill says is: establish a season, start the process and figure it out.”

Once an endangered species in Indiana, bobcats were removed from the state’s endangered species list in 2005.

Since then, the bobcat population has grown — especially in recent years, according to DNR.

Samantha Chapman, Indiana state director at Humane World for Animals, said it was a “sad day” for wildlife conservation in Indiana.

“The Natural Resources Commission’s decision to green-light the trapping and killing of 250 of Indiana’s recovering bobcats – when there is still no adequate population data and no scientific evidence to justify killing hundreds of bobcats – contradicts ethical and science-based wildlife conservation,” she said in a news release. “This instead favors a tiny special interest group who wish to profit off Indiana’s wildlife by selling bobcat furs to overseas markets.”

The counties where bobcat trapping will be allowed are Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Dubois, Floyd, Franklin, Gibson, Greene, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Ripley, Scott, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warrick and Washington.

Tom Polansek, Leah Douglas and Anna Mano

Reuters

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The U.S. has almost doubled imports of Brazilian eggs once used only for pet food and is considering relaxing regulations for eggs laid by chickens raised for meat, as President Donald Trump‘s administration seeks to bring down sky-high prices spiked by bird flu.

While none of the Brazilian or broiler chicken eggs would wind up on grocery shelves, they could be used in processed foods such as cake mixes, ice cream or salad dressing, freeing up more fresh eggs for shoppers. Allowing the use of broiler chicken eggs would require changing regulations, and some food safety experts warned that this could risk tainting food products with harmful bacteria.

Nationwide economic strain persists from the virus that has wiped out nearly 170 million chickens, turkeys and other birds since early 2022. Grocery shoppers peruse thinly stocked shelves, restaurants have raised menu prices, and wholesale egg prices surged 53.6% in February before easing a bit in March.

The egg shortage has fueled food inflation even as Trump’s trade disputes have threatened to disrupt supply chains and raise costs for fresh produce and other goods.

In February, the administration announced a $1 billion plan to lower egg prices, which includes helping farmers prevent the spread of the virus and researching vaccine options. The Trump administration is also promoting imports from countries such as Turkey, Brazil, and South Korea, which typically send a few eggs to the U.S., and has asked Europe to send more.

U.S. egg imports from Brazil in February increased by 93% from a year earlier, the Brazilian Animal Protein Association said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Reuters it is reviewing a petition from the National Chicken Council to allow the sale for human consumption of eggs laid by chickens that the council’s members raise for meat.

Currently, broiler chicken producers destroy millions of those eggs because they lack sufficient refrigeration to meet an FDA food-safety requirement.

In 2023, the FDA denied a similar request from the council, citing salmonella risk. The chicken industry hopes the agency will now support the effort as aligned with Trump’s goal of slashing unnecessary regulations, said Ashley Peterson, the council’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.

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“We need more yolks for folks,” said U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, who is co-sponsoring a bill to allow the eggs to be used in food products.

Meat, eggs dumped

Each year, broiler chickens lay about 360 million eggs that are not fit to hatch chicks, according to the council. Some are used to manufacture vaccines, exported or used for other purposes, the petition said, but most are destroyed.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms, a top U.S. producer of chicken meat, probably throws away about 500,000 eggs per week that do not meet specifications, said Mark Burleson, the company’s senior director of veterinary services.

Such eggs were once sold to egg-breaking plants to be pasteurized and used in processed foods. But in 2009, an FDA rule aimed at reducing illness from salmonella required eggs to be refrigerated at 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) starting 36 hours after they are laid.

Chicken producers keep broiler eggs at about 65 degrees and do not have equipment in place to refrigerate them at the lower temperature on the FDA’s timetable, the council and farmers said.

The council said the eggs are pasteurized and do not threaten public health. It said it was not aware of safety issues with them before the 2009 rule.

Food safety experts said insufficient refrigeration may increase pathogens to levels where pasteurization is not fully effective.

“There is a real possibility of trading off increased risk of foodborne illness for some proportion of eggs going into the egg products market,” said Susan Mayne, who was director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition when it considered the previous petition.

Egg imports, laws considered

In January, the Trump administration allowed imports of Brazilian eggs to be processed into food products for people, after they were previously only allowed for use in pet food, according to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association.

Brazilian authorities had already proved that Brazil meets U.S. requirements to export eggs to be processed for human consumption, the association said.

However, Brazil is affected by Newcastle disease, a virus that often kills poultry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, and the country cannot supply the U.S. with eggs for sale in grocery stores or pasteurized liquid eggs for human consumption.

States including Nevada and Arizona have paused animal welfare policies that required eggs to come from cage-free hens, in an effort to address tight supplies and high prices.

Nevada in February suspended a 2021 law requiring all eggs sold in the state to come from cage-free hens.

In Arizona, state lawmakers are considering a proposal to repeal a similar rule that was already delayed due to bird flu, said Patrick Bray, executive vice president of the Arizona Farm and Ranch Group, which represents farmers.

“A few years ago, the consumer was demanding a cage-free product,” Bray said. “Now, the consumers’ eyes have been opened up a little bit as we’ve lost hundreds of millions of birds and egg prices are through the roof.”

Health24 March 2025

ByCarly Cassella

(Image Source/Getty Images)

A Florida man in his 70s contracted an extremely rare, life-threatening infection in his implanted defibrillator after eating a feral pig in 2017.

Before cooking and consuming the gift from a local hunter, the man remembers handling the raw meat with bare hands.

Experts suspect it was at this moment that he was unknowingly exposed to a sneaky bacterium, Brucella suis.

Years later, the man began experiencing feverish symptoms, intermittent pain, excess fluid, and a hardening of the skin on the left side of his chest, according to a case study, led by infectious disease specialist Jose Rodriguez from the University of Florida.

When doctors finally figured out what was going on, the insidious bacterial infection had already slipped into the man’s defibrillator, passing through the chest wall, the left subclavian vein, and into the muscular tissue of his left ventricle.

The safest option was to replace the medical device completely.

Globally, brucellosis is the most common bacterial infection that spreads from animals to humans, and it is usually carried by cows, goats, sheep, and pigs.

Infections of B. suis and its close relatives are tricky to treat because they can hide inside immune cells for years on end, causing only mild, feverish symptoms that come and go at random. Since the bacteria are hard to isolate and grow in the lab and easily misidentified, as occurred in this case, blood tests don’t always pick them out.

Defibrillators are a perfect place for Brucella bacteria to hide. Antibiotics are difficult to deliver to these implants because of their limited blood supply, which means that if infected, taking out the whole device is often the only way to ensure proper treatment.

While severe and life-threatening, a Brucella infection of a defibrillator is extremely rare. In a 30-year review of 5,287 patients with a defibrillator, only one patient had a Brucella infection requiring complete device and lead removal with antibiotic therapy.

A series of unfortunate events led to the Florida man’s diagnosis.

In the spring of 2019, long after the man had handled raw pig meat, he began experiencing uncomfortable symptoms on the left side of his chest.

The unfortunate fellow, who also suffers from type 2 diabetes and heart failure, was admitted to the hospital several times that year, where he was treated with a whole host of antibiotics.

His blood cultures revealed an infection with a different bacterium from B. suis, and an ultrasound of his heart showed his defibrillator had migrated to the left chest wall, just below the nipple.

In 2020, his symptoms persisted, so the man sought treatment once again at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida.

While doctors could find no outward sign of bacteria on his defibrillator’s valves or leads, they were concerned by the possibility of an overlooked infection, and so they decided to take the automated implant out of his body.

Lab analysis later confirmed the device was contaminated by B. suis. The previous bacterium was a misidentification.

“Substantial delays between Brucella exposure and clinical symptoms have been previously reported in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device infections,” write the authors of the case study.

“In this case, the intermittent use of antibiotics with device retainment likely led to a prolonged clinical course.”

After six weeks of taking two antibiotics, the man’s infection was cleared.The patient was outfitted with a new defibrillator four months after his old one was removed.

Now, more than three years later, his blood shows no clinical evidence of brucellosis. His story is a cautionary tale to all who partake in eating unpasteurized dairy products or wild animals.

In the US, feral swine (Sus scrofa) are the principal carriers of B. suis, as livestock are often vaccinated against these infections. Today, there are more than a million feral pigs living in Florida, which suggests the infection may be endemic to some parts of the nation.

The study was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.