|  The hunting of wolves
has now become a national debate. We have also expanded our scope to include
some articles on "hounding" in general, and in other states. Due to
the number of excellent articles and reports we have listed, we have had to
create a second page for all of the links! This page contains links from Dec.
2016 - 2017. Please see WI Wolf Hunt In the
Media, P. 2 (2015 - Nov. 2016) and WI
Wolf Hunt In the Media, P. 3 (2012- 2014) for earlier articles.
Michigan wolf hunting law ruled unconstitutional by appeals
court, Garret Ellison, MLive, 11/23/16. "The appellate ruling in favor
of the citizen group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected (KMWP), which challenged
the state's authority to hunt wolves, said the Scientific Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Act, also known as Public Act 281 of 2014, violates the
"title-object clause" of the Michigan constitution."
Bait and switch bites wolf hunting proponents, The Times
Herald editorial, 11/25/16. "Keep Michigan Wolves Protected called [ a
2014 a law allowing the Natural Resources Commission to designate gray wolves
as game animals] as a Trojan horse, with legalizing wolf-hunting “cleverly
hidden” among the law’s meandering provisions. There was nothing
clever about it; everyone knew. Now the court has made explicit the
Legislature’s perfidy."
Wolf-killing plans stir in lame-duck session of Congress,
Wayne Pacelle, A Humane Nation, 11/22/16. "In the lame-duck session of
Congress, there is a big move afoot to eliminate federal protections for wolves
in four states that, for the most part, have a terrible record of caring for
their small populations of that species. If Congress subverts the federal
courts, and selectively removes wolves from the list of threatened and
endangered species in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, it will only
serve to enable people to kill wolves for no good reason. U.S. Senator Tammy
Baldwin, D-Wis., recently came out with a statement urging Congress to strip
federal protections for wolves, even though a series of federal judges have
said that there’s no legitimate legal or scientific basis for delisting.
Advocates of wolf killing have appealed the latest ruling affirming the need
for federal protection, so an end-around the courts amounts to a subversion of
judicial review." (See
ACTION
ALERT: PHONE US SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN ASAP AND TELL HER PLEASE DO NOT DELIST
WOLVES!)
Washington should act on Wisconsin’s wolf problem, US
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin State Farmer, 11/18/16. Due to heavy lobbying by
a vocal minority, Senator Baldwin is calling for an immediate delisting of
wolves from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. This article is
prompting an Action Alert campaign to request WI residents to call her and ask
that she NOT remove federal protection for wolves. (See
ACTION
ALERT: PHONE US SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN ASAP AND TELL HER PLEASE DO NOT DELIST
WOLVES!)
Wydeven: Numbers don’t add up in wolf-hound debate,
Adrian Wydeven, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, 11/12/16. "...Do wolf numbers
correlate with wolves killing hounds? The evidence suggests this might not
necessarily be the case. In 2012, only seven dogs were killed and yet there
were nearly as many wolves in 2012 as there were in 2016 (815 wolves in late
winter 2012).... The elimination of the Class B Bear Permit, which has led to
more hunters baiting and training hounds on the landscape, plus the extensive
baiting period in Wisconsin — about 145 days in Wisconsin vs. a maximum of
31 days in other states — may explain the recent spike in wolf kill on
hounds."
Ballot Box Biology?, David Stalling, Thoughts from the Wild
Side, 10/22/16. The other day, I mistakenly engaged in a public debate with a
fellow hunter. He claimed that a ballot initiative, called I-177 (that would
ban trapping on public lands in Montana) is being backed and pushed by
“out-of-state animal rights extremists” who “are uninformed
about wildlife and are trying to destroy our way of life.” I disagreed,
because, well . . . it’s not true. I know a lot of Montanans whom I
greatly respect – who are informed, knowledgeable wildlife professionals
with legitimate concerns – who helped launch and support this initiative.
"I am not defending the initiative," I told him. "I am defending
the truth." His response: He accused me of being an “out-of-state
animal rights extremists” who is “uninformed about wildlife and
trying to destroy our way of life.”
Hounders manipulate numbers to promote wolf delisting ,
Shirley Clements, Madison.com, 10/14/16.
Far more dogs killed in 2016 bear hunt than previous years,
Steve Verburg, The Journal Times, 10/12/16. Wisconsin’s bear season closed
Tuesday with at least 40 hunting dogs confirmed killed by wolves, far exceeding
the previous record of 23.
Judge: FWC must keep deer-dog hunters off private property,
Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida, 10/10/2016. "Judge Karen Gievers
found that the [Florida state Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission's]
continued permission of the hunt within the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area
in Okaloosa County and Santa Rosa counties is a “nuisance” that has
interfered with the property owners' right to enjoy their land.
My Turn: Beware of the bear-hounding season, Chris
Schadler, Concord Monitor, 10/8/2016. When is a “hunt” really a hunt?
Job interview questions for Tom Tiffany, Lisa MaKarral, The
Northwoods River News, 9/27/2016. Wolf hunting with dogs is a definite issue in
this year's elections.
Support for Wolves, Melissa Smith, Lakeland Times, 9/30/16.
"t's not so much that wolves should remain on the Endangered Species List
for biological reasons for me, although that argument is valid, but certainly
they should remain on the ESA until democracy and transparency exist in both
state and federal wildlife and agricultural agencies. Those howling for
delisting of the wolf in the Western Great Lakes would be better served by
joining efforts to support democracy in wildlife management so that reasonable
compromise could be met on deciding how wolves should be managed. "
Johnson, Feingold fight for upper Wisconsin, Nora G.
Hertel, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, 9/26/16. Scroll down a bit in the article
to see how candidates differ on their views of wolf hunting.
America’s Wildlife Body Count, Richard Conniff, The
New York Times, 9/17/16. "...a study, published this month in the journal
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, under the title “Predator
Control Should Not Be a Shot in the Dark.” Adrian Treves of the University
of Wisconsin and his co-authors set out to answer a seemingly simple question:
Does the practice of predator control to protect our livestock actually work?
... they conducted randomized controlled trials and took precautions to avoid
bias. Each found that nonlethal methods (like guard dogs, fences and warning
flags) could be effective at deterring predators."
-
Predator control should not be a shot in the dark, Adrian
Treves, Miha Krofel, Jeannine MacManus; Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment, 9/1/16. Study referenced in above article. "Livestock owners
traditionally use various non-lethal and lethal methods to protect their
domestic animals from wild predators. However, many of these methods are
implemented without first considering experimental evidence of their
effectiveness in mitigating predation-related threats or avoiding ecological
degradation. To inform future policy and research on predators, we
systematically evaluated evidence for interventions against carnivore (canid,
felid, and ursid) predation on livestock in North American and European farms.
We also reviewed a selection of tests from other continents to help assess the
global generality of our findings. Twelve published tests – representing
five non-lethal methods and 7 lethal methods – met the accepted standard
of scientific inference (random assignment or quasi-experimental case-control)
without bias in sampling, treatment, measurement, or reporting."
Hunting Group
Funneled $4,200 to Sponsors of Pro-Wolf Hunt Event, Wisconsin Democracy
Campaign, 9/13/16. " Two GOP lawmakers who organized a pro-wolf hunting
event received about $4,200 in campaign contributions that were funneled
through a group that supports wolf hunting. The event, dubbed the Great Lakes
Wolf Summit set for Thursday in Cumberland, was set up by Sen. Tom Tiffany, of
Hazelhurst, and Rep. Adam Jarchow, of Balsam Lake. They’re trying to
attract farmers, hunters and politicians from Wisconsin, Minnesota and
Michigan, which lost much of their state authority to regulate wolf populations
after a federal judge’s decision in December 2014."
Bear hunting to bring out monitors, Paul A. Smith,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/11/16. "As Wisconsin nears the start of the
season for bear hunting with dogs, an animal protection group is planning to
document hunting activity in the Northwoods, setting the stage for a test of
the state's new hunter harassment law."
Stop payouts to bear hunters for dead dogs, Wisconsin State
Journal editorial. 9/9/16. "The state shouldn’t pay hunters who lose
hounds to wolves after disregarding rules and the DNR’s advice. The
Legislature should stop the offensive payouts to a minority of bear hunters who
don’t deserve compensation for risky behavior."
The Big Business of Bear Baiting in Wisconsin, Rod
Coronado, Wolf Patrol, 9/7/16. "According to the most recent survey in
2014, Wisconsin bear hunters dumped an estimated 4,639,700 gallons of bear bait
in over 82,340 bait sites, much of it on public lands. . . . Anyone
unaccustomed to bear hunting “tactics” in Wisconsin would be forgiven
for believing that such dangerous practices are highly regulated by any
governing wildlife agency, such as the case in Minnesota and Michigan, where
bear baiting is only allowed a few weeks before hunting season and baiters are
required to register their bait sites with local wardens. Such is not the case
in Wisconsin, where the Department of Natural Resources allows hunters to dump
as much food as they want in the forests, beginning in mid-April until the end
of bear season in mid-October. Registration of sites? Not required in
Wisconsin."
The Great Lakes Wolf Plummet, Rod Coronado, Wolf Patrol,
9/4/16. "Don’t ever believe wolves are protected just because a
lawyer or judge said so. In Wisconsin, bear hunting practices such as baiting
and hounding (most of it on public lands) has created a major conflict with
wolves. Not only are bear hunting hounds routinely invading rendezvous areas
and den sites and fighting to the death, but these dogs’ owners also have
a vendetta against wolves, even though they are paid up to $2,500.00 for their
loss from the state’s Endangered Species Fund."
Wisconsin wolves attack hunting hounds, GoHunt.com, a
hunters' publication, 8/31/16. "But why are there suddenly so many dogs
[killed by wolves]? Because of the “growing popularity of training hound
dogs to chase bears during summer months,” says WDNR large carnivore
specialist David MacFarland, who adds that there are plenty of WDNR maps that
hunters can obtain to see where wolves are most active in order to avoid the
animals. But here’s where it gets a little weird: In Wisconsin, it’s
not illegal to run dogs through wolf-infested areas. In fact, in 2014, the
required license for running dogs before hunting season even begins was
eliminated, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. And the extra kicker?
There is a state law that actually pays hunters $2,500 for each dog killed by a
wolf no matter what – even if the hunter didn’t follow restrictions
or laws. While no one wants to lose a dog, this seems like an incredibly odd
law for a state riddled with wolves." Please also read the comments, which
are even more interesting than the article. Ethical WI hunters weigh in on what
some view as excessive bear-baiting, and on hound hunting in general.
The Case for Mass Slaughter of Predators Just Got Weaker,
By Jani Actman, NationalGeographic.com, 9/1/16. "A new study published
Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment found
that there's little scientific evidence that killing predators actually
accomplishes the goal of protecting livestock."
Causes unclear as wolves kill a record number of hunting
hounds, Steve Verberg, Wisconsin State Journal, 8/31/16. "Research
suggests that the number of hounds killed by wolves here is higher than
elsewhere because Wisconsin law allows bear baiting for a much longer period
— about 145 days each year compared to a maximum of 30 days
elsewhere."
George Wuerthner: Killing wolves not the solution, George
Wuerthner, The Spokesman- Review, 8/28/16. "The Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife has ordered the killing of the Profanity Peak wolf pack in
northeast Washington. Six wolves had been killed as of Friday. The kill order
is the result of ongoing depredations of domestic cattle that are being grazed
on national forest lands. And it is emblematic of what is wrong with our
wildlife policies, especially with regard to public lands."
Wolf attacks on cattle and hunting dogs rise, Steve
Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal, 8/25/16. Two state lawmakers say the
situation is intolerable, and they are staging a “wolf summit” next
month to urge Congress to remove the species from the endangered list so that
hunting and trapping can resume. Conservationists say these lawmakers are
grandstanding for a few hunters who want to kill wolves as trophies, and for an
agriculture lobby seeking more taxpayer subsidies. Interesting article; the
statistics at the end are worth reading.
Loose the hounds: Following bear hounds in northern
Wisconsin, Dale Bowman, Chicago Sun Times, 8/22/16. A reporter "tags
along" on training for bear hunting with true family of hunters, including
a teen- aged daughter. Very good detailed description of training and hunting
with hounds.
18 Bear Hounds Killed by Wolves in Wisconsin’s Summer
Training Season, Rod Coronado, Wolf Patrol, 8/21/16. "Summer 2016 is
quickly becoming the deadliest on record for bear hunting hounds killed by
wolves in northern Wisconsin, where a July training season means regular
clashes with wolf packs traveling to summer rendezvous areas with new pups.
Wisconsin is the only state in the country to allow early hound training and
bear baiting, despite the loosely regulated practice leading to an increasing
number of bear hound deaths each year. While reasonable efforts are made to
prevent livestock depredations in Wisconsin, the legal practice of training
bear hounds to chase bears (which begins every July 1st) has led to an
increased number of violent encounters between federally protected gray wolves
and bear hunting hounds."
Keep Public Lands Public — And The Wildlife They
Protect!, Dan Ashe, Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, The
Huffington Post, 3 August 2016. "Woody Guthrie captured something
essential about our nation when he penned the classic American song, “This
Land is Your Land” more than 75 years ago. He understood that one of
America’s best ideas - and one of our defining values - was the decision
to set aside some of our most wildlife-rich lands and waters for permanent
protection for the benefit of all Americans. Sadly, as it was in Woody’s
day, this treasured American value is under assault."
End hounding and payments for killed hounds, Paul Collins,
The Cap Times, 28 July 2016. "Hounders and their lobbyists hold an
inexplicable amount of influence with the Wisconsin DNR and state leaders. Each
year hounders in Wisconsin release thousands of bloodthirsty dogs onto public
lands to be pitted against other species with no permit requirement and zero
enforcement. Inevitably several hounds get into fights and are killed by
wolves."
Why These Rare Species Are Targeted by the GOP, Brian Clark
Howard, National Geographic, 19 July 2016. "The greater sage-grouse,
lesser prairie-chicken, and gray wolf are all featured in the party's new
platform, being discussed at the convention in Ohio. . . .The main objection to
species conservation is that it might cost money in the short term and limit
property rights."
Local view: Evidence supports protections for gray wolves,
Nancy Warren, Duluth News Tribune, 19 July 2016.
Despite sheep kills, farmer not anti-wolf, Karen Madden,
USA Today Nework- Wisconsin, 13 July 2016. The owner of seven sheep killed by a
pack of wolves earlier this month said he's exploring ways to protect his flock
from further attacks. Bryan Jones said he's not angry about the wolves'
presence in the state and fears killing a wolf will only divide the pack and
create more problems. "We need to find ways to co-exist," Jones said.
Wolf delisting lawsuit against Oregon reinstated, WTVZ.com,
5 July 2016. "The Oregon Court of Appeals has decided to reconsider a
lawsuit against the state that was dismissed in April over its decision last
year to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. The decision
Tuesday means environmentalists will have another chance to argue for a
judicial review of the delisting decision, which they say was premature. They
may also challenge the validity of House Bill 4040, the controversial new law
that prompted the court to toss the case."
Reader's View: Don’t let wolf recovery be used to weaken
protections, Melissa Tedrowe, Duluth News Tribune, 30 June 2016. "I am
encouraged by reports that wolves in Wisconsin are finally starting to make a
recovery after nearly being wiped out in the Great Lakes region (“Wis.
wolf population hits record,” June 17). What’s not so encouraging,
though, is that some officials are hellbent on using this cause for celebration
to call to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves and return
wolves to state control so they can once again be hunted or trapped for
trophies ....Wolf conservation yields enormous benefits to ecosystem health and
increases biological diversity. It would be a grave mistake to heed this call
to remove Endangered Species Act protections from wolves simply based on the
species reaching a certain number, with no other considerations. Are we
actually asking for history to repeat itself?"
USDA Experiments With New Tool To Deter Wolves: Foxlights
Latest Method To Keep Wolves Away From Livestock, Danielle Kaeding,
Wisconsin Public Radio, 22 June 2016. "Wildlife officials in Wisconsin are
experimenting with a new tool called Foxlights to help farmers and producers
keep wolves away from livestock. They were invented by an Australian sheep
farmer to keep away foxes. Rachel Tilseth is founder of the advocacy website
Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin and a distributor of the lights. Tilseth
sold 25 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture APHIS-Wildlife Services in
northern Wisconsin and said they deter wolves from coming near livestock."
Walker Calls For Resuming Wolf Hunting In Wisconsin, Rich
Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio, 20 June 2016. "Gov. Scott Walker says he's
hopeful a federal judge will allow hunters to begin thinning a growing wolf
population in Wisconsin. A Department of Natural Resources winter survey found
nearly 900 wolves concentrated in northern and west-central Wisconsin. That
record-high number is an increase of 16 percent compared to last year. Walker
expressed frustration that Wisconsin's annual wolf hunt, begun in 2012, is on
hold because a federal judge relisted the gray wolf as an endangered species in
late 2014." Also see the Comments section of this article for some
interesting perspectives.
State's Wolf Population Reaches Record High , Chuck
Quirmbach, Wisconsin Public Radio, 16 June 2016. "The state Department of
Natural Resources says the state's wolf population has reached a record high in
Wisconsin. Between 866 and 897 wolves are roaming the state, a 16-percent
increase from last year and record high number since state surveys began
decades ago, according to a DNR survey conducted last winter and released
Thursday. The DNR's Dave MacFarland says the gain shows the health of the wolf
population and that the lack of a hunting and trapping season the last two
years may also be playing a role."
Wisconsin's wolf population highest ever, with nearly 900 ,
Todd Richmond, AP, Star Tribune, 16 June 2016. "Figures from the [WI]
Department of Natural Resources' over-winter monitoring show between 866 and
897 wolves are roaming the state, up 16 percent from last year's count of 746
to 771 animals."
Of wolves, deer, maples and wildflowers, Eric Freedman,
Great Lakes Echo, 16 June 2016. "Grey wolves are good for wildflowers like
the nodding trillium and the Canada mayflower in the Great Lakes region.
They’re also good for young red maples and sugar maples. That’s
because white-tailed deer are bad for both wildflowers and maple saplings. And
wolves are bad for deer. With the resurgence of wolves in the region, smart
deer are learning to keep away from areas with many of the predators, meaning
that wildflowers and young maples there have a better chance of survival,
according to a recent study by scientists from the University of Notre Dame and
the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR)."
Being "Mad About Wildlife" and Redecorating
Nature, Marc Bekoff, PhD, Psychology Today, 5 June 2012. "I'm
constantly being asked about how to survive with the animals into whose homes
we've wantonly trespassed as we incessantly redecorate nature. More and more
people say they want to "return to nature" and live among other
animals, but many decide that actual co-existence comes at too much of a cost
when the animals become "pests." So, the human intruders (and we are
indeed an invasive species) decide how they're going to share space and far too
often the native residents or those who have moved in and lived in a particular
area for years on end - the animals themselves - get the short end of the
stick, so to speak, as they're relocated, trapped, poisoned, or shot...."
Two GOP State Lawmakers Plan Wolf Summit In September, Glen
Moberg, NPR, 10 May 2016. "State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst and State
Rep. Adam Jarchow, R-Balsam Lake, said they want to return wolf management to
the states. Tiffany is calling it the Great Lakes Wolf Summit, a meeting of
interested parties from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota to discuss what he
said is an out-of-control wolf population.... Tiffany said farmers' and
hunters' animals have been hurt by a federal judge's ruling that put the wolves
back on the endangered species list."
Is
hunting really a conservation tool?, Judith Davidoff, Ithmus, 10 May 2016.
The findings of a new study co-authored by a UW-Madison researcher challenge
the conventional wisdom that hunting is an effective tool for the conservation
of predators. It could have implications for Wisconsin’s wolf hunt as well
as wildlife management efforts around the world. . . . Chapron and Treves say
they have conducted the first rigorous, quantitative test of the hypothesis
that poaching — the illegal killing of predators — will decrease if
government agents legally kill, or “cull,” the population. They say
their findings, which studied changes in wolf populations in Wisconsin and
Michigan between 1995 and 2012 - when culling was first banned and then allowed
and banned again, alternating a total of 12 times - showed just the opposite.
“On the contrary, killing increases poaching,” says Treves.
State approves year-round coyote hunt in Michigan, Keith
Metheny, Detroit Free Press, 26 April 2016. "Coyotes can be now be hunted
year-round in Michigan, after approval by the state Natural Resources
Commission. The commission also is allowing nighttime hunting for coyotes and
other species and expanding the types of ammunition hunters can use. . . . But
Scott Slocum, a wildlife advocate and blogger based in White Bear Lake, Minn.,
wrote to the Michigan DNR opposing its consideration of expanding the coyote
season and night hunting. Slocum cites incidents in recent years in Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula where nighttime coyote hunters
mistakenly shot domestic dogs. He also noted the DNR's own assertion that the
hunt will have no overall impact on coyote populations.. . ."This is not a
control measure; this is recreation," he said. "This is allowing
people to have the nighttime shooting recreation that they want."
Walker May Endorse Presidential Candidate Before Signing Wolf
Hunt Law, WSAU radio, 28 March 2016. Assembly Bill 700 changes the dates
and the language of the law for wolf hunting and trapping. The new law will set
the annual open season for wolf hunting and trapping from October 15 of each
year in which wolf hunting and trapping is allowed to the first Saturday in
November of each year in which wolf hunting and trapping is allowed. (In our
opinion, this change is to allow more time for the hound hunters to
participate.)
Conflict Misleads Large Carnivore Management and Conservation:
Brown Bears and Wolves in Spain, by Alberto Fernández-Gil, Javier
Naves, Andrés Ordiz, Mario Quevedo, Eloy Revilla, Miguel Delibes; PLOS,
Published March 14, 2016. A new study from Spain echoes recent findings by
Washington State University that lethal control or culling of wolves leads to
an INCREASE in livestock depredation in the following year. They concludes by
urging"...the implementation of better livestock husbandry practices
instead of wolf culling, which is counterproductive from damage-management and
conservation perspectives. Culling of populations of apex predators is
unjustified on scientific grounds; indeed, culling suppress certain
‘apex’ traits, thus altering their role in ecosystems. In addition,
the implementation and outcome of conflict-related management actions on large
carnivores should also be evaluated on ethical grounds."
How killing wolves to protect livestock may backfire, by
Sarah Zielinski, Science News, 2 March 2016. "Ranchers have long killed
wolves to protect their animals, but the study’s results seemed to show
that the practice might not be as productive as they’d like. Now a new
study of wolves in the Italian Alps shows why keeping packs together could be a
good move for ranchers."
Effects of Wolf Mortality on Livestock Depredations, Robert
B. Wielgus, Kaylie A. Peebles; PLOS Published: December 3, 2014.
Wolf cull backfires as wild canines feast on farm animals,
The Conversation, 3 Dec 14. As a livestock farmer in wolf country, it would be
reasonable to assume that killing more predators would result in fewer attacks
on your animals. However, a new study by Washington State University has turned
this assumption on its head by discovering the opposite: the more wolves that
are killed (up to a threshold of 25% of the population), the more the remainder
preyed on local sheep and cows. Why is this?
Hunting bills would strip endangered status from Great Lakes
wolves, Garret Ellison, M-Live, 1 March 2016.
Congress sportsman bill tackles wolves, lead bullets,
access, Rich Landers, The Spokesman Review, 26 February 2016. H.R. 2406,
the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2015,
was approved, 242-161, and now goes to the Senate. (Text of bill here.) In brief, HR 2406 would expand vehicle
access to hunting and fishing areas on public lands, extend protections for the
use of lead bullets in hunting and strip wolves of federal protections in four
states. The bill also would let hunters import 41 polar bear carcasses shot in
Canada before they were declared threatened in 2008 and allow limited imports
of ivory from African elephants.
Pamlico bear hunting issue pits economic boost versus dog
safety, Charlie Hall, New Bern NC Sun Journal, 25 February 2016. Very
interesting article. The NC county has a ban on bear hounding, but a
commissioner, who is a hunter, wants to have the ban lifted -- specifically, on
parts of the county where his hunting club leases land. Apparently, there is
HUGE opposition to lifting the ban, and so far, the representatives on a state
and local level have listened to their constituency.
Timmons: Protect property owners from trespassing hunters,
Raymond Timmons, The State, 29 February 2016. Some hunters routinely ignore SC
law that prohibits running their dogs onto others’ property without
permission. Property owners often don’t complain, for fear of retaliation
from armed groups of poachers. Legislature should prohibit using dogs on small
tracts of land, let resource officers issue tickets without complaints.
Amendment to dog-hunting bill pleases landowners, Pat
Robertson, South Carolina Sportsman, 17 February 2016. Legislation includes
penalty for removing tracking collars, requires hunter contact information on
hunting-dog collars.
Coyote hunter shoots two Wisconsin dogs at close range, both
pets killed, Examiner.com, 1 February 2016.
Political Predator - Dogs of War, video by Friends of the
Wisconsin Wolf, taking a closer look at the practice of using hounds to hunt
wolves. CAUTION: SOME GRAPHIC CONTENT. 29 December 2015.
2015 Report Released: Best & Worst Animal Protection Laws
by State — Ranked #1 – #50, Animal Legal Defense League, 16
December 2015. "The Rankings are based on a comprehensive review of each
jurisdiction’s animal protection laws including over 4,000 pages of
statutes. This is the longest-running and most authoritative report of its
kind, and tracks which states are taking animal protection seriously."
NOTE: Wisconsin ranks #44.
You can download the entire report here.
Making Animal Protection a Political Issue, Karen Dawn, The
Progressive, 16 December 2015. "In agriculture, entertainment, and in the
field of research, we see animals being treated in ways that are unconscionable
to most people, but which are nevertheless legal....But most politicians seem
to put almost anything before animal welfare."
Wolf provision left out of massive congressional budget bill
Steve Karnowski, Associated Press, Dec 16, 2015. A proposal that would
have taken gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region and Wyoming off the
endangered list did not make it into a massive year-end congressional tax and
spending package, an omission that surprised its backers but was welcomed
Wednesday by groups that support maintaining federal protections for the
predators....Peterson said budget negotiators dropped the provision from the
final bill, which was unveiled late Tuesday, because the White House had
threatened a veto if the bill contained any changes to the Endangered Species
Act.
Did wolves help restore trees to Yellowstone? Kate Tobin,
PBS NewsHour, September 4, 2015
Lake Co. MI, Chihuahua Mauled, Killed, by Bear Hunting
Hounds, Samantha Radecki, 9 & 10 News, 31 August 2015. "A beloved
Chihuahua -- hunting dogs mauled and killed her right here in her owner's front
yard." The DNR stated that since the hunting dogs were collared, licensed
and let loose on public land, the trainers are not at fault. There was nothing
illegal.
Why Killing Wolves Might Not Save Livestock, Warren
Cornwall, for National Geographic, published December 03, 2014.
20 years of data reveals that Congress doesn't care what you
think, Mansur Gidfar, UpWorthy, May 20, 2015. "Professors Martin
Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University
looked at more than 20 years of data to answer a pretty simple question: Does
the government represent the people?. . . Their study took data from nearly
2,000 public-opinion surveys and compared what the people wanted to what the
government actually did. What they found was extremely unsettling: The opinions
of the bottom 90% of income earners in America has essentially no impact at
all. "
America Says Yes, Congress Says No to Protecting Endangered
Species, By Caeleigh MacNeil, EarthJustice, Tuesday, July 14, 2015.
Why Wolves Need Federal Protection, Founder's Blog- Howling
For Wolves, July 7, 2015. "Recent history has shown that when Federal
protection is removed, it leaves individual states to make policy decisions
regarding wolf management. Unfortunately, those decisions are often made
hastily, without solid, scientifically-based input or understanding of their
possible impacts."
Court upholds conservation act — wolf group lawsuit
dismissed, AP, 16 July 2015. 'The Michigan Court of Claims has upheld a law
empowering an appointed panel to allow hunting of wolves. The state Legislature
approved the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act last August. It gave
the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the authority to classify animals as
game species. The commission already had given wolves that designation, which
led to the state’s first authorized wolf hunt in 2013. The law nullified
two citizen votes last fall that would have prevented wolf hunts. A group
called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected filed suit, saying the law violated the
Michigan Constitution. In a ruling issued Friday, Court of Claims Judge Mark T.
Boonstra disagreed, writing that the group’s suit “fails to state a
claim upon which relief may be granted.” He said the court was not taking
a position on whether wolves should be hunted or not.'
Wolf lawsuit dismissed by Michigan Court of Claims, By
Christie Bleck - For The Daily News, 16 July 2015. "The Michigan Court of
Claims has dismissed a lawsuit by anti-hunting groups challenging the
constitutionality of the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act."
POV: The Gray Wolf, Travel Channel. VIDEO -- Experience
life through the eyes of a gray wolf in Westcliffe, CO.
My Open Letter To President Obama about His Hostile Polices and
Indifference Toward Wildlife, Our Wisconsin, Our Wildlife, 1 July 2015.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rejects Plan to Reclassify
Wolves, Keep Wolf Recovery Going, Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological
Diversity, 30 June 2015.
30 June 2015: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Denies Threatened
Status for Gray Wolf, Rejecting Reasonable Compromise on Contentious Issue.
HSUS
No sign of #wolves impacting big game in WA, Rich Landers
The Spokesman-Review, 26 June 2-15
Politicians against wolves: Update on the legislative assault
against the wolves of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Wyoming, 24 June
2015.
Wisconsin Wolf Season Report 2014-15. David MacFarland and
Jane Wiedenhoeft, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "Of the 154
wolves harvested, trapping with foothold traps accounted for 124 (80.5%), and
30 (19.5%) wolves were harvested by hunters. Of the 30 wolves harvested by
hunters, 6 (3.8%) were hunted with the aid of dogs. Three wolves
were harvested with archery equipment; firearm was the method of harvest for
all other animals (table 3). No wolves were harvested with the use of cable
restraints."
Udall Fights
Inadequate Funding and Unprecedented Poison Pill Riders in Interior &
Environment Appropriations Bill, press release from Sen. Tom Udall, 18 June
2015. "Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies,
voted to oppose the inadequate funding and dangerous poison pill riders on the
subcommittee's Fiscal Year 2016 funding bill. Despite opposition from Udall and
all of the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, the bill was approved and
now moves to the full Senate for consideration....Udall: ‘I cannot stand
by and watch while our nation’s most important environmental laws are
dismantled’"
Wolves
play an important part in the Great Lake ecosystem and it's time to protect
them, Jill Fritz on MLive, 18 June 2015.
WISCONSIN
WOLF UPDATE: Wolf Numbers Up, Livestock Depredations Down, No Hunt this
Fall, Wolf Patrol, 15 June 2015. "Last week, Wolf Patrol attended
Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) public meeting on the
state’s wolf population. . . . .This year’s meeting came with three
items that conservationists should be happy about, first, that despite three
years of sport hunting, gray wolves have continued to expand into suitable
habitat, now numbering an estimated 746 animals. . . . Secondly, last year saw
the lowest incidents of livestock depredations attributed to wolves and WDNR
officials were on hand to credit (at least partially) an increase in the use of
better nonlethal control methods which have been increasingly used more
effectively in Wisconsin. The third item announced by WDNR last week, was that
despite ongoing efforts by WDNR and other states to regain legal control of
gray wolves following the December 2015 re-listing decision, it has been
decided that there will not be a 2015 wolf hunting season. While it might seem
a given that there would not be a hunt after wolves were so recently returned
to endangered species protections, conservationists shouldn’t expect wolf
hunts to be a thing of the past in lieu of numerous legal attempts to
circumvent the Endangered Species Act,
There is much good information in this article,
including details of hounding and the technology used. Wisconsin has more legal
hound hunting activity than any other state in the midwest, allowing hunting
not only for wolves, but also for black bear, raccoon, fox, bobcat and coyote.
Hound hunters may legally use captured fox, coyote and raccoons to train their
dogs.To train bear hounds, hunters can legally chase black bear beginning in
July which is also when wolves and their spring pups are most active and
territorial. Since the hunters are often so far away from their GPS- equipped
hounds, this results in the deaths of dozens of hunting dogs every year. The
DNR can issue alerts about where dogs have been killed, but the hunting laws
can only be changed by legislative act.
Can
We Create a Culture of Wolf Respect? , Rick Lamplugh's Blog, 3 June 2015.
" Federal and state governments in the U.S. also send important—and
deadly—messages. Some states have federally approved wolf management plans
that define protecting wolves as keeping a certain number of wolves alive,
while surplus wolves can be and should be legally killed. Those plans endanger
wolves in two ways. First, the animals die in legal hunts. Second,
government-sanctioned killing influences the intention to poach. If the
government says it’s acceptable to hunt wolves, then citizens figure
it’s also acceptable to poach them.
}"Events in Wisconsin exemplify this. There,
the state killed wolves implicated in livestock attacks, believing that taking
out “bad wolves” would foster greater tolerance for wolves in
general. But a study found the opposite: Wisconsin residents who lived in wolf
areas showed a decline in tolerance and an increase in intention to poach
wolves. Tolerance fell even further after the state’s first legal wolf
hunt."
DNR
division chiefs recommend approving updated wolf plan, John Pepin, Mining
Journal, 4 June 2015. "Regardless of changes in legal status, this updated
management plan acknowledges that wolves in Michigan have surpassed state and
federal population goals for 15 years," the chiefs said. "Further,
and regardless of the federal listing status, the state has and will continue
to have management responsibility for wolves in the state. It is the regulatory
authority over lethal take of wolves that varies with the changing state and
federal status of wolves." Therefore, DNR officials said the ability of
the state to administer some parts of the plan, including the methods used,
will vary depending on the federal and state legal status of the species.
New
Challenges Face Wolves , Wolfwatcher, the NWC Newsletter, June 2015.
Details of the FY 2016 null House Interior/EPA Appropriations Bill rider that
undermines the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and strips gray wolves in the Great
Lakes Region and Wyoming of existing federal protections. Includes list of all
of the riders to the Appropriations Bill and how citizens can take action.
WOLF AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND COEXISTENCE INITIATIVE,
Melissa Smith, 10 June 2015. Melissa Smith of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf,
Jodi Habush Sinykin of Midwest Environmental Advocates, Jon Thundercloud of the
Ho-Chunk Nation, Sandra Skinaway, Tribal Chairwoman of the Sandy Lake Band of
Mississippi Chippewa, and Dr. Adrian Treves of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab,
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies,UW Madison, have partnered to create
and organize a one of its kind conference, July 15th & July 16th, 2015, to
address the need for wildlife stewardship reflective of democratic values, best
available science and Public Trust principles.
APPROPRIATIONS: Jewell, enviros slam 'dreadful' policy riders
in Interior-EPA bill , E & E Daily, 10 June 2015. "A top Obama
administration official joined environmentalists in blasting numerous policy
riders contained in the House fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior
Department and U.S. EPA unveiled yesterday. . . . "They're dreadful, and
they should be eliminated," Jewell told E&E Daily about the policy
riders after a wildfire briefing yesterday at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal
National Wildlife Refuge outside Denver. . . .Along with the sage grouse
provision, the bill would legislatively delist wolves in the Great Lakes and
Wyoming and would limit the government's ability to regulate ivory and the use
of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle."
Rep. McCollum Statement on Interior Appropriations Rider to
Delist Gray Wolves, Rep. Betty McCollum, 9 June 2015. "“This
rider is a tremendous overreach that would interfere in the federal listing of
endangered species. Our committee’s role is to appropriate the necessary
funds to allow the expert staff of scientists and professionals to do their
jobs working to protect endangered species. This bill should not be mandating
which species do or do not require protection. “The judicial branch exists
to provide oversight and review of our nation’s laws, and the idea that
this Republican Appropriations bill would try to circumvent that
constitutionally critical process is wrong."
Wolves may be off endangered species list -- again,
Catharine Richert, MPR Capitol View, 9 June 2015. "Buried in the fiscal
2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill is language that would
effectively require the secretary of the interior to reissue a federal rule
that took gray wolves in the western Great Lakes, which includes Minnesota, off
the list. The bill also stipulates that the action would not be subject to
judicial review."
Wisconsin wolf population growing, but another hunt still in
doubt, Steven Verburg, WIsconsin State Journal, 12 June 2015.
"Wisconsin’s small population of endangered gray wolves grew by about
13 percent in the last year, a state Department of Natural Resources official
said Thursday. The first increase in the estimated population since hunting and
trapping became legal again in 2012 indicates that the population can be
managed without doing permanent harm, said the DNR’s large carnivore
specialist, David MacFarland, but it remains unlikely that another hunt will
take place this fall.
Senators call for action to save Isle Royale wolves,
Detroit Free Press, 29 May 2015. "An extinction of wolves at Isle Royale
could lead to significant, harmful changes to the ecosystem in this remote
park," Senators [Gary Peters, D-Mich; Debbie Stabenow, also D-Mich.; Mazie
Hirono, D-Hawaii; and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M] said in the letter to Jarvis.
"The three remaining wolves may struggle to reproduce, and if they do
produce offspring, the tiny genetic pool will lead to inbreeding and further
complications."
County board ignores facts about wolves, The Daily Globe
(Ironwood, MI), 27 May 2015. "The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners
has chosen to ignore facts by passing two resolutions within the past four
months, containing false statements about wolves.....The May 13th resolution
claims wolves are responsible for 'The deer population decline and our
livestock depreciated [sic].' Severe winters, not wolves, have resulted in
increased deer mortality rates from the Upper Midwest to New England. This
includes states with no wolves: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
Wolf-livestock conflicts have been low. Over the past nine years in Gogebic
County, wolves have been responsible for the death of two calves, one guinea
hen, one dog and one hunting hound pursing game. In the entire U.P. there are
about 900 farms and 50,000 head of cattle. In 2014, wolves were responsible for
26 verified livestock losses. So far, in 2015, there have been only two
livestock losses.... As writer, Christian Bovee, stated, 'We fear things in
proportion to our ignorance of them.'"
Tolerance of wolves in Wisconsin continues to decline, UW
Madison News, 22 May 2015. Those clamoring to shoot, snare, and trap wolves for
sport in the Great Lakes region made a lot of claims about how a public hunting
season would increase social tolerance of this apex predator. A new study in
the the journal Environmental Conservation demonstrates that this is just not
the case.
Wolf Supporters File Suit Challenging Law Intended to
Undermine the Will of Michigan Voters, Keep MI Wolves Protected, 2 April
2015. Voters Keep Michigan Wolves Protected filed a lawsuit in Lansing in the
Michigan Court of Claims to overturn the so-called Scientific Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Act on the grounds that it violates the state’s constitution.
The lawsuit challenges an underhanded legislative effort intended to overturn
the result of two 2014 ballot measures through which Michigan voters soundly
rejected sport hunting of wolves. "The proponents of this misleading
legislation combined several unrelated issues into the law such as funding for
the control of Asian carp and free hunting licenses to members of the active
military,” said Jill Fritz, director of Keep Michigan Wolves Protected.
“It was a cynical and veiled attempt to prevent Michigan voters from
having a say on hunting of wolves and other animals.” Article has a very
good timeline of the wolf hunting situation in Michigan.
MI Senator Gary Peters letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 27 March 2015, urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
downlist gray wolves to threatened status, which will maintain their federal
protection while giving federal and state wildlife managers the flexibility to
address problem wolves in a targeted way.
The experts have already spoken, Britt Ricci, The Post
Crescent, 26 March 2015. "I could not agree more with Rep. Reid Ribble's
claim that we should let the experts make decisions regarding Wisconsin's gray
wolves....Unfortunately, politically entrenched, vocal and powerful hunting,
trapping and livestock groups have been the only forces influencing wolf
management decisions here in Wisconsin. An aggressive, misinformation campaign
has been raging, and wolves continue to face persecutionsupported by false
claims and blatant lies of those who want to eradicate wolves as if they were
vermin. And although these special interest groups and their politicians have
taken the reins to slash wolf populations in the guise of 'conservation,'
nowhere does actual science support the need to kill wolves."
The congressmen afraid of the big bad wolf, Drew Caputo,
Congress Blog, 18 March 2015. "Wolf attacks on humans are exceptionally
rare. In the lower 48 states, there has never been a single recorded human
death from a wolf attack. Not one. Putting Alaska and Canada together, there
were two deaths in the past decade attributed to wolves. Prior to that, a 2002
report by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research found a total of 18 wolf
attacks in North America in the past 100 years. Only six of those attacks
occurred in the U.S.—four in Alaska and two in Minnesota, in most of which
the victims weren’t injured. Two of the attacks in Alaska left the victims
dead of rabies. Both of those happened in the 1940s....
" ... the U.S. Department of Agriculture
found wolves to be responsible for less than one-quarter of one percent of all
cattle loss in 2010 in the lower 48 states and, even when lumped together with
other carnivores, for less than four percent of sheep deaths. A cow or sheep
has a much greater chance of being killed by weather, disease, or feed
additives than by a wolf. Understandably, a few cattle or sheep lost could be a
major event for one livestock owner, so assisting those who do suffer those
losses is appropriate and readily accomplished under existing law. "
Listen to the people; protect wolves, Julie Andrzejewski,
SC Times, 19 March 2015. "According to a DNR survey in 2012, 79 percent of
Minnesotans opposed wolf hunting and trapping. Other 2013 polls indicate a
large majority of Minnesotans and Wisconsinites want wolves to be protected,
oppose trophy recreational wolf hunting, and the use of traps, bait and dogs to
hunt wolves."
Wolf Attacks More Myth Than Reality, Jennifer Viegas,
DIscovery News, 11 March 2015. "From fairy tales to phrases like
"lone-wolf terrorist," wolves are vilified in our culture, and yet a
fact check finds that a person is more likely to be killed by lightning, ATVs,
dogs, cows, and even elevators than by a wolf."
A natural predator is harmed by congressional delisting,
Elizabeth Huntley, JS Online, 7 March 2015.
Let the experts make decisions regarding Wisconsin's gray
wolves, Rep. Reid Ribble, JS Online, 7 March 2015.
Lawmakers Howl for Problem Solving on Wolf Protection,
Michael Markarian, 6 March 2015.
Grijalva, DeFazio Lead 79 Members in Urging Wolf Protections
– Letter Calls on Interior Secretary to Change Course, Use Best
Science, 4 March 2015, Press release.
Public comment sought on draft update of Michigan Wolf
Management Plan, MI DNR press release, 4 March 2015.
Michigan DNR appeals federal court's wolf decision, 27 Feb
2015. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources filed an appeal of a
December 2014 federal district court ruling that returned wolves in Michigan
and Wisconsin to the federal endangered species list and wolves in Minnesota to
federal threatened species status.
VIDEO:
Political
Predator, Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf, 17 February 2015. The film's
subject is how the Wisconsin Wolf Hunt came to be, and has been carried out
until relisting in December of 2014. The wolf is currently in jeopardy again
with two congressional bills. The film goes into great depth regarding the
politicization of the species, including the attack on the Wisconsin Idea, the
UW system and science. Wildlife biologists, educators, sociologists, native
tribal leaders, politicians and farmers are included in this documentary. Even
if you aren't partial to wolves, it's a must see, especially in light of the
current budget proposal. The film is produced by Melissa Smith and directed,
edited and filmed by Trevor Triggs at Duckworks Media.
Pack of Scientists Urges Congress to Leave Wolves, ESA
Alone, Wayne Pacelle, 18 February 2015. "Today, more than 50
world-renowned wildlife biologists and scientists, many of whom have devoted
their entire professional careers toward understanding the social and
biological issues surrounding wolves in North America, sent a letter to
Congress urging members to oppose any efforts to strip federal protections for
wolves in the contiguous 48 states."
Politicians Crying Wolf, Michael Markarian, 17 February
2015.
Guest column: Defend the wolf, and defend the Endangered
Species Act, Mike Lehnert, MLive, 15 February 2015.
Federal Legislation Would Strip ESA Protections for Gray Wolves
, HSUS Press Release, 12 Febraury 2015.
Wisconsin Ag Groups Push Congress to Delist Wolves,
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 01/26/2015. Please note the list of groups who are
asking that wolve hunting be resumed.
-
2014 Wolf Depredation Reporty, WI DNR for numbers and types
of livestock, hunting dogs, pets, etc. killed and injured during the past year.
Remember also that the state pays reparations for livestock and domestic
animals killed by wolves EXCEPT for those hunting dogs hunting/training to hunt
wolves.
Northern Lower Peninsula wolf survey starts Feb. 16 ,
Michigan DNR Press Release, 9 February 2015.
Groups Petition to Reclassify Gray Wolves to Threatened Status
under Endangered Species Act, HSUS Press Release, 27 January 15.
Ribble Bill Would Affect Wolf Protection, Wisconsin State
Farmer, 21 Jan 15: Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble is leading the effort
for legislation, possibly a rider attached to a funding bill, to remove wolves
from the protection of the Endangered Species Act once and for all. If passed,
these laws would allow aggressive state-based population reduction programs
(trapping, hunting, and, in WI, hounding) to resume -- and proposed bills
include the phrase "shall not be subject to judicial review," which
means there would be NO legal recourse!
Study Sheds Light on Top Causes of Deer Mortality, Paul A.
Smith, JS Online, 25 January 2014. Results of a 4-year study by a partnership
of the Department of Natural Resources and University of Wisconsin: The rates
of mortality were: human hunting 43% (higher, if you count 8% poaching),
starvation 9%, coyote 7%, wolf 6% and roadkill 6%.
On Friday, 19 December 2014, Federal District Court
for the District of Columbia handed down a decision returning wolves in the
Great Lakes Region, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, to the
Federal Endangered Species List. You can read
Judge Beryl A. Howell's decision in its entirety here.
Charges
OK'd against MI hunters accused of videotaping dogs mauling a coyote, hitting
another with a truck , John Barnes, Michigan Live, 15 January 2015.
CAUTION: GRAPHIC VIDEO. The hunters have been under investigation for
videotaping three hunting dogs mauling a coyote one had shot. They also were
being investigated for running down a coyote with a truck, then videotaping the
injured animal before killing it. One hunter faces one count of
killing/torturing animals, a four-year felony, as well as four misdemeanor
counts: general violation of wildlife conservation, two counts of
abandonment/cruelty to an animal, and taking game from a vehicle. Penalties
range from 90 to 93 days in jail. The second hunter also faces one felony count
of killing/torturing animals and one misdemeanor count of abandonment/cruelty
to an animal. Both incidents were witnessed by one of the men's 12-year-old
son, according to records.
Video in coyote killing raises questions about ethics and the
future of wolf hunting in Michigan, Mlive, 12 June 2014/ 14 July 2014.
Hunter orders hounds to attack wounded coyote WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Hunter
in Gogebic County records video of hound dogs attacking a wounded coyote. The
original six minute video that was posted on YouTube has since been taken down
as criminal charges are considered. This video was edited for time
consideration. "...Its implications are larger and about to become part of
a national narrative in the debate about wolf hunting – one of
Michigan’s hottest political issues. Anti-hunt groups fear hounding could
become a new method in Michigan's emerging wolf hunt, illegal now for wolves,
but legal for some other game." Interesting, if upsetting, article also
quotes Mike Thorman, legislative leader for the Michigan Hunting Dog
Federation:. 'Many times hunters release the animal that has been tracked. This
is not what we stand for.' He stressed that hound-hunting organizations
strongly opposed using dogs in the recent Michigan wolf hunt."
|
