WDFW put on legal to the Goveror

[Boss .300 winmag]

 

[jackelope]

I'm asking for the USFand W to be brought in they have no one on there staff that's capable of fixing the problem.Also the big horns were put in there to show the above named had mismanaged these animals also.

What makes you say the bighorns were mis-managed? Do you know what happened to the sheep? Judging by your reason for including them in your letter, I think you don't know what happened to them.

[JLS]

I appreciate your passion, but you really should have proof read your letter and made it more clear the very specific items you are addressing.  For example, allowing an animal to suffer is inhumane, not inhuman.  In one paragraph you cite 11 counties and 23 GMUs, and later in the letter it's 11 and 20?

You're going to claim animal cruelty for animals dying of natural causes, but yet we kill elk?  How many hunter kills breach the threshold for being inhumane? 

How have elk and bighorn sheep been wasted?  Any specific examples here?

Why ask for an agency to intervene that doesn't have jurisdiction or management responsibility for the species in question?  I guess the feds might be interested if it involved ducks, or swans, or grizzly bears, but certainly not elk.

When you're writing a letter asking for people's heads, I think it would behoove one to have the most direct and concise document they could create that clearly outlined and substantiated the allegations against those whose head you are asking for.

[JLS]

I'm asking for the USFand W to be brought in they have no one on there staff that's capable of fixing the problem.Also the big horns were put in there to show the above named had mismanaged these animals also.

What makes you say the bighorns were mis-managed? Do you know what happened to the sheep? Judging by your reason for including them in your letter, I think you don't know what happened to them.

Is it mismanagment by WDFW that some bighorns got pneumonia

Happens in every state that has them, some worse than others.

[bbarnes]

I dint think the readers of this forum realize, how serious of a situation this is.Here are some facts from Fridays meeting,with the commissioners.There was a retired scientist from the CDC center for disease contoll, who lives in Skomokawa WA his name was Boom Mora.This gentleman was a wealth of knowledge and has been trying to get the WDFW to conduct a study for the last three months.He had talk to elk ranches in Oregon, and thinks it a fungus that lives in the soils and water.Also he said if it was  that he thought that it was,  its transferable to humans, wildlife  and domestic livestock.When the commissioners ask Nate Pamplin the assistant wildlife program manager, he told the commission that test done over the last two months on calf elk, revealed that they were all infected.He went on to say they had no idea what was causing the hoof rot and was alarmed at the number of elk that were infected.Phil Anderson then addressed the commission, and told them he had knowledge of the problem and had not taken it seriously.He then went on to say it would be a agenda item for the June meeting.After that some of the commissioners ask about health risk to humans and the WDFWs liability for not conducting study's.I urge every hunter to attend the June meeting, in addition myself and Mark Smith will be conducting some town halls in May, stay tuned for dates and times.

[bigtex]

I dint think the readers of this forum realize, how serious of a situation this is.

We know how serious it is. But your letter has several issues with it.

[jackelope]

I'm asking for the USFand W to be brought in they have no one on there staff that's capable of fixing the problem.Also the big horns were put in there to show the above named had mismanaged these animals also.

What makes you say the bighorns were mis-managed? Do you know what happened to the sheep? Judging by your reason for including them in your letter, I think you don't know what happened to them.

Is it mismanagment by WDFW that some bighorns got pneumonia

Happens in every state that has them, some worse than others.

I know what happened to the sheep and why they got the pneumonia. I have a hard time saying any of it had to do with mismanagement of the bighorn sheep. Any issue with sheep, yes. But not the bighorns and not WDFW's fault.

And yes again, I agree with JLS...hopefully next time someone proofreads your letter. It will help to get you taken seriously.

[bobcat]

I think it's good that you're putting some pressure on them to try to deal with the issue. But I also feel it's quite a stretch to place the blame for hoof rot soley on the WDFW. These are wild animals and there's not much that can be done with something like this. I do hope they can figure out the actual cause of it, and only then will we know if there's anything at all that can be done. I think it's probably more of a issue with the quality of their habitat, and possibly the chemicals that timber companies use, as we've discussed many times on here. If it's a bacteria, or fungus, or whatever, that is present in the soil, it's probably always been there, and always will be there. Somehow these elk's immune systmes aren't working properly due to their overall poor health and so the hoof rot is able to take hold, when in the past it couldn't. At least that is my take on it.

[dreamunelk]

Retired CDC scientist?  Are you pronouncing or spelling his name correctly?    I did a quick search and his name does not come up on any research.  Absolute nothing?  Effectively you are making an appeal to authority in you argument.  Unfortunately there is nothing to back up the authority.

Anyone who works in research at a high level will have been published.  If they work for the federal government, with the exception of top secret military stuff, their name will come up associated with relevant material to verify.  It is this way so credibility can be verified.

How do you know they are not testing for bacteria or fungus?   

[bbarnes]

He res the problem i see with the management of our resource. there managing it for the dollars not the resource.Also if anyone has done more reseach about this problem in our state please tell myself or Mark Smith i would love to hear some solutions.Don't kill the messinger here if you can tell me hunting and fishing's better than its ever been i wont put up another post.As far as i could tell there we !0 people that have a right to complain they were the ones at the commission meeting.I believe they were there trying to make a difference, and forcing the people that get paid to manage are resources to manage it not cover up problems.Also some of you are right about the wolfs there spending tons on that program, as a matter of fact there sending four team of WDFW people out to trap and tag these animals next month.The Hoof Rot problem is not natural do a little research you will find out the same.I'm not on this site to argue only to inform hunters of whats going on before theres nothing left.In closing i would like my 12 year old, to have the same opportunity's I've had in my 48 years of life havesting wildlife in our state.

[bbarnes]

Sent you a PM dreamunelk

[PolarBear]

 

[nontypical176]

I don't care who it is, but the people in charge of running this state, the game dept., food dept., health dept. whatever needs to have their arses kicked and be fired.  What has been allowed to happen is unacceptable on so many levels.  I live in the heart of hoof rot country.  6 years ago I never saw a limping elk here, I had in other units but not here, and now its hard to find a single elk with out obviouse problems.

Jerk offs tell me its safe to eat, but I've done some of my own studies on the animals me and my friends have harvested over the last several years and I ain't so sure.  Just this year I examined the hind quarter of the raghorn I got and made some interresting notes; leg was skinnier, didn't rigamortize the same as the rest of the animal, meat on that quarter was pinker and moister.  The bull wasn't noticeably limping or I wouldn't have shot him, due to past experiences with hoof rot I try my best to shoot healthy elk, but they are hard to come by in these parts.  Another bull I got 3 years ago had big bone growths on the hip and leg of the infected quarter.  Even if the hoof rot in that bull could have been cured, those bone growths would be there for life.  These are elk I'm eating or have ate.  One is in my freezer now.

The fact that these elk are just being allowed to suffer is another issue all on its own.  It causes me great pain to watch when the herd gets close to my house so close you can see the pain on their faces.  all of them sometimes up to 30 head and I can't find one not limping.  The fact that the state has done so little to protect us and our wild animals is something we all need to be concerned about.  Not a single study done on a living elk to even see if there is a cure or if maybe they misjudged and we shouldn't be eating them. 

As for hunting the infected herd, well not hunting them would be rediculouse.  Year after year the herd here holds steady numbers.  Its almost amazing that these cows keep on reproducing, but I haven't noticed a drop in the population at all.  Man elk are tough.

Its always been a matter of funding because our tax moneys and license fees should be spent on other garbage.  So sign me up for the HOOF ROT PASS, any body that wants to hunt, view or eat these animals should have to pay extra.  It can go in our windows next to the DISCOVER PASS what a joke.

The people running our state need to be punished, and have one leg hobbled like on the movie misery.  There are many on here that won't agree with how I'm feeling right now, but a dozen elk hobbled past my house this morning and I want people to be held accountable for the fact that we don't really know why yet.

Bbarnes I applaud your efforts and anyone else that is trying to make a difference.   Our state representatives are failing its citizens and without punishment they would be allowed to continue doing nothing.

 

[JLS]

The people running our state need to be punished, and have one leg hobbled like on the movie misery.   

So based on this premise, are people going to be allowed to shoot at us hunters for the stress we inflict upon animals?

[nontypical176]

Sorry about that little part, they probably shouldn't be physically punished I'm just a little upset.