A proposed ban on regulated beaver trapping in (of all places) “the beaver state” has pitted wildlife officials against animal activists, and science against social discourse. Beavers have long been associated with the early history of Oregon’s settlement, bringing commerce and trade to the region during settlement, and their pelts today still hold value to a determined sector of the state’s citizenry.
Recent coyote conflict highlights coexistence conundrum with charismatic canines
This dichotomy of differing levels with regard for the coyote further polarizes the debate. There’s a lot of people who truly love coyotes, and a lot of people who truly hate ‘em. This makes for quite the balancing act for impartial wildlife professionals when the topics of management, regulated cull, and public safety-driven pest control begin to swirl in the same social cauldron.
Legislation threatens wildlife management; hunting, trapping in New Hampshire
Multiple animal-related bills will be reviewed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives this week, erupting concern and contempt from a wide range of the state’s citizenry, including hunters, farmers, and domestic pet owners. Lawmakers have filed dozens of bills this session focused on wildlife or domesticated animals, ranging from measures to ban the docking of dog tails, to eviscerating the N.H. Fish & Game Department’s hunting policy Commission and targeting hunting contests for deer and coyote.
Popularity Contest: MA hunting contest ban is latest “societal” quagmire
Despite the immense benefits regulated hunting promotes, concern over protections for the natural world become more polarized as society drifts farther and farther away from these subsistence activities. This includes any perceived “perversion” of natural resources - backing both the greater hunting community and wildlife management professionals into a corner with regard to what should or should not be tolerated.