UPDATE: Talk about Mother Nature speaking.
Courtesy of Newsweek. This month near the town of Salmon, Idaho, Mother Nature made a ground-trembling statement right in the middle of the region's second annual "predator derby." That's right: An earthquake shook the area where people were out gunning for coyotes and wolves on the second day of the controversial three-day event.
The shooting fizzled out soon after. About 30 coyotes were killed, unfortunately, but no wolves. "After the earthquake, it was difficult to call in the animals," said one of the organizers.
The predator derby had already sparked major controversy. After opposition by the Center and supporters, it was banned from local BLM lands; BLM officials reported more than 95,000 complaints about the derby.
The $1,000 set aside for the shooter who killed the most wolves was donated to an area food bank instead.
Once again Idaho is hosting a state permitted wolf and coyote killing contest.
Please join me in boycotting Idaho potatoes as long as they permit such barbaric and inhumane contests. Idaho potatoes generate more than $600,000 in revenue for the state every year. By joining together and demonstrating with our pocketbooks that we care for wildlife, we can make a difference.
The Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous, organized by a group called Idaho for Wildlife, began at sunrise Thursday morning and ends on Sunday, Jan. 4. The hunt is happening on about three million acres of privately owned ranch lands, as well as U.S. Forest Service land.
In late 2014, over 56,000 people petitioned the BLM to cancel the permits for yet another wolf derby. How much longer will bought off officials and ranchers make decisions regarding an ecosystem they do not or choose not to understand. Without wolves and other large predators, ecosystems can go haywire. A 2001 study found that when wolves went extinct in Yellowstone, for example, the moose population ballooned to five times its normal size and demolished woody vegetation where birds nested. As a result, several bird species were eliminated in the park.
Please join me and make a difference for wolves.
