From The Oregonian: Ferrioli to European wolf advocates: Go away, morons!

UPDATE: February 12, 2011

I received a very kind comment from Louise du Toit and I wanted to share it with everyone:

Submitted on 2011/02/12 at 2:16 am

Dear friends,

I want to express my sincere gratitude for your beautiful article concerning my humble efforts to raise more awareness for the suffering wolves of the world. I am truly very fortunate to have such a fantastic circle of beloved and compassionate friends; their immeasurable support is always a great encouragement to me to continue my fights for the well-being of all living creatures with faith and hope. May we always be united in our mission to stand up and speak out for the suffering wolves; may our voices of protest against their persecution be heard around the globe; may we do our utmost best to oppose any injustice to these incredibly wonderful beings.

LONG LIVE THE WOLVES OF THE WORLD!

Louise du Toit

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I received a Facebook message several days ago from Louise Du Toit, a wonderful, talented singer from South Africa, who lives in Greece. Louise care’s deeply about animals and wildlife.  She’d written messages to several Oregon Senators protesting the anti-wolf bill that was introduced by Senator Whitsett, which seeks to strip gray wolves of their ESA protections. The reply Louise received from  Oregon Senator Ted Ferrioli was so rude I almost couldn’t believe what I was reading. Apparently many other people were shocked as well because the story is all over the news. Good. I’m glad the world is finally seeing how wolf advocates are treated, no matter where they live.

Thank you Louise, you’ve brought much-needed publicity to the gray wolves’ plight by caring enough to reach out across the ocean with concern and care. Not only did Senator Ferroli insult you but he insulted the Greek people and all wolf advocates around the world, who are raising their voices in protest. I’m sure he never thought his rude words would become public. You’re a hero for having the courage to share his disdainful message with the world!!

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Ferrioli to European wolf advocates: Go away, morons!

Published: Wednesday, February 09, 2011, 8:24 PM     Updated: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 9:15 AM

By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian

Oregon Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli doesn’t cotton to foreigners offering legislative advice.

When Louise du Toit, a singer from South Africa living in Greece, wrote the John Day Republican asking him to oppose a bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, that would remove wolves from Oregon’s endangered species list, Ferrioli  whipped out this reply:

“Are you kidding?  Why do you expect that input from [European Union] residents make any difference at all to me?  I’ll be supporting Dr. Whitsett’s bill (he is a VETERINARIAN).  By the way, perhaps I should be writing to EU ministers to stop bailing out Greece.  Clearly it has become a haven for morons.

“Go Away!”

Ferrioli’s response enraged wolf advocates from around the U.S. and in Europe who wrote to demand that he apologize. “To think that we, as a nation, have voted such rude and closed minded individuals as yourself into office, is unfortunate,” wrote Susan Williams of Salt Lake City.

Ferrioli, who received a slew of identically written e-mails opposing Whitsett’s bill, isn’t feeling abashed.  He’s confident his largely rural constituents in Eastern Oregon are adamantly against re-introducing wolves.  And his home county, Grant, officially declares itself to be a United Nations-free zone, which gives you a sense of how the locals feel about listening to outsiders.

“I appreciate the fact people may think I live in the global village,” said Ferrioli.  “I do not.”  Furthermore, he said, folks in Europe simply “don’t have a dog in this fight.”

Du Toit, whose songs include “Ode to the Wolves,” said in an e-mail to The Oregonian that she has been “fighting vigorously for the suffering wolf populations of Sweden” and that it was “totally natural to me to stand up for the precious wolves of Oregon.”

Wolves are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, so there’s debate about whether Whitsett’s bill would have any immediate impact. But supporters of the bill say it is part of their effort to halt the spread of wolves, which they say pose a particular menace to livestock.

Du Toit wrote back to Ferrioli that his curt reply made her think that “you feel quite insecure about the strong influence that we as non-U.S. citizens might have.”

And she added this kicker:  “There are NO borders in our fight for endangered species.”

Ferrioli didn’t stop there.

“You are delusional if you believe US elected officials will bow to activist pressure from outside our borders,” he fired back.  “Let your friends, family and fellow Europeans in their thousands write passionate emails.  We will ignore them.”

http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/02/ferrioli_to_european_wolf_advo.html

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I guess he’s not so cocky now.

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Sen. Ted Ferrioli: ‘I offer my sincere apology to the citizens of Greek extraction’

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/ferrioli_to_greeks_i_offer_my.html

Video: Courtesy Louise Du Toit

Photo: kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: Louise Du Toit, Greece, Oregon Wolf Advocate hero, Senator Ferrioli, rude behavior

From New West: Is Gardiner, Montana, the Selma, Alabama, of Wildlife Conservation?

This is a must read article written by Michael Leach on the brutal, heavy-handed treatment Yellowstone’s iconic bison are receiving. We can thank the members of the  Inter-agency Bison Management Plan, including the National Park Service, USDA-Forest Service, USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Montana Department of Livestock and Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. Shame on what you are doing to Yellowstone’s bison!!

Is Gardiner, Montana, the Selma, Alabama, of Wildlife Conservation?

On bigotry and bison management at Yellowstone National Park.

By Michael Leach, Guest Writer, 2-09-11

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/is_gardiner_montana_the_selma_alabama_of_wildlife_conservation/C41/L41

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5/14/09 Montana Department of Livestock chasing baby buffalo with broken leg.

 

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Video: Courtesy Buffalo Field Campaign

Photo: Courtesy of Public-Domain-Image.com

Posted in: Yellowstone’s Wild Free-Roaming Bison

Tags: brutal treatment of bison, bison hazing, bison slaughter, IBMP

Judge Molloy Asks If Reintroduced Wolves Non-Essential, Experimental Status Should Be Dismissed…..

 

UPDATE: Please read Judge Molloy’s “Order To Show Cause”

Notice the Safari Club Is One of the Defendants. That should give you a hint about what the attack on the ESA and wolves is really all about. Think about it.

http://wolves.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/experimental_wolves_molloy_order.pdf

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In a stunning move, Judge Molloy is asking parties in the 10j lawsuit, if  reintroduced wolves experimental, non-essential designation should be vacated?

The 10j rule was a concession to ranchers that allows reintroduced wolves to be killed for livestock depredation. Since 1995 hundreds of wolves have been gunned down by Wildlife Services under the 1oj. In 2008 the 10j rule was re-written to include “prey declines” as a reason to kill wolves, hence a lawsuit was brought challenging those changes.

Idaho is planning on killing wolves in the Lolo zone because they claim wolves are causing  declines in the Lolo elk population. The Lolo elk herd has been declining for decades, way before wolves were reintroduced. But facts are pesky little things and get in the way of dogma. The Lolo kill would be approved under the 1oj but if Judge Molloy vacates it, then the Lolo wolves will be safe.

Judge Molloy is asking if the non-essential, experimental designation for reintroduced wolves still holds true, since they have been breeding with wolves in Northwest Montana. who dispersed on their own from Canada and are not governed by the 10j. At this point there is really no way to tell the two populations apart?

From the Lewiston Tribune Online:

 A federal judge in Montana is asking parties to a lawsuit over gray wolves if the animals should lose their experimental, nonessential designation and revert to a fully endangered or threatened designation. Such a move could torpedo Idaho’s request to kill wolves in the Lolo Zone. The order, issued this afternoon by District Court Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula, Mont., stems from a lawsuit filed in 2008 by environmental groups over new rules issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service making it easier for states to kill wolves for the purpose of protecting deer, elk and moose herds. States like Idaho can petition the federal wildlife agency for permission to kill wolves if they are found to be harming wild ungulate herds. The petitions are allowed under the designation of wolves in Idaho and parts of Montana as an experimental nonessential population.

Wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in 1995 and 1996 under that designation, known as 10(j). To qualify as an experimental population, the wolves must be “wholly separate geographically from nonexperimental populations of the same species.”

Molloy said that was the case at the time of reintroduction. However, he wrote the federal government documented in another lawsuit that wolves in the Northern Rockies are now breeding with wolves from Canada and a portion of Montana where they are not designated as an experimental population.

Molloy issued an eight-page order to show cause asking parties to the case to file briefs showing why the case “should not be dismissed as moot due to the absence of a population meeting the statutory requirements for 10(j) status.”

 If the 10j is vacated, all wolves in the Northern Rockies would be fully protected by the ESA. making it much more difficult to kill them. 

Briefs on both sides are due by February 22, 2o11.

 I’m sure this is going to stir up a firestorm but it’s long overdue. The 10j rule is moot.

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Judge’s ruling could threaten state’s ability to kill wolves

January 28, 2011, 5:43 pm

http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/1626/ 

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Judge’s ruling could put new limits on wolf hunts

Associated Press – January 28, 2011 11:34 PM ET

http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=13931109

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Molloy could enact new limits on killing wolves

Saturday, January 29, 2011 10:00 am 

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_5794df08-2b60-11e0-a805-001cc4c002e0.html

 

Photo: kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: 10(j), Judge Molloy, litigation, gray wolves

Attack On Wolves and ESA Begins AGAIN….

Deja vu. Rep.Rehburg (R-Mt) recently introduced two wolf delisting bills. You thought those bills died with the 111th Congress? Think again. This is the 112th Congress and he’s after wolves again in Montana, Idaho and the rest of the country. There are two versions. One delists all gray wolves from the ESA and the other delists wolves in Montana and Idaho.

Better get your dialing fingers ready and your puter keyboards warmed up because wolf persecution is a full-time job with these people. They want to get their hands on wolves so they can manage/shoot/kill, them to please their elk hunting and ranching buddies.

They’re gearing up for their lost wolf hunting season and can’t waste another minute to strip gray wolves from the ESA.

Are we going to allow  this to  happen or are we going to raise our voices and let Congress know the majority of Americans support wolves? Are we going to allow special interests  to dictate policy based on political whim?

Get ready Wolf Warriors. It’s time to stand for gray wolves, one more time.

Please let these Representatives know how you feel about delisting wolves from the ESA.

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Wolf persecution bill HR 509:

The one-page bill says that the Endangered Species Act shall not apply to gray wolves – across the board.

Co-Sponsors:

Jim Matheson (D-UT)

Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

Mike Ross (D-AR)

Rob Bishop (R-UT)

Leonard Boswell (D-IA)

Dan Boren (D-OK)

Paul Broun (R-GA),

Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)

Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)

Dean Heller (R-NV)

John Kline (R-MN)

Raul Labrador (R-ID)

Mike Simpson (R-ID)

Greg Walden (R-OR)

Don Young (R-AK)

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Wolf Persecution bill HR 510

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit treatment of gray wolves in Idaho and Montana as endangered species, and for other purposes.

Co-Sponsors:

Mike Simpson (R-Idaho)

Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho)

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Both Bills have been referred to the House of Rep Natural Resources Sub-Committee.

From Wolf Warriors:

United States House of Representatives
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
…Phone: (202) 225-2761
Fax: (202) 225-5929
Website: http://naturalresources.house.gov/

Please direct all press inquiries to the Communications Office at: (202) 226-9019

Subcommittee: Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs

140 Cannon House Office Building
(202) 226-0200 | Fax: (202) 225-1542

Harry Burroughs, Staff Director
Bonnie Bruce, Legislative Staff
Dave Whaley, Legislative Staff

US Congressman John C. Fleming, MD (R-LA) Chairperson
Washington
Phone – 202-225-2777
FAX – 202-225-8039
Shreveport, LA
Phone: (318) 798-2254
Fax: (318) 798-2063
eMail – https://fleming.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm

Don Young – (R – Alaska)
Washington DC
Phone – (202) 225-5765
FAX – (202) 225-0425
Anchorage, AK
T (907) 271-5978
F (907) 271-5950
email – https://donyoung.house.gov/Contact/ (scroll down)

Wittman, Rob – (R – VA)
Washington DC
Phone – (202) 225-4261
Fax – (202) 225-4382
Yorktown, VA
Phone: (757) 874-6687
Fax: (757) 874-7164
Email – https://forms.house.gov/wittman/IMA/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Duncan, Jeff (R- SC)
Washington DC
Phone: (202) 225-5301
Fax: (202) 225-3216
Aiken, SC
Phone: (803) 649-5571
Fax: (803) 648-9038
eMail – https://jeffduncan.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

Southerland, Steve (R-FL)
Washington
Phone: (202) 225-5235
Fax: (202) 225-5615
Panama City
840 W. 11th Street, Suite 2250
Panama City, FL 32401
Phone: (850) 785-0812
Fax: (850) 763-3764
eMail – https://southerland.house.gov/contact-me

Bill Flores (R-Texas)
Washington
Phone: (202) 225-6105
Fax: (202) 225-0350
Waco
Phone: (254) 732-0748
Fax: (254) 732-1755
email: https://flores.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

Harris, MD, Andy (R- Maryland)
Washington DC
Phone: (202) 225-5311
Fax: (202) 225-0254
Email: https://harris.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

Jeffrey Landry (R- LA)
Washington
Phone: (202) 225-4031
Fax: (202) 226-3944
Houma
Phone: (985) 879-2300
Fax: (985) 879-2306
Email: https://landry.house.gov/contact-me

Jon Runyan (NJ)
Washington DC
Phone: (202) 225-4765
Fax: (202) 225-0778
Mount Laurel
Phone: (856) 780-6436
Fax: (856) 780-6440
Email: https://runyan.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

DEMOCRATS

Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands)
Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Areas
Washington, D.C.
Phone: 202-225-1790
Fax: 202-225-5517
St. Croix
Phone: 340-778-5900
Fax: 340-778-5111

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congresswoman-Donna-M-Christensen/138013351189?v=info

Bordallo, Madeleine Z. (D – Guam) (and previous Chair)
Washington, D.C. office

Phone (202) 225 1188
Fax(202) 226 0341 fax
eMail – http://www.house.gov/bordallo/contact.shtml

Frank Pallone, Jr. (D- New Jersey)
Washington
Phone: (202) 225-4671
Fax: (202) 225-9665
Central New Jersey
Phone: (732) 249-8892
Monmouth
Phone: (732) 571-1140
(888) 423-1140
Email: http://www.house.gov/pallone/contact.shtml

Dale Kildee (D-Michigan)
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (202) 225-3611
Fax: (202) 225-6393
Toll Free to Michigan Offices: 1-800-662-2685
email: https://kildeeforms.house.gov/contact/contact-form.shtml

Eni Faleomavaega (D -American Samoa)
Washington DC
Phone: (202) 225-8577
Fax: 202-225-8757
American Samoa
phone: (684) 633-1372
Fax: (684) 633-2680
email: faleomavaega@mail.house.gov.

Gregorio C. Sablan (D – Northern Mariana Islands At large)
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (202) 225-2646
Toll Free Phone: (877) 446-3465
Fax: (202) 226-4249
Email: Kilili@mail.house.gov

Betty Sutton (D-Ohio)
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 225-3401
Fax: (202) 225-2266
Akron, OH
Phone: (330) 865-8450
Fax: (330) 865-8470
Email: http://sutton.house.gov/about/emailform.cfm

Pedro Pierluisi (D-Puerto Rico)
Washington, D.C.
Tel: (202) 225-2615
Fax: (202) 225-2154

Email: http://pierluisi.house.gov/english/contact-us

 

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Please contact members of the sub-committee and speak out about tampering with the ESA to remove gray wolves’ protections. This is political expediency pure and simple. Science should trump politics concerning decisions related to endangered wildlife. That’s why the ESA was created to protect wildlife like the wolf, who are subjected to scapegoating and persecution. Don’t allow politicians to dismantle one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation ever  written. Stand up and speak out for wolves!

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Photo: kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: Endangered Species Act, gray wolf/canis lupus

Tags: Attack on the ESA, Congress, persecuting gray wolves

Minds Eye

 

I linger on a thought. Wolves running free

In my mind’s eye I see

Run, run, run from the guns

Run, run, run from the hate

Be swift, hurry, no harm shall come to thee

In my mind’s eye I see..

Nabeki

January 21, 2011

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Video: Running With Wolves In Russia

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Posted in: gray wolf/ canis lupus, Wolf Wars

Tags: Russian wolves running, gray wolf, beautiful wolves

Tango With Wolves….

Video: youtube MereRana

Posted in: gray wolf/canis lupus, biodiversity, wolf wars

Tags: beauty of wolves, meditation, pray to defeat budget wolf slaughter bill

Oregon’s Imnaha Wolf Pack…December 30, 2010

Thought you would enjoy seeing the ODFW video of the Imnaha alpha female and a couple of her 2o1o pups. She looks beautiful.

Apparently the 16 wolf strong Imnaha pack had six pups last spring, not four. as previously thought.  Great to see them looking so healthy.

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Oregon wolf pack has 2 more pups than expected

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013936704_apororegonwolves.html

“Nearly half of Swedish wolf hunt quota met”….

They can’t hide, where can they run from the hunter’s guns? Today is the first day of the Swedish wolf hunt and already half are dead. This is an outrage. Last year they said the wolves were inbred and they needed to cull them. They were going to bring in new wolves to enhance genetic diversity. So what’s their excuse now? Uh-huh!  It’s political.

Shame on the Swedish government for allowing this to go forward. This is a wolf massacre. 6500 hunters chasing around 20 wolves, sounds like blood lust to me!!

Nearly half of Swedish wolf hunt quota met

Photo: Anders Wklund/ScanPix (file)

Sweden’s wolf hunt for the year began on Saturday, with nine wolves out of the allotted annual quota of 20 shot by 1pm, as protesters set off fireworks at a hunting area in Dalarna.

Read the rest of the sad story….http://www.thelocal.se/31448/20110115/.

 

Posted in: Swedish wolves, gray wolf/canis lupus

Tags: wolf tragedy, evils of trophy hunting, Swedish wolf hunt

Atka the Arctic Wolf…

Here are a few videos from the Wolf Conservation Center that star Atka, their ambassador Arctic wolf.  He’s the same ambassador wolf that visited Diane’s sixth graders in New York, last December. He’s a real beauty.

I want to promote a positive wolf day every week, so we can focus on the good things. There is so much bad news, it’s bringing us all down.

I urge people, to send me positive educational wolf videos they may find or create themselves. I’m convinced we need to do more to promote wolf education and focus on the positive. It’s just as important as reporting on the daily barrage of bad wolf news we are subjected to.

So enjoy Atka, he’s a quite wonderful wolf ambassador. Thank you to the Wolf Conservation Center for the amazing work they do educating the public and especially young people about the importance of  wolves!!

Enjoy!!

The Wolf Conservation Center

http://nywolf.org/typo3/index.php

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Photos: Courtesy Wolf Conservation Center

Videos: Courtesy Wolf Conservation Center

Posted in: Wolf Education, gray wolf/canis lupus

Tags: Wolf Conservation Center, Atka the ambassador wolf, positive wolf education, dispelling wolf myths, wolf acceptance

“Energy Healing Wolf”….

This amazing healing video is about a wolf named Apricot. Thank you to wonderful wolf advocate SCWG, for bringing  this to my attention. I’m happy to share this moving video from the Earthfire Institute.

Photo: Courtesy kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: gray wolf, Spiritual

Tags: Apricot the wolf,  Earthfire Institute, healing energy, kindness

Video: Earthfire Institute, wildlife sanctuary & retreat center