Tag Archives: deer hunting

Couple involved in hunting reality show convicted of poaching in Nebraska

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http://www.omaha.com/article/20140211/NEWS/140219782/1707

By Andrew Bottrell / World-Herald News Service

A North Carolina couple who outfitted hunting trips in central Nebraska has been convicted of poaching.

Jason and Britney Edney, of Hendersonville, N.C., will both serve federal probation and pay fines for the offenses after reaching plea deals.

According to a press release from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Monday, with the help of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, investigators uncovered more than 25 instances of overbagging or hunting turkeys without permits, 29 illegally taken deer, 17 instances of failing to check deer and five small games violations.

The incidents occurred in Frontier, Dawson, Keya Paha and Lincoln Counties.

Jason Edney will be on five years of federal probation, which includes a ban on hunting, fishing and trapping. He will also pay $35,000 in restitution. Britney Edney will serve three years of probation, which includes a ban on hunting, fishing and trapping, with $10,000 in restitution.

Poaching is a violation of the federal Lacey Act, which bans the trade of fish, wildlife and plants that are illegally taken, transported or sold.

Three other people involved – Jay Myers of Alabama, Matt Woods of Alabama, and Greg Voliva of North Carolina – were convicted of misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act and ordered to pay fines and restitution.

The Edneys had been part of a reality TV series that had teams compete through hunting. Several of the illegal hunts were videotaped for the series, and footage was posted online to promote their outfitting business.

Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, All Rights Reserved

Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, All Rights Reserved

8 charged in connection with illegal hunting activity

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http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/269817/2/8-charged-in-connection-with-illegal-hunting-activity

Feb 6, 2014
Kerry Leary

ALLAGASH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – The Maine Warden Service has charged eight people with various hunting violations after executing search warrants.

As a result of an ongoing investigation into illegal hunting activity, six search warrants were executed. Five in the town of Allagash, Maine and one in Palermo, Maine.

Eight people were charged, two of whom were taken to the Aroostook County Jail. Maine Game Warden Lt. Dan Scott said the suspects are “intentional wildlife violators who display a complete disregard for fish and game laws.”

He also said the current and past poaching practices of those charged “have undoubtedly had an impact on local wildlife resources.”

The charges range from illegal possession of moose and deer to hunting with a suspended license. The following list details the charges filed:

1. Carter McBreairty of Allagash, charged with “hunting deer after having killed one.”
2. Kim Hafford of Allagash, charged with “false registration of a deer.”
3. Jess McBreairty of Allagash, charged with “hunting with a suspended license,” and arrested for a violation of bail.
4. Reid Caron of Allagash, arrested on a warrant for night hunting moose.
5. Hope Kelly of Allagash, charged with “possession of moose killed at night,” and “possession of an unregistered moose.”
6. Gregory Hughes of Allagash, charged with “possession of a firearm by a felon.”
7. Arlo Caron of Allagash, charged with “unlawful possession of gift deer.”
8. Gerald Pollard of Palermo, charged with “illegal possession of moose.”

The Warden Service is working with the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office on the investigation. More charges are likely to be filed.

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

Stop the Crossbow Insanity in New York

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This action alert from IDA answers to an disallowed comment from someone claiming to have “…a natural areas management background” (who must not have read this blogs “About” page wherein it is stated that pro-hunting comments will not be approved), “We also cull many deer here. But, we don’t make big anouncements about it. They cause many car related accidents and this is really the only way to handle them. The upside is the meat doesn’t go to waste, but to a food kitchen.” (I’m sure the deer appreciate knowing that.)

https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2563&autologin=true#.UvQPwp8EwLk.facebook

(Valid address is required – P.O. Boxes cannot be used)

In Defense of Animals

Oppose Legalizing Crossbows and Changing the Minimum Distance Requirement for Killing Wildlife from Occupied Dwellings

What’s next… throwing spears out of car windows to kill wildlife for fun?

We need your help to stop a proposal in New York that would legalize the use of crossbows. For bow hunting, it would also lower the current 500 foot minimum shooting distance from a home or occupied structure down to the outrageously dangerous distance of only 150 feet in order to further accommodate bow hunters.

There is a notable trend in relaxing crossbow hunting regulations across the nation, mainly in an effort to stem declining hunter numbers, by increasing hunting opportunities.

A current example is New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, who wants to legalize hunting with crossbows to kill deer and bears, and allow the use of crossbows just 150 feet from homes and other buildings.

Crossbows are short-range, lethal weapons from which the projectile is released by squeezing a trigger, rather than by manually releasing the string as with a longbow. They are essentially guns that shoot powerful arrows and weapons which appeal to inexperienced hunters.

What you can do:Send the letter below to the leaders of the New York Assembly and the Senate and Governor Cuomo and request that they amend Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget bill by deleting section I.

Personalize and submit the form below to email your comments to:

  • Governor Andrew Cuomo
  • Senator Dean Skelos
  • Senator Jeffrey Klein
  • Speaker Sheldon Silver

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No Crossbow Hunting and No Bow Hunting Distance Reductions

Dear [Decision Maker],

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As a supporter of In Defense of Animals (IDA) and an avid advocate for wildlife, and the safety of people, I am requesting that you amend Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget bill by deleting section I.

Governor Cuomo’s proposal seeks to legalize crossbows for hunting and allow their use at 150 feet from occupied buildings, while also limiting the liability for landowners who want to turn their property into killing grounds. This means that crossbows could be used near areas with high human traffic and activity homes and backyards with children, golf courses, parking lots, student housing, well-traveled roads and public trails, and parks where families spend time and walk their animal companions.

Hunting with crossbows is currently illegal in New York and limited in many other states for good reason; crossbows are inherently more dangerous than other types of hunting weapons. Crossbows require much less skill than compound, long, or recurve bows, which makes them attractive to inexperienced hunters, including children and teenagers.

The wounding rate of deer by bow hunters is already over 50%, which means that more than half of deer are shot but never retrieved by hunters. These animals suffer a prolonged and painful death, which is a direct violation of the “quick death” required by the code of ethics that so-called “sportsmen” claim to adhere to.

Governor Cuomo’s proposal is in line with a dangerous trend to relax bow hunting regulations nationwide to increase hunter recruitment and retention, at the expense of the safety of the non-hunting community, including many of your constituents.

Jeopardizing the safety of the majority of people in order to satisfy a minority of “sportsmen” is unacceptable. New Yorkers have the right to be safe and Governor Cuomo’s proposal should be rejected.

Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State ZIP]

Study sheds light on top causes of deer mortality in Northern Wisconsin

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How much higher is the deer kill from human hunting than the other four causes?

Answer: More than four times higher than any other source. In fact, human hunting was responsible for about twice as much deer mortality in northern Wisconsin than the other four causes combined.

The rates of mortality were human hunting 43%, starvation 9%, coyote 7%, wolf 6% and roadkill 6%.

If you added poaching (8%) the human kill gets even more significant…

Full Story:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/study-sheds-light-on-top-causes-of-deer-mortality-b99190938z1-241992741.html

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

Indiana Senate OKs Fenced-in Deer Hunting

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Photo by Jim Robertson

Photo by Jim Robertson

http://www.tmnews.com/senate-panel-oks-fenced-deer-hunting/article_91daaa9e-903f-541a-a12b-2fcbbfe5e130.html

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 BY ALLIE NASH TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS — A Senate committee passed legislation Monday to legalize the state’s existing fenced deer hunting preserves — and allow new ones to open.

Senate Bill 404 now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

The vote comes four months after a Harrison Circuit Court judge ruled that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources didn’t have the authority to regulate a Southern Indiana fenced deer hunting operation. In previous years the Senate postponed action on similar bills while the lawsuit had been pending.

Another court ruling sided with the DNR, which had moved to shutter the operations.

Sen. Carlin Yoder, the bill’s author and chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said with conflicting lawsuits, the General Assembly needs to step in.

“It’s the Wild West out there,” said Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford.

But opponents of the bill say they are concerned about the ethics of hunting deer in fenced-in areas. And they are worry about Chronic Wasting Disease, which is found in deer and elk and causes small lesions on their brains. The disease can only be detected postmortem.

The committee sought to resolve some of the ethical issues with an amendment that passed 6-1. It imposes a number of restrictions, including a 160-acre minimum for new preserves, a prohibition on the hunting of game birds within the preserves, and a requirement for a 50 percent escape cover for a released animal. It also would prohibit hunting an animal within 150 yards of a feeding station.

“Indiana residents don’t want this unsporting mockery in our state,” said Erin Huang, Indiana director of the Humane Society of the United States.

And opponents also said that an infected deer population could mean a big cost for the state.

“Wisconsin spent over $50 million just trying to manage Chronic Wasting Disease to protect their wild deer hunting business,” said Barbara Simpson, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Foundation. “So this is an economic concern that we don’t often think about.”

Simpson said deer and elk hunting brings in $50 million annually to Indiana and wild deer hunting brings in $314 million. And, she said the sport employs 1,600 people.

Rodney Bruce, who owns one of Indiana’s four shooting preserves, said he has the same concerns.

“No one is more concerned about disease than we are,” Bruce said. We “totally believe in fair chase ethics and oppose canned hunting. We want to help start a dialogue so that we can coexist.”

Supporters say that fenced preserves could also be an economic boon. Since Indiana law does not allow deer to be imported from states with CWD – and that includes most states around Indiana – shooting preserves could be a boost for Hoosier deer farming businesses.

Myron Miller, a deer farmer, also believes that everyone can work together. “If we do this the right way we can complement each other.”

Last chance to stop bowhunting in Cayuga Heights

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PUBLIC HEARING –  Weds, Jan. 29th, at 7 PM

Marcham Hall, 836 Hanshaw Rd, Ithaca, NY

Across from Community Corners, same building as the police station

Dear friends,

In December, we wrote to you about a new proposed law that will allow bowhunters and their deadly weapons into Cayuga Heights. Since then, the Cayuga Heights board of trustees has held two public hearings and made small adjustments to the law, which you can see in its latest form here: http://www.cayuga-heights.ny.us/doc/PLL-A-2014.pdf . Before they pass this new draft of the law, they are required to hold another public hearing, happening this Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 PM at the Village Hall (address above). Please attend. Even better, speak out. Better still, encourage others to join you.

This new law will allow deadly crossbows and compound bows to be discharged in residential neighborhoods — outside of hunting season, at all times throughout the year, including Summer, and even at night. In other words, there will be no time of year that it is safe for the people and animals in and around Cayuga Heights.

 Every hunting season, stories come out about dogs, cats and other “non-target” animals being wounded and killed by hunters. In a recent TV news story from Wisconsin, a woman tearfully described how she found her poor dog under a hunter’s tree stand, dead from a mortal wound from an arrow. The dog was left there for 3 days, to painfully die in a pool of her own blood. Please watch and share this news story, as it demonstrates the kind of tragedy that can easily unfold when hunters are introduced into a densely settled community like ours: http://tinyurl.com/kw3ryo9

Bow hunting is notoriously cruel. Numerous studies show that more than half the deer who are shot with arrows are never retrieved, running off to painfully bleed to death or live with a debilitating open wound. Their prolonged agony and deaths are no less horrific than the one the Wisconsin woman’s dog experienced. Desensitization to the killing of deer leads to other forms of desensitization and violence. Let’s teach our community’s children to respect wildlife and other animals, not condone their killing.

And what about the children? At the Jan. 13 meeting of the Village government, Cayuga Heights trustee Stephen Hamilton identified the most likely area where bowhunting will occur, based on available open space: A piece of land between Cornell and Cayuga Heights. A citizen in the audience commented that there is a daycare center in that area. This appeared to be of little concern to Mayor Kate Supron (former co-president of the Cayuga Heights PTA) or her fellow trustees. However, during the discussion, trustees Liz Karns and Diana Riesman expressed their preference for having deadly weapons discharged by professional contractors overseen by the Village government. It is yet to be seen whether they will vote in favor or against the law.

Mayor Kate Supron is obsessed with killing. How else can you explain this latest move when nearly 100% of the does in Cayuga Heights are now sterilized? Numerous residents are commenting on how they have noticed fewer fawns this year, and less deer browsing. After paying $150,000 of taxpayers’  money to sterilize an estimated 95% of the does in 2012, the Village spent nearly $3,000 per deer to sterilize the remaining 12 at the end of 2013. So how does the mayor justify killing these same deer? The answer is, she has no justification other than her opinion that there are still “too many deer.” She contends there should be only a fraction of the deer that the village currently has, yet she refuses to allow the sterilization program play out long enough to achieve the desired result. She also refuses to address questions from her constituents about how she plans to prevent fertile does in surrounding areas from moving in to take the place of sterile does who have been killed by the bowhunters she now wants to allow in. Sadly, as we have seen over and over again, logic, reason, science and ethics have no role in the Mayor’s agenda.

This new law poses a threat to ALL of us, not just those who live in the village. Most of us drive on Cayuga Heights roads, many of us take walks, jog or ride bikes there. Hundreds of people live in proximity to the village border. The safety of their families and companion animals are threatened by the discharge of deadly weapons that could just as easily maim or kill a human as a deer. These neighboring residents are just as likely to have bowhunters trespassing on their land, and injured/dying deer show up in their yards, as Cayuga Heights residents.

The opposition is growing. Earlier this month, an open letter protesting the law, signed by 44 residents, was sent out to people who live in and around Cayuga Heights. Please join these engaged citizens and be a voice for safety, non-violence, and common sense!

Thank you for staying involved throughout this long struggle. We know it hasn’t always been easy, but there is no denying that our work together thus far has prevented the mass-slaughter of the Cayuga Heights deer, and all the violence and ugliness that an annual wildlife killing program would bring.

Your friends,

Jenny, James and Eric, on behalf of CayugaDeer.org

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Attend Wednesday’s hearing and speak out! Please also encourage others to join you, especially those who are most affected by this new law, and may not realize the potential risks to their safety.

If you can’t attend, please take a moment now to send a quick email to the trustees expressing your opposition to this new law. It can just be one sentence, the important thing is that they hear from people who are against the new law before they vote on it on Wednesday night. Their addresses are: mayor@cayuga-heights.ny.us; rrobinson@cayuga-heights.ny.us; psalton@cayuga-heights.ny.us; ccrooker@cayuga-heights.ny.us; ekarns@cayuga-heights.ny.us; driesman@cayuga-heights.ny.us; shamilton@cayuga-heights.ny.us; jsteinmetz@cayuga-heights.ny.us

CITIZENS FOR SAFE, ETHICAL AND RATIONAL APPROACHES TO REDUCING DEER-HUMAN CONFLICT

[Here’s an example of the unethical and irrational]:

E0AF0B4E-024A-431C-AE14-90CB22CA791B

The Guns of Mid-Winter

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When I wrote my book, Exposing the Big Game, its subtitle, Living Targets of a Dying Sport, was appropriate. But like so many things in this rapidly changing world, by the time the book came out, that subtitle was becoming obsolete. Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, the sport of blasting birds, murdering deer, culling coyotes and plunking at prairie dogs—in a word, hunting—is seeing a seemingly inexplicable resurgence.

Lately we’re seeing longer hunting seasons on everything from elk to geese to wolves, with more new or expanded “specialty” hunts like archery, crossbow, spear (and probably soon, poison blow gun) in states across the country, than at any time in recent memory. Meanwhile, more Americans are taking up arms against the animals and wearing so much camo—the full-time fashion statement of the cruel and unusual—that it’s starting to look ordinary and even, yuppified.

So, when did cruel become the new cool and evil the new everyday? Are the recruiting efforts of the Safari Club and the NRA finally striking a cord? Did the staged “reality” show “Survivor” lead to the absurdly popular thespian cable spin-offs like, “Call of the Wildman,” “Duck Dynasty” and a nasty host of others? Is “art” imitating life, or is life imitating “art?” Did the author of the Time Magazine article, “America’s Pest Problem: It’s Time to Cull the Herd,” ratchet up the call for even more animal extermination?

Whatever the reason, I don’t remember ever hearing so many shotguns and rifles blasting away during the last week of January. By the sound of the gunfire, coupled with the unseasonably dry and warm weather here in the Pacific Northwest, you’d swear it was early autumn.

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014. All Rights Reserved

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014. All Rights Reserved

Please Don’t Let Pedophiles Run the PTA

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Things have been the way they are for so long that most people just accept them. But when you stop and think about it, having hunters be in charge of the wildlife departments is like appointing pedophiles to run the PTA. We must never lose sight of the fact that hunters have ulterior motives for our precious wildlife.

When hunters say they “care” about animals, well, they mean it in a lustful, self-serving sort of way. And when they use words like “love” and “respect,” they sound about as sincere as a spousal abuser, rapist or pedophile referring to the objects of their obsession.

Hunters have no business “managing” wildlife. They can’t seem to understand that the objects of their obsession are sentient beings with needs, wants and life experiences of their own. And every time game departments disrespect Mother Nature by calling for another “management action,” they are renouncing her healing ability and cheating her out of one more chance to restore her time-tested balance.

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014.

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014.

Connections of animal and human suffering

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http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/pets/dr-fox/connections-of-animal-and-human-suffering/article_0d7de883-b56e-587a-bc67-516db2cddce1.html

by Dr. Michael Fox

Dear Readers • Humans, like other animals, have so-called mirror neurons in their brains that instantly process the emotional state of another deciphered through their facial expressions, vocalizations and body language. This happens to facilitate communication and appropriate action/reaction.

When signals of distress and suffering are processed, empathetic concern is evoked, as is fear. Sociopaths and psychopaths may respectively feel nothing or some perverse pleasure. Empathetic concern, which can include sympathy, outrage, remorse, anger, guilt and disbelief, can lead to denial or appropriate action to help, save, protect and defend by direct action.

While the print and TV media increasingly limit public exposure to extreme human suffering, there are even greater limits imposed, at least in America, on showing documented cruelties and suffering of animals. Ironically, some newspapers —1474693_10202436592133870_578596781_n including my local edition — have no qualms publishing photographs of a 12-year-old girl with a deer she had shot and a wildlife biology student grinning with a wolf he had shot draped around his shoulders. This establishes a culturally accepted norm, but images of animal suffering and cruelty — of animals in traps, in factory livestock and fur farms, puppy mills and slaughterhouses — are rarely shown by the mass media. We should ask why, and who is protecting whom.

Censorship of animal cruelty and suffering by the mass media parallels the atrocious record of state and federal law enforcement agencies of anti-cruelty laws. Janelle Dixon, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Animal Humane Society, recently reported how her organization spent $225,000 caring for dogs from a puppy mill, while the operator of this commercial dog breeding operation received a charge of a year’s probation, a 90-day suspended jail sentence and a $50 fine.

Clearly, America must wipe its mirror clean when it comes to animal and human suffering caused by how, as a culture, we choose to do our business. And the media must begin to act responsibly rather than entertain, distract and continue to promote consumerism and biased information.

Action Alert: Urge Long Island to Halt Deer Massacre

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Urge Long Island to Halt Deer Massacre!

cute deer

According to news sources, the Long Island Farm Bureau intends to contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to kill deer in local municipalities by using sharpshooters or by using netting to catch them so that they can be slaughtered, apparently in hopes of controlling the deer population. Animals who are shot often do not die outright. Wounded deer commonly “disappear,” only to succumb unseen to their injuries or to die from extreme stress or in attacks by other animals. And netting is a terrifying ordeal for these easily frightened prey animals, who thrash frantically when ensnared, often harming themselves in the process, and then endure rough handling before finally being killed.
Deer are beneficial to ecosystems because they distribute key nutrients. Even if population control is insisted upon, there is no need for lethal measures when effective, humane methods exist. Please politely urge the Long Island Farm Bureau to halt this cruel initiative—and then forward this alert widely!

Take Action Here: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5221