Idaho Senate Bill 1305, “Live Bait Wolf Kill Bill”….Descent Into Depravity

The Face Of “Live Bait”??????

Here’s the run down on the “Live Bait, Wolf Kill Bill” that was discussed yesterday by the Idaho SENATE RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE. Seriously this is so upsetting to me I can hardly stand to comment on it. It’s  a witch hunt rivaling the Salem Witch hunt.

There has been no vote on this disgusting bill BUT the committee meets again,TODAY,  Wednesday, February 22, 2012 and their could be a vote. We don’t have much time!!

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Friends of the Clearwater

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
Contact: Brett Haverstick (208) 882-9755
              Gary Macfarlane (208) 882-9755
 
Group outraged at Idaho SB 1305-Using “Live-Bait” to kill Grey Wolves

BOISE–Friends of the Clearwater traveled to the state capitol yesterday and attended the Senate Resources and Environment Committee hearing for Senate Bill 1305. More wolves will die if sheep grower and Idaho State Senator Jeff Siddoway’s bill is approved. According to Siddoway, as quoted in the Idaho Statesman, “You can basically go after them [wolves] by any means possible. And when I say get ’em, I mean kill ’em.” Over 280 wolves have been shot, trapped or snared in Idaho since the state’s wolf hunt commenced in August 2011.

The bill would allow ranchers to use ultralight aircraft for tracking and killing wolves, as well as the use of “live-bait” to lure in wolves. Although Siddoway claimed that it was not his intent, the broad language in the bill does not require a livestock owner with a kill-permit to protect the “live-bait”, nor does it outline what the “live-bait” could be. “Some might use dogs as bait,” Siddoway exclaimed.

Wolves are a rare and imperiled species in the lower 48, regardless of federal delisting by Congress and President Obama in a 2011 budget rider. “Despite anti-wolf rhetoric and deliberate distortion of the facts, wolves and other top predators strengthen elk and deer herds and allow damaged riparian systems to recover,” Education & Outreach Director Brett Haverstick explained. “Protections are already in place for livestock owners experiencing depredation problems. No one wants to talk about the fact that less than 1% of livestock depredation in the Northern Rockies is due to wolves though. Nor the fact that domestic sheep herds are wiping out wild bighorn sheep. This bill is also cruel and barbaric.”

According to the Environmental Working Group, the Siddoway Sheep Company received over $900,000.00 in wool and sheep meat subsidies between 1995-2010. Siddoway is an Idaho landowner who grazes his livestock on public lands and holds public grazing permits. He is a past president of the Idaho Woolgrowers, a former Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner, and a current state senator. “Siddoway is no friend to wildlife or public lands,” concluded Haverstick.

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Just want to remind everyone how we got to this awful place.  Senate Democrats and President Obama removed wolves ESA protections in the Northern Rockies last year via budget rider, turning them over to people like Jeff Siddoway. In other words offering wolves up as sacrificial lambs (pun intended) to their enemies.  Mark Bekoff , professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Colorado-Boulder, said it best:

“We killed wolves, we reintroduced wolves, and now they’ve been removed from the Endangered Species Act,” Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Colorado-Boulder, said. “So there’s a real ethical dilemma here. You kill animals and you bring them back and then you kill them again and so it’s a waste of time, a lot of person power and money.”

Proposed Idaho legislation could let ranchers use dogs as live bait to kill wolves

7:05 PM, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=250691

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Meanwhile, Idaho sheep ranchers made lots of cash raising sheep in 2010. In fact 2010 was a banner year and the income from raising sheep was the largest since 1984.  I guess wolves haven’t killed all the sheep in Idaho.  There  are 235,000 sheep in Idaho and the main predator of sheep is the coyote, responsible for 60% of  sheep loss, followed by the domestic dog at 13.35%.  Wolves control coyote numbers. so fewer wolves mean more coyotes.  Of course, common sense and facts don’t have anything to do with the dog and pony show playing out in the Idaho Senate.

“Coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of all deaths, with the next largest being domestic dogs at 13.3%.^[7] Other North American predators of sheep included cougars (5.7%), bobcats (4.9%), eagles (2.8%), bears (3.8%), and foxes (1.9%).^[7] Wolves, ravens, vultures, and other animals together made up the remaining 7.1% of deaths.^[7]”

^{Wikipedia Commons}

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Idaho sheep, lamb growers report healthy revenue

Posted: Monday, October 17, 2011 12:00 am

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho sheep and lamb growers made more money in 2010 than in any year since 1984, the Idaho Department of Agriculture says.

 The agency reports that receipts totaled $22.7 million last year, a 38 percent increase from 2009. Officials tell the Idaho Business Review  that short supplies are driving up prices.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service says the number of sheep and lambs in the state rose 6 percent in 2010 to 235,000, and the American Sheep Industry Association is encouraging sheep ranchers to increase flocks by two ewes per 100 by April 2014.

“We need to fill the traditional market channel to keep American lamb in the largest grocery store chains and in the restaurant chains,” said Clint Krebs, the sheep association’s vice president. “Additionally, we need our wool companies to fill the pipeline for U.S. military use of our wool. Combining the growing ethnic market with the need to keep traditional companies operating means we need to produce more.”

Barry Duelke is a veterinarian in Buhl in south-central Idaho who also has 2,000 sheep. He serves on the board of the Idaho Wool Growers Association.

He said the industry faces challenges with federal range policies, environmental groups concerned about sheep on public land, and an increase in predators.

“We have got an environment community that wants to kill the range industry in this state,” he said.

He also said feed for sheep has become more expensive, and that it’s difficult to find sheepherders who can handle the tough conditions of the job.

“Domestic sheep herders have not been available for a very long time,” Duelke said. “That very definitely has something to do with the attrition rate in the industry.”

READ MORE: http://www.idahopress.com/news/idaho-sheep-lamb-growers-report-healthy-revenue/article_d1e396da-f880-11e0-ad2c-001cc4c03286.html

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CONTACT COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The committee meets Today, Wednesday 22, 2012. Please try to call as many committee members as you can,  I would call the Democrats first, Michelle  Stennett and Elliot Werk. They will  be receptive to your comments. Be polite but let them know what you think of this bill. Also call IDFG, they don’t sound too keen on this bill. 

I suggest writing letters to the editor. Spread the word. This cannot stand!!!! We can’t allow animals to be used as live bait, it’s animal cruelty. The bait animals will be in stark terror IF they’re not killed!! And wolves, what fresh hell are they going to cook up for them next? Does Idaho realize what this is doing to the reputation of the state?

Resources and Environment Committee Members

M, W, F, 1:30 pm, Room WW55
Secretary: Juanita Budell
208-332-1323

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Democrats

Elliot  Werk (D)     E-mail    Additional Information
District 17
6810 Randolph Dr., Boise, 83709
Bus (208) 658-0388
Committees:
Local Government & Taxation
Resources & Environment
Transportation

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Michelle  Stennett (D)     E-mail    Additional Information
Minority Caucus Chair
District 25
P.O. Box 475, Ketchum, 83340
Home (208) 726-8106
Self-employed
Committees:
Commerce & Human Resources
Resources & Environment
State Affairs

Republicans

Monty  J.  Pearce (R)     E-mail    Additional Information
District 9
2001 County Line Rd., New Plymouth, 83655
Home (208) 278-5408
Rancher
Committees:
Resources & Environment – Chair 
Agricultural Affairs
Education

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Jeff  C.  Siddoway (R)     E-mail     Additional Information
District 35
1764 E. 1200 N., Terreton, 83450
Home (208) 663-4585
FAX (208) 663-4428
Rancher
Committees:
Agricultural Affairs – Chair
Local Government & Taxation
Resources & Environment

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Steve  Bair (R)     E-mail  Additional Information
District 28
947 W. 200 S., Blackfoot, 83221
Home (208) 684-5209
FAX (208) 684-5209
Farmer/Investor
Committees:
Resources & Environment – Vice Chair 
Finance

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Dean  L.  Cameron (R)     E-mail     Additional Information
District 26
1101 Ruby Dr., Rupert, 83350
Home (208) 436-5624
Bus (208) 436-4424
FAX (208) 436-3776
Owner, Insurance & Investment Agency
Committees:
Finance – Chair
Commerce & Human Resources
Resources & Environment

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Bert  Brackett (R)     E-mail       Additional Information
District 23
48331 Three Creek Highway, Rogerson, 83302
Home (208) 857-2217
Rancher
Committees:
Transportation – Vice Chair
Finance
Resources & Environment

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Lee  Heider (R)     E-mail    Additional Information
District 24
1631 Richmond Dr., Twin Falls, 83301
Home (208) 734-8864
Contractor/Broker
Committees:
Finance
Health & Welfare
Resources & Environment

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John  Tippets (R)     E-mail    Additional Information
District 31
610 Red Canyon Road, Montpelier, 83254
Home (208) 847-2876
Bus (208) 547-1823
Public Affairs Manager
Committees:
Commerce & Human Resources
Resources & Environment

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IDFG

Virgil Moore: 208-334-3771

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Photo: Chained puppy,  PETA

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Idaho wolves

Tags: S1305,  abomination, Idaho Senate,  Resources and Environment Committee, Jeff Siddoway, wolf persecution, using animals for live bait, depraved, stop the madness, witch hunt