WildlifeCh. 3

Wildlife are animals that have not been domesticated by humans.

…human safety, property, etc.

Some threaten

Some that “endanger moving vehicles”

What are some other examples of wildlife?

Eg

Eat, wear or use

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Kill for sport

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Kill for sport◦ Some imported for canned hunts

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Do labor or entertain people

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Ones humans enjoy watching

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Ones useful in scientific or medical experiments

Wildlife fall into these categories:

Kept as pets

Wildlife fall into these categories:

American Bison nearly extinct in 1800s – now thriving. Then, bison burgers.

Some issues in the debate:

Numerous studies refute this MYTH.

If deer weren’t hunted they would starve.

What do we learn from keeping wild animals in captivity?

Should wild animals be kept in captivity to entertain or educate humans?

Official hunting seasons were set up in the early 1700s and over the next 100 years we saw the emergence of state fish and game departments, license requirements

and hunting restrictions.

Colonists had to fight off animal predators – 1700s

Not always the same

Conservationists Animal Welfarists

Conservationists help wild animals by preserving natural habitat.◦ Many are hunters.◦ Ethical battle continues

today

First federal wildlife law◦ Lacey Act of 1900 (p. 33)

Many funded conservation efforts with hunting fees.

Government Enacts Regulation Laws

State and Federal Laws

…provide strong financial incentives to increase the consumption of wildlife.

Federal Incentives

Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (1937)

Created a fund raised through taxes on the sale of firearms and materials. To qualify for the money, states must use hunting revenues only for state fish and wildlife programs.So if NY is to receive federal funding under this Act, NY

cannot use license fees for any other purpose than administration of En Con’s Fish and Wildlife Division.

New YorkMinimum Hunting Age

Minors under the age of 12 may not obtain a hunting license or hunt wildlife.

Under New York State Environmental Conservation Law (section 11-0523), people are not required to obtain a

permit to trap on their own property, or on the property someone of else who has given them written

permission to trap. 

Trapping on public lands or other private property requires a wildlife control permit, which is obtained from

the Department of Environmental Protection.

Federal Incentives State wildlife agencies are in competition

with each other for federal funds, and the only way a state can raise the ceiling on its potential federal funding is to increase the number of people it licenses to hunt.◦ This raises incentives to increase # of animals

available to hunt.

Government Agencies that Control Wildlife

Federal

Manages

◦ Manages Millions of acres in national wildlife refuges and wetlands Migratory bird conservation National fish hatcheries, resource & field offices Enforces many federal wildlife laws

USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

USFWS works with U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the USDA to monitor shipments of protected plants and animals.

Wildlife Services of the USDA◦ Controls wildlife that can damage agriculture,

property, natural resources and threaten public safety

Other federal agencies

Goals of Government Wildlife Regulation

(1) Protecting human interests(2) Preserving endangered species

Rabies West Nile virus Lyme disease Bovine tuberculosis Chlamydiosis (respiratory disease in tropical

birds) Histoplasmosis (lung disease) Salmonellosis (intestinal illness)

Zoonotic Diseases & Wild Animals

CDC reports 7,258 cases of animal rabies in U.S.◦ Wild animals 93% of

this figure

Rabies

1-1

.5 m

illion p

er y

ear

$1

.1 b

illion in

repairs

Collision with Deer

Wildlife Damage to Livestock - $71 million Primarily a problem in western states = open rangelands

Wildlife problems reported by each state - 2001

Table 3.2

Relocation Poisons Sharpshooters Contraceptives Repellents

◦ Example North Carolina and Canadian Geese

◦ Techniques recommended by Wildlife Service of USDA In choosing a control technique, WS specialists consider the

biological and legal status of the target species and potential nontarget species, local environmental conditions and possible environmental impacts, and the practicality of available control options.

Direct control methods to deal with “nuisance wildlife”

Kinderhook, NYBirds poisoned to curb dairy threat.

What you can do.

Problem Horses

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195) required the protection, management, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on public land. Congress declared that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west; they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where they are presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971

This law states; The Secretary of the Interior shall manage wild free-roaming horses and burros in a manner that is designed to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on public lands. It also states, if an over population exists on a given area of the public lands and action is necessary to remove excess animals, he shall immediately remove excess animals from the range so as to achieve appropriate management levels. Such action shall be taken, in the following order and priority, until all excess animals have been removed so as to restore a thriving natural ecological balance to the range, and to protect the range from the deterioration associated with over-population.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971

Since the passage of the act to 2007 approx. 235,00 wild horses and burros have been adopted to private individuals. Even with this high number of

adoptions, it has been decided that public lands can only sustain 28,849 wild horses and burros in total. At the end of 2003 the wild horse and burro

population on the open range was 37,186.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971

For the year 2005, the Bureau of Land Management's annual budget for the Wild Horse and Burro Program was approximately $40 million dollars. Half of this money was allocated for the care and feeding of the animals in captivity.

Save the Mustangs video

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971

Table 3.4

Fact Sheet

Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Applied to wild horses and burros over ten years old

Not likely adoption candidates

Could be sold at auctions without limitation i.e., slaughter

Click icon to add picture

2004 – Omnibus Appropriations Bill

Bought back 52 of the horses

Save the Mustangs

“Wild Horses Sold by U.S. Agency Sent to Slaughter”

Equine Advocates

Best Summary of this Issue

Protecting Endangered &

Threatened SpeciesTable 3.5

Endangered Species Act

USFWSNational Marine

Fisheries Service

Prohibits any person from

taking a listen species. Taking includes (p. 41)

Penalties There are different degrees of violation with the law. The most punishable

offenses are trafficking, and any act of knowingly "taking" (which includes harming, wounding, or killing) an endangered species.

The penalties for these violations can be a maximum fine of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for one year, or both, and civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, may be assessed. Lists of violations and exact fines are available through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration web-site.

One provision of this law is that no penalty may be imposed if, by a preponderance of the evidence that the act was in self defense. The law also eliminates criminal penalties for accidentally killing listed species during farming and ranching activities.

In addition to fines or imprisonment, a license, permit, or other agreement issued by a Federal Agency that authorized an individual to import or export fish, wildlife, or plants may be revoked, suspended or modified. Any federal hunting or fishing permits that were issued to a person who violates the ESA can be canceled or suspended for up to a year.

Violations

1990s – reintroduced to western U.S. – moved from Canada

2000 – population recovered

Lawsuit

1967 – gray and red wolves endangered

The CITES appendices list thousands of animals from all over the world for which trade is prohibited. Of major concern: Asian and African elephants and primates.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

Wildlife-Related Recreation

Table 3.7

Hunting and fishing rates are important to the USFWS and state agencies because fees collected (licenses, tags, permits) fund wildlife related programs.◦ See Table 3.8.

Participation COUNT$

HuntingFigure 3.9

Where can I go hunting?Federal law allows hunting and fishing on

national wildlife refuges if it is determined that protected wildlife will not be jeopardized.

Non-targeted species such as dogs and cats, rabbits, river otters, geese, ducks, hawks, owls, eagles, bears are captured in these body-gripping traps at –

refuges.

Trapping is used as a control method on federal lands.

Hunting as a wildlife control and conservation method

Canned HuntingLegal in NY

New York - Canned hunts of mammals are legal except that "big game non-native animals" cannot be tied, hobbled, staked or attached to a stationary object or "confined in a box, pen, cage or similar container of 10 or less contiguous acres from which there is no means for such mammal to escape". The animal also cannot be released in front of the person who will be shooting or spearing it. N.Y. Envt. Con. Laws §11-1904(1)(A)(1)-(3). A bill that would have banned canned hunts in New York was passed by the state legislature but was vetoed by then Gov. George Pataki in 2003. 4 subsequent attempts to ban canned hunts in New York have also failed including a bill this past session. This bill would have amended the current law and make it illegal to hunt big game non-native animals that are "in a fenced or other area" from where there is no means of escape. It would have eliminated canned hunts of big game non-native mammals in New York state.

New York

Internet HuntingIllegal in NY

Started in Texas http://live-shot.com/

Wild Animal Commodities

p. 48

Protect the Seals

Valued for hides, bones, & penises in Asia. Federal law allows the possession of captive-bred tigers, but only if this enhances the survival of the species. It is illegal to kill tigers for profit or sell their parts, meat or hide in

interstate commerce. It is not illegal to donate the animals.

GUILTY PLEA

Endangered

ELEPHANTS – to be covered in Entertainment

Oil and blubber

1928 – U.S. banned commercial whaling

1946 International Whale Commission – kind of a self regulation

Northern Seas – 100s of years

But whaling was still allowed for “scientific purposes.”

Some internal battle within IWC as to what the role should be – pro-conservation or pro-whaling

1986 – IWC banned commercial whaling

Sea Shepherd