Predator Management

Hunting critics petition NH Fish and Game with new Coyote regulations

An animal rights group in New Hampshire has petitioned the state’s Fish and Game Department over regulations for the hunting of coyotes in the state. The petition comes just a month and a half after the state’s legislators rejected a House Bill seeking to restrict coyote hunting in the state.

Staten Island's deer: Another modern wildlife management Petri dish

To date, Staten Island has invested $4.1 million into their sterilization project, according to reports released Friday. The city hired wildlife contractors White Buffalo to carry out the project in 2016. It would be the world’s first attempt to curb deer by sterilizing only males, according to media reports. The borough’s herd reached approximately 2,053 individuals in 2017 which amounted to an 8,454% increase in less than a decade.

Cat Fight: Colorado bobcat hunting ban rejected by state officials

Yet another state has been the lucky recipient of the “traveling bobcat circus” that seems to be making its North American Tour. “Cat fights” over bobcat hunting have recently bubbled to the surface in New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana - just to name a few. It now appears we’re on the “West Coast leg” of the show - with California and Colorado facing demands for restrictions from similar players.

New strain of canine distemper confirmed in NH, VT

Pathologists with the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the University of New Hampshire have been working on study of CDV in multiple wildlife species for a few years. The disease may already be having an impact on populations of wild mesocarnivores in New Hampshire and New England, including fox and fisher.

Last year’s rodent “bumper crop” means predator boom this spring

Just as the acorn mast abundance of two years ago drove a rodent explosion last year, I’m confident the expansion in rodent presence will drive a “cyclical boom” in New England’s predatory species this year.