Wildlife Callers

Judge Donald Molloy, a Clinton appointee, said Thursday that he ruled specifically on the law, stating: 

“The Endangered Species Act does not allow the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list only part of a ‘species’ as endangered, or to protect a listed distinct population segment only in part as the Final Rule here does” 

Grey Wolf - US Fish and Wildlife Service

The Idaho Fish and Game Deputy Director reacted quickly to the action by the Federal Government, stating  “We’re frustrated; we’re angry; we’re disappointed.”  “We’ve played by the rules, but his decision allows procedural technicalities to overcome sound science and common sense.”  Governor Butch Otter and his Democratic opponent, Keith Allred, both echoed that sentiment, saying the State of Idaho should have the right to manage it’s wolf population.  

With the current Obama administration seeking a much larger footprint for the federal government, that might be asking a lot. 

Read more here: Idaho Statesman Article  

There were quick calls for an appeal by Gov. Butch Otter who sees the originally assumed numbers of wolves needed for “population sustainability” being conveniently increaseed by radical environmental groups.  In our last blog post on Idaho wolf hunting we feared that continuous efforts with lawsuits could achieve this setback.  However, we at Wildlife Callers, remain confident that the need for Idaho, Montana, and other states, to manage wolves on locally based field science and declining populations of elk, deer, moose, and other prey mammals will eventually win out in the court system.  We’ll keep you informed of this court case as it proceeds.  

We are also keenly aware of the millions of private and taxpayer dollars being spent to keep the wolves from being de-listed and keep them completely untouchable.  But, how small must the ungulate herds get before special interest groups claiming to care about the environment actually allow hunters to balance the wolf population against the deer, elk, and moose populations? 

A Shiras Moose tag in Idaho is already a “once in a lifetime” tag–on par with hunting a Bighorn Sheep in Arizona (currently being eaten to extinction by cougars with the help of “environmentalists”).  The “environmentalists” keep telling us that the gray wolf is a national treasure–we contend the Shiras moose population in the US is too.  Why must one be completely decimated so the other’s population numbers can satisfy an unscientific good feeling about wolves grounded in raw emotion and anti-hunting sentiment? 

For a good article about large wolf populations in the US and Canada (wolves ignore borders), wolf control efforts in Canada, funding for the wolf introduction program, impact to the Yellowstone elk herd, and more click here:  Has The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Become A Rogue Agency? 

Anti-Hunting Ideology… 

What’s very interesting is that when reading an article that’s anti-hunting and pro-wolf, the concerned “environmentalist” almost always makes mention that hunters “only” want to lower the wolf populations so they can continue to hunt elk and deer.  As if that is somehow a bad thing.  The truth is, they are anti-hunters and do think it’s a bad thing.  Given the option, they’d much rather see gray wolves hunt elk and moose to near extinction than to ever see a trophy bull hanging on your wall.  If hunters are free to hunt and kill wolves then the wolves aren’t killing trophy game animals.  

Remember, to an anti-hunter a wolf killing a 6×6 bull elk is beautiful nature and a hunter killing that same bull is premeditated murder.  It’s all part and parcel of an illogical, but well coordinated anti-hunting campaign in our schools (kids are a huge target audience), in our courts, and more and more inside our state and federal game agencies.  

What’s even more interesting is the number of death threats we receive from anti-hunters who read our blog.  Some of them will post a visceral hate for hunting, “animal murder”, guns, and “rednecks” in the same flowing and profane sentence and then follow up with statement that they’d like to “find us in their crosshairs and shoot us in the f#$@#ng head!”  

Irony so thick you could cut it with a Buck knife!

The silver lining… 

Nothing has changed with Idaho’s Fish and Game rules allowing electronic callers, wolf sounds, and antelope, deer, elk, and moose distress and other vocalizations, for hunting wolves.  All we need now is a court ruling that favors the rights of Montana and Idaho to manage their own wildlife.  

When it’s finally time to go hunting we’ll let you know and help you with an Wildlife Technologies e-caller full of real wolf sounds just for the occasion.   Both the Mighty Atom 15 and Mighty Atom 21 game callers can be outfitted for your wolf hunt in the United States or Canada.

Thank you again for reading.  Subscriptions to this blog are free and comments or questions are welcomed below.

Keep up the good fight and good hunting!

Mark Healy