Prosecutors Desk 10-2-11 – Endangered Species

This past month I have had two calls from people in the county concerned about wolves. One was from a rancher up in the Deep Lake area and the other was a county resident over near Orient. Both had seen wolves on their property and both believed there are wolf packs in the area where they live. They asked questions about how they could protect their cattle and themselves from these predators.

Be aware that wolves and grizzly bears are classified as endangered species. Federal law makes it illegal for anyone to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct,” against a listed animal. Federal authorities are serious about enforcement of those laws. The recent prosecution of a Bonner County Idaho man for killing a grizzly is instructive in that regard. Briefly stated, the man shot a grizzly that was climbing into the pen in his yard where his children’s 4H pigs were. The man shot the grizzly from his deck. The State refused to prosecute the case, believing that the man acted in reasonable defense of his property and family, but the federal prosecutor filed a charge.

The charging galvanized the whole community. They auctioned off the pig and raised 20,000 to pay for the defense. The governor wrote a letter urging the government to dismiss. State legislators became involved. Finally, the criminal prosecution was dropped and the man allowed to pay a $1000 fine.

As I understand it, a person is not allowed to kill a listed creature even if they are threatened by the animal. Apparently, if a grizzly is actually attacking a human, you are allowed to protect human life, but simply being threatened by the animal is not enough. The idea is that folks are to leave those animals alone to do what they want, and apparently if they want to eat cattle, horses, goats, sheep and cats and dogs, they must be allowed to do so.

Someone suggested that the answer to the problem of these predators taking domestic animals is to end hunting game hunting, so the predators could feed on the wild game. I guess the reasoning is that then they would leave the cattle alone. I am not sure that is a good idea, but it is a thought. I have heard from hunters that the elk populations have been nearly wiped out by the wolves and bears, but I have also heard WDFW authorities dispute this claim. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, like it usually is.

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