Exposing the Big Game

Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior

Exposing the Big Game

Tag Archives: hound hunting

Thousands of Spanish hunting dogs are killed or abandoned each winter

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By Nicole Crowder June 9

Elegant, regal, and admired for their intense speeds, dogs in the 18th century — primarily greyhounds — were often used as hunting dogs in rural Spain during the winter. But over the centuries and in recent years it has been estimated that over 50,000 dogs have been put down or abandoned in open fields left to die at the end of the hunting season because they are considered too old or slow to hunt again, or too expensive to care for.

Photographer and longtime animal activist Martin Usborne reached his Kickstarter goal toward publishing the forthcoming book “Where Hunting Dogs Rest” (U.S release scheduled for September) on June 4.  In the book, Uborne captures achingly beautiful portraits of hunting dogs rescued from an unfortunate end.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2015/06/09/thousands-of-spanish-hunting-dogs-are-put-down-each-winter-a-new-book-looks-at-the-ones-who-were-spared/

Washington Bills Undermine Advancements for Wildlife

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Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson

Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson

Two new bills seek to underhandedly undermine voter-approved advancements for wildlife that set Washington apart from its anti-wildlife neighbors. Both the hound hunting of cougars and the baiting of black bears were banned by the citizenry of  in Washington, but could once again threaten wildlife if these bills are passed. Please take action on these two Human Alerts:

https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6771&autologin=true&s_src=sh_aa6771

Washington: Protect Cougars from Trophy Hunters

A terrible bill has been introduced that will allow for the expanded hound hunting of cougars. This cruel and unsporting practice was rightfully outlawed by voters in 1996.

Under this proposal, counties can authorize a hound hunt based on public safety complaints of cougar sightings. The existing law already allows for citizens to protect themselves if they feel threatened by a cougar. Despite the fact that seeing a cougar does not constitute a threat and cougar kittens are extremely vulnerable to attacks by packs of dogs, proponents of the bill want to bring back the trophy hunting of cougars with hounds. This program was in place from 2004 until 2011, and resulted in widespread, guided recreational hound hunts offered by hunting clubs throughout eastern Washington.

TAKE ACTION
Please call your state senator today to stop this dangerous proposal. Look up your legislator’s phone number. You can say: “I am a constituent, and I am calling to ask you to please oppose SB 5940.”

After making your call (please do not skip that crucial step!), fill in and submit the form below to send a follow-up message. Legislators receive a lot of email; be sure to edit your message so it stands out.

And:  https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6777&autologin=true&s_src=sh_aa6777

Washington: Protect Bears from Cruel and Unsporting Baiting

Washington’s bears need your help from being shot over bait stations packed with greasy, sugary junk foods. Bear baiting is cruel and unsporting, and Washingtonians rightfully outlawed it in 1996.

A bill has been introduced that would allow any land owner or tenant to place a bait station on their property. Baiting stations, full of high-calorie junk food, lure bears in for an easy kill. While the bill sponsor wants landowners to kill bears who have caused damage to timber plantations and livestock, the truth is baiting attracts all bears. The result will be killing random bears, orphaning new born cubs, and unnecessarily putting people in dangerous proximity to human-food habituated bears.

After hibernation, bears are in a state of starvation because they have not fed for many months. Sadly, mother bears, who wake up with newborn cubs, are drawn to bait stations because they must urgently obtain thousands of calories for the whole family’s survival.

Mother bears may strip bark from trees to obtain sugary sap. While girdling trees has some negative economic consequences for the owners of industrial timber lands, the harm is small and can be mitigated. Likewise, livestock growers can employ many non-lethal solutions to prevent the minuscule threat of predation by bears on their domestic animals

Landowners who bait bears will create unwanted human-bear conflicts. That is because baits are covered in human scents, and bears will learn to associate baits with humans. When that happens, the neighbors of bear baiters may be exposed to human-habituated bears, and they can be dangerous. There is a reason why voters prohibited bear baiting almost 20 years ago.

TAKE ACTION
Please call your state representatives’ offices today, and urge opposition for SHB 1838.. Look up your legislators’ phone numbers. You can say: “I am a constituent, and I am calling to ask you to please oppose SHB 1838.”

After making your call (please do not skip that crucial step!), fill in and submit the form below to send a follow-up message. Legislators receive a lot of email; be sure to edit your message so it stands out.

See sample letters here: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6771&autologin=true&s_src=sh_aa6771

and here: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6777&autologin=true&s_src=sh_aa6777

 

Charges OK’d against hunters accused of videotaping dogs mauling a coyote, hitting another with a truck

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http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/charges_approved_against_hunte.html

   Hunter orders hounds to attack wounded coyoteWARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Hunter in Gogebic County records video of hound dogs attacking a wounded coyote. The original six minute video that was posted on YouTube has since been taken down.This video was edited for time consideration.

By John Barnes | jbarnes1@mlive.com MLive.com
on January 15, 2015 at 6:31 AM, updated January 15, 2015 at 9:05 AM

Criminal charges have been authorized against two Upper Peninsula hunters accused of urging hunting dogs to attack a wounded coyote and videotaping the squealing animal, court records show.

The hunters also were investigated after both allegedly videotaped a wounded coyote deliberately hit by one of the hunters’ truck, an MLive.com Freedom of Information Act request found.

Both incidents were witnessed by one of the men’s 12-year-old son, according to records.

The two men, both from Ironwood, face felony and misdemeanor charges.

coyote attack.jpgTwo men face felony charges for allegedly ordering hunting dogs to attack a wounded coyote. Video of the attack was uploaded to YouTube. Video screen grab.

One hunter, 45, faces one count of killing/torturing animals, a four-year felony. The hunter also faces four misdemeanor counts: general violation of wildlife conservation, two counts of abandonment/cruelty to an animal, and taking game from a vehicle. Penalties range from 90 to 93 days in jail.

The second hunter, 34, also faces one felony count of killing/torturing animals and one misdemeanor count of abandonment/cruelty to an animal.

The hunters have been under investigation for videotaping three hunting dogs mauling a coyote one had shot. They also were being investigated for running down a coyote with a truck, then videotaping the injured animal before killing it.

The allegations are detailed in court records MLive.com obtained in August. The documents detail videotapes that had been uploaded to YouTube by one of the men. They have since been taken down, though copies exist.

In one video uploaded Feb. 20 and titled “Hounds Fight Wounded Yote,” hunting dogs Doc, Duke, and Cooter bound through snow toward the mature coyote. Already shot and wounded, according to the video narrator, the coyote lies nearly motionless in the thigh-high drifts. Its eyes blink.

“This is going to be some live action,” the man says as he aims the video camera. “There he his. There he is. Get him, Doc. Get him. … We’re going to get Cooter in here. He’s a machine.”

High-pitched wails punctuate the wooded silence. The coyote is near death at the end.
The second YouTube video was allegedly taped by one of the hunters after his truck was used to strike the animal in the road, authorities said.

The video, called “Yota kills a Yote,” was found during a search of the videographer’s home on May 12, and was taped in Ironwood Township, records state.

“The coyote was struck with a motor vehicle on purpose and left to lay alive in the road after it was videoed for minutes before killing it,” Conservation Officer Grant Emery wrote in the sworn affidavit.

Later, in a separate document, Emery wrote, “The coyote in the video that had been run over by (the hunter’s) vehicle was lying in the road, still alive, and it takes several minutes of talking and videoing before the animal is killed,” according to court documents.

Eventually, the videographer handed the camera to his friend, who began taping. The first man took the revolver “and dispatched the coyote,” Emery wrote.

The cases were investigated by the law enforcement division of the Department of Natural Resources.

Arraignment of the men could happen as soon as Monday in Gogebic County District Court.

— Email statewide projects coordinator John Barnes at jbarnes1@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.

New WDFW Pick is Former Idaho Gun-Nut

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The following is an open letter by an anonymous reader…

The Fish and Wildlife Commission’s recent choice for the Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is an inappropriate choice for Washington.

The new director is from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which is known for its brutal archaic wildlife management style.  They support many practices, which have been banned here by state initiatives because of the cruelty involved.  These practices include bear baiting, hounding, and the use of steel-jaw traps.  They promote the killing of wolves in all kinds of despicable ways and put little emphasis on protecting endangered species.

The primary mandate for WDFW is to protect, preserve, and perpetuate our state’s wildlife.  The Commission’s choice of director is inconsistent with this mandate and is ill suited for our state.  I fear for the future of our wildlife.

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Hunters 4 wolves shy of Wisconsin kill limit; season could end before dogs are allowed

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DNR: Hunters 4 wolves shy of Wisconsin kill limit; season could end before dogs are allowed

  • Article by: TODD RICHMOND , Associated Press
  • Updated: November 28, 2014

MADISON, Wis. — Hunters are four wolves shy of reaching Wisconsin’s statewide kill limit, raising doubts about whether anyone will be allowed to use dogs to hunt wolves once the gun season ends.

The 2012 Republican-authored law that created Wisconsin’s wolf hunt allows hunters to use dogs to trail and corner wolves on the day after the end of the nine-day gun deer season. That season wraps up Sunday, which means hunters could start deploying their dogs beginning Monday.

But Department of Natural Resources tallies show hunters had killed 146 wolves as of Thursday, just four animals short of the 150-wolf statewide kill limit.

The season will end as soon as they hit that limit or on the last day of February, whichever comes first. If hunters get the last four wolves before Monday, no one will be able to hunt them with dogs and one of the most divisive components of Wisconsin’s wolf hunt would fade away until next year.

Hunters aren’t allowed to let their dogs kill wolves — they can use dogs only to trail and corral them and must use a gun, crossbow or bow and arrow to actually make the kill — but animal rights advocates contend letting dogs chase wolves can lead to bloody confrontations because wolves will turn and fight rather than flee.

A coalition of humane societies tried to sue the DNR in 2012 to force the agency to impose tighter regulations on dog use but the effort failed. The DNR did examine 27 of the 35 wolves killed by hunters using dogs last year and didn’t find any evidence of fights or other illegal practices, but the evaluation was inconclusive since the wolf carcasses had already been skinned when the agency examined them.

Jodi Habush Sinykin, an attorney for the humane societies, didn’t immediately return an email message Friday. Neither did Melissa Smith, organizer of Friends of Wisconsin Wolves, a wolf advocacy group.

Al Lobner, president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, a key advocate for hunting wolves with dogs, didn’t immediately return a telephone message.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/284145811.html

copyrighted wolf in water

Petition: Demand an end to trapping, hunting, and hounding Wisconsin wildlife

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It is vital that you not only sign, but network this petition to summon support from all of your social network. Please help us – they are destroying our innocent family. We the human(e) citizens of the world, CHOOSE A LIVING WORLD and FUNDAMENTAL REFORM OF STATE AGENCIES TO A FIRST TIME DEMOCRACY IN FUNDING AND PARTICIPATION OF THE WILDLIFE LOVING PUBLIC (95% of us disenfranchised). Watch this video for incentive to act: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vWj8tYXdvtI

We the citizens of the world support Wisconsin in strengthening anti-cruelty laws to animals to INCLUDE WILDLIFE, who are as sentient as our cats and dogs. We declare that all wild animals have the right to exist, to not be harmed by humans, and fulfill their natural role in the natural world. We demand that Wisconsin democratize wildlife management by replacing killing license oligarchic funding and control of nature for killing with general public funds tied to fair representation for the humane public ( 90% who do not kill wildlife ) in our Natural Resources Board, staffing and humane education in our schools.

Hunters and trappers have lobbied to exempt wildlife, our natural commonwealth, from anti-cruelty laws. We want our wildlife safe from trapping, hunting, and hounding disruption of fragile ecosystems and a dying planet.

Wildlife creates the web of connection that supports human life. We are warned that ecosystems are at a tipping point of biodiversity collapse – and that we… more

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/655/892/273/?taf_id=12618360&cid=fb_na

 

Maine voters to be asked about bear hunting

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The November ballot will include a measure that would ban the use of bait, dogs or traps in bear hunting.

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

Photo Copyright Jim Robertson

The Associated Press

Maine officials say a November ballot question will ask Maine voters if they oppose three methods of bear hunting except under certain circumstances.

State officials released the ballot language on Thursday. It asks: “Do you want to ban the use of bait, dogs or traps in bear hunting except to protect property, public safety, or for research?”

Supporters of the restrictions passed the threshold months ago necessary to put the initiative on the fall ballot. The vote comes 10 years after Maine voters narrowly rejected a similar ballot initiative.

Opponents of restrictions say the rules would hurt Maine’s tourism and economy. Proponents say baiting bears with human food habituates them to human smells and lessens their instinctive fear of people.

Baiting accounts for 80 percent of the state bear hunt.

Maine voters to be asked about bear hunting

BOYCOTT South Carolina until they Outlaw Bear Baiting

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In order for the legislatures to do something regarding this barbaric act. People who want to visit South Carolina or hold a convention should boycott this state until this is outlawed.

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South Carolina state legislatures
Outlaw Bear Baiting

In order for the legislatures to do something regarding this barbaric act. People who want to visit South Carolina or hold a convention should boycott this state until this is outlawed.

Sign the Petiton: http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-south-carolina-until-they-outlaw-bear-baiting?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign

Please go to our Facebook page hit like and share. Thank you.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/BoycottSouthCarolinaUntilTheyOutlawBearBaiting

URGENT: Speak Out Against Raccoon Torture Event!

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URGENT: Speak Out Against Raccoon Torture Event!

Wildlife Photography Copyright Jim Robertson

Wildlife Photography Copyright Jim Robertson

This Saturday, April 12, Leslie County, Kentucky, is reportedly holding “Coon on a Log” races! These sadistic events (apparently sponsored by the sheriff’s department this year) involve setting frantic dogs loose upon caged raccoons who have been hauled across bodies of water and perched on tiny rafts. Imagine the terror that these wild animals experience as they are snatched from their families, held captive, and then forced to endure this hellish ordeal repeatedly. A spectator at last year’s event says that the dogs are allowed to “bite at” the raccoons, who are sometimes “knocked into the water” and “pulled back up to go another round.” The spectator said that one raccoon was even “bleeding and near death.”

Please urge Leslie County officials to search their hearts and help end this barbaric practice for good. Also ask them to transfer all trapped animals used in this year’s event to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Then please forward this alert far and wide!

Sign petition here: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5415&login=true&utm_campaign=Raccoon%20Torture&utm_source=PETA%20E-Mail&utm_medium=Alert

 

 

 

Action Alert for Raccoons

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URGENT UPDATE! In spite of receiving hundreds of calls in opposition to HB 423, a bill that would allow LIVE raccoons to be trapped and used as bait in hunting field trail competitions, the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee approved this bill. We must fight harder than ever. Committee members obviously had already made up their minds, but your senators may be undecided. They do not want to lose your vote. Your Georgia state senators MUST hear from you! Urge them to vote NO on HB 423! To find your senator’s contact info follow the easy steps below: 1. For your State Senator click: http://votesmart.org/ 2. Type your address or 9 digit zip code in the box and click "Search." (If your address doesn't bring the page up your 9 digit zip code will.) 4. Click "State Legislative." 5. Beneath "State Senate" your senator's name is underlined. Click his/her name. 6. Your senator's email address and phone contact information appears. 7. Call your senator at the capitol number AND the district number and ask him/her to "vote NO on HB 423." 8. The subject line of your email should read: Vote NO on HB 423
URGENT UPDATE! In spite of receiving hundreds of calls in opposition to HB 423, a bill that would allow LIVE raccoons to be trapped and used as bait in hunting …field trail competitions, the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee approved this bill.
We must fight harder than ever. Committee members obviously had already made up their minds, but your senators may be undecided. They do not want to lose your vote. Your Georgia state senators MUST hear from you! Urge them to vote NO on HB 423!
To find your senator’s contact info follow the easy steps below:
1. For your State Senator click: http://votesmart.org/ 2. Type your address or 9 digit zip code in the box and click “Search.” (If your address doesn’t bring the page up your 9 digit zip code will.) 4. Click “State Legislative.” 5. Beneath “State Senate” your senator’s name is underlined. Click his/her name. 6. Your senator’s email address and phone contact information appears. 7. Call your senator at the capitol number AND the district number and ask him/her to “vote NO on HB 423.” 8. The subject line of your email should read: Vote NO on HB 423