Protect The Wolves® believes this has become a Habit for D.O.W Lets clear up a couple minor Details… Ranchers for 1 according to our Conversation with Donny Martorello, are give Wolf Locations by WDFW. so there is no excuse for a Rancher to drop his cows right on top of a Den site. Second, Defenders of Wildlife has no Business at the Stakeholder table, if they continue to DODGE the public’s questions.Defenders of Wildlife is not securing a brighter future for wolves as it claims. It is ensuring the killing can continue.
~Patricia
Our jaws dropped when we read Jamie Rappaport Clark’s blog post on Huffington Post titled “Defenders of Wildlife: Protecting and Recovering Wolves.” Ms. Rappaport is the president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife.
Defenders of Wildlife did not perform their due diligence as an environmental group when it came to protecting the family of 11 wolves known as the Profanity Peak Pack in NE Washington state. They let a repeat offender rancher get away with putting his cattle on pristine, rugged public land right on top of a wolf den, which provoked predation and led to the state authorizing all wolves in the pack be killed. Two wolves were gunned down by helicopters on August 5, four more were killed by August 26, and the remaining are slated for death. This is happening in a state that has barely 90 wolves.
It’s also interesting that in her essay Ms. Rappaport used the phrase “authorized removal” to refer to the killing of the wolves. “Authorized removal” sanitizes the actual killing, but it doesn’t sound as horrific.
The reality of what Defenders of Wildlife is ignoring by talking about how they had no choice but to accept the wolves’ death is plainly stated in the recent Seattle Times cover story, “Profanity Peak wolf pack in state’s gun sights after rancher turns out cattle on den.”
And, the bigger picture of how these crimes against endangered wildlife, our shared public lands, and the public purse are detailed in Brooks’ Fahy’s op-ed in the Seattle Times, “More wolves killed because of the sacred cow at the public trough.”
Defenders of Wildlife is not securing a brighter future for wolves as it claims. It is ensuring the killing can continue.
Note: A few people asked one of us (MB) the following question: If the wolves were going to be killed even without Defenders of Wildlife’s blessing, why did they support it? In another essay called “Defenders of Wildlife and Other Conservation Organizations Support Killing Wolves: Livestock Win” we read, “Among the conservation groups approving the protocol was Defenders of Wildlife. ‘We have met and significantly exceeded that threshold,’ said Shawn Cantrell, northwest director of Defenders of Wildlife. ‘This is for us very sad and disappointing because we really hate to see any cows or any animals killed, [but] we do support the department moving forward at this time,’ he said.”
This essay was written with Brooks Fahy, a wildlife filmmaker and executive director of the national wildlife advocacy organizationPredator Defense.
Source: Defenders of Wildlife = Defenders of Livestock? Why Do They Support Killing Wolves in Washington?
Comments
I cannot believe that the “Defenders of wildlife” are NOT doing their job of protecting our wolves from the lying ranchers!!!….I cannot in good conscience donate another penny to any wildlife organization, who will not do the right thing. Keep the lousey ranchers off of GOVERNMENT PROPERTY!!…plain and simple!!!…what is so hard about this???…The land belongs to the “wild” animals,not the stinking “cows:”!!…The ranchers are letting their herds graze near wolf dens purposely!!!…I say, tell them to go back to their own “Private” land!!….They lie and “bait” the wolves, then scream about cattle being killed!…are you kidding me?…”baiting” is against the law. and grazing on GOVERNMENT PROPERTY IS ALSO!!…..SO, HOW ABOUT THE RANCHERS BEING FINED FOR BEING WHERE THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE!!…WHAT A CONCEPT!!…WATCH OUT, AS A VERY STRONG MOVEMENT IS BEGINNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, AGAINST THE LAWLESSNESS OF THE RANCHER!!…IT IS GOING TO BE VERY LEGITIMATE!!
Hi Arlene,
The only Movement that we have seen from any Advocate, is what we are creating…It is very sad to also see that they “Approve” of Hunting… see here http://protectthewolves.com/suzanne-stone-kued-org/