An opinion piece published yesterday in the #BillingsGazette explores #CodyRoberts ' #torture of a young female #wolf in Daniel, #Wyoming. By now, most of you have heard the news or seen the disturbing photos and videos. We remain disgusted by the #cruelty, as does our partner and op-ed author #JeffEwelt.
In his op-ed, Jeff Ewelt, the Executive Director of #ZooMontana and a partner of The #RelistWolves Campaign,
#CodyRoberts must be charged for animal cruelty not only for #justice to be served, but for the precedent that this incident will set.
Urge the Director to support legislative action to ban "wolf/coyote whacking," which is the practice of using #snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to chase down and kill #wolves and #coyotes.
375,000 NATIVE ANIMALS KILLED by One Program in 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's notorious #WildlifeServices program just put out its required tally of #killings for last year: 375,045 native animals. The federal extermination program targets a long list of wild creatures, chiefly at the behest of #agricultural interests in states like #Texas, #Colorado and #Idaho.
According to the report — which almost surely understates the actual numbers —
"I'm horrified by both the sheer number of animals killed and the immense #suffering involved," said Collette Adkins, the Center's carnivore conservation director.
“It’s hard to even imagine the thousands of #coyotes, #beavers and other animals who die agonizing deaths from snares, traps or poisons.”
The reported number of native animals killed in 2023 was similar to the previous three years. These recent numbers reflect a steep decline compared to 2019, when approximately 1.3 million native animals were killed. The red-winged blackbird is an example of a species with fewer individuals intentionally killed by Wildlife Services,
It's mating season for #coyotes, which means they're more likely to be out and about during the day.
With that in mind, the City of #Burlington, Ont., is reminding residents what to do if they encounter one, and how to coyote-proof their properties.
Last week, the city also updated its bylaws to let wildlife management professionals use firearms but the city's head of bylaw says that's not to make it easier to kill coyotes but makes the response require less staffing.
This is a game camera photo taken in northwestern #NewMexico as part of a Wildlands Network study of the effect of solar development on #wildlife movement in the #FourCorners. Biologists know that #badgers and #coyotes sometimes hunt together, but photos capturing the phenomenon are very rare.
The project is funded by the US Department of Energy. My company, Resi, is conducting drone surveys for the project.
Now w/new window right over my desk, I'm discovering even more local #wildlife. I took this pic of 2 #coyotes through the window around 9:30am today. They were utterly unconcerned with me or 3 German Shepherds raging at them from behind a 6ft fence. No surprise that they're here, of course. We hear them ALL the time. But sauntering around this close to the house in middle of the day...!
If you want to see an anonymous "conservationist" talking about #MexicanWolves and their similarity to #Coyotes, here you go. (P.S. Why didn't they name WWP? Weird.)
If you haven’t found your Sunday night rabbit hole yet, take a look at the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification of Folk Tales. It’s like a Dewey decimal system for legends, tall tales, and folklore.
This time of year you can expect to see more #coyotes. Typically, they are nocturnal, but it is not uncommon to see them during the day. Merely seeing one is NOT reason to call the police. However, there are certain behaviors that are cause for alarm.
Specifically:
Coyote carrying a box marked ACME.
Coyote dropping an anvil from a hot air balloon Coyote posting signs such as "Detour" or "Free Bird Seed."
Coyote in possession of giant magnet.
Coyote in possession of a catapult.
Coyote detonating explosives or TNT.
Coyote launching itself with a giant crossbow.
Please contact the police department or animal control if you witness any of the above behaviors.
(It's #HootinTootinTuesday again! Post some jokes or funny memes under this hashtag today, and bring lots of smiles to #Mastodon.)