Why is it the predators?

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

With L.S. submission of changes to management policy with the WDFW, I ask why is it always reintroduction of predators?
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I mean, other than antelope (tribal) everything is wolves, grizzly, and now even protecting coyotes?
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How about bringing some caribou to Washington?
Or even buffalo?
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Put some more turkey in western Washington?
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(Not to get side tracked) but, seriously they could trap some surplus from the east side and release them like they do with trout.
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Honestly, it's not about habitat and carrying capacity anymore.
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It's politics and virtue signaling.
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Think if they released a few hundred Merriam's and Rios in the same places they planted the easterns in the 80's anyone would care?
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But, back to original reason for post.
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Why are the salad eaters so interested in protecting the meat eaters?
And not working as hard to bring back the herbivores?

[Mfowl]

The predators will serve their end goal of stopping hunting. No undulates means no hunting seasons. All under the guise of conservation.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

The salads do not want us hunting...................... 

[Gringo31]

Just had a thought....

If/when griz become a bother in Cle Elum, Wenatchee, White Pass, etc.   Do they believe people will give up their firearms just because they're isn't a huntable ungulate population?  Seems like more people would be packing.   

[hunter399]

The relocation of turkeys to the west .
WDFW doesn't want to deal with the conflicts that come with turkeys. Most here on the East side don't like them.
With that said....
Take as many as you want.
You'll play @$!# getting WDFW to bring them over.

Predators and protecting them is the path to no hunting.
Plain and simple.
Part of the let nature take its course wildlife plan.
That all these animal rights places are pitching to the commission and WDFW.

[pianoman9701]

Turkeys have been relocated to the West and they didn't take. It's too wet and not enough of their preferred forage. The transplants have mostly died. With the number of birds in the East, you'd think they spread out their range. But they haven't moved west on their own.

[ghosthunter]

Years ago they wanted to plant turkeys outside of Alger Wa. I went to the public meeting. No one showed up to oppose but a couple folks the first meeting. Those folks convinced the Dept that the meeting was not published well enough so they had a second and a bunch of folks showed up to oppose.

No property owners like turkeys.

Predators serve many purposes for Libs.

Reduce game populations so much that, hunters get bummed on hunting and move away from it.

Reduce seasons so hunters move away from hunting.

Penalize any hunter who harms a Predator . Both legally and through social media.

At the same time attack gun owners, more and more restriction ,make a mine field to own a firearm.

Close ranges for environmental issues and don’t allow new ones.

[baker5150]

There is a decent sized flock of Turkey that roam around the Orcas ferry terminal and up on the hills above it.
Domestic escapee's by the look of them

Sure are mean as hell, I've seen them chase kids off.

[pianoman9701]

There is a decent sized flock of Turkey that roam around the Orcas ferry terminal and up on the hills above it.
Domestic escapee's by the look of them

Sure are mean as hell, I've seen them chase kids off.

Isn't that part of the sun belt or something? Less rain than all around it?

[wadu1]

We had one running around NE Tacoma a couple years ago, until a Yote got it.

[highcountry_hunter]

We had caribou in Washington…they all got eaten by their beloved predators till there was only 1 left. They trapped it and hauled it to Canada.

If you’d like some turkeys feel free to come to the east side and take as many as you want out west. There’s millions, the vast majority of people in Stevens/ferry county hate them. Most people don’t hunt them aside from kids and out of towners.

Bring a stock trailer over, I’m sure we can build some sort of sweet sweet net gun lol


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[bigtex]

If you’d like some turkeys feel free to come to the east side and take as many as you want out west. There’s millions, the vast majority of people in Stevens/ferry county hate them. Most people don’t hunt them aside from kids and out of towners.

Bring a stock trailer over, I’m sure we can build some sort of sweet sweet net gun lol


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And the vast majority of those in Stevens/Ferry who will complain about turkeys won't let you hunt on their property.

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[Washington Wapiti]

If you’d like some turkeys feel free to come to the east side and take as many as you want out west. There’s millions, the vast majority of people in Stevens/ferry county hate them. Most people don’t hunt them aside from kids and out of towners.

Bring a stock trailer over, I’m sure we can build some sort of sweet sweet net gun lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And the vast majority of those in Stevens/Ferry who will complain about turkeys won't let you hunt on their property.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Cougartail]

We had one running around NE Tacoma a couple years ago, until a Yote got it.

Find turkeys and you will find the best coyote hunting. Pro tip for beginning coyote hunters.

You're welcome!

[Washington Wapiti]

What Ghosthunter and others have said about predators is spot on. If you read through Wildlife for All's site - which Koontz is part of the advisory committee - it really tells you all you need to know about them (and other activist groups that some current commissioners are associated with) and their thoughts on hunting in general. Wildlife for All's position on hunting states:

"Our organization is not opposed to hunting when the hunters eat what they kill out of necessity or because they prefer wild foods to meat sourced from industrial animal agriculture."

But most of the things these groups say and do doesn't reflect this to me. WFA's whole mission is to revamp state fish and game departments nationwide to move them away from traditional game management. And WDFW commission is currently in the process of drafting a "season-setting guide" that falls in line with environmentalist bollocks. This is the problem with current game management as WFA sees it:

The Problem
In nearly every state, state wildlife policies and institutions reflect their origins from a century or more ago. The hallmarks of this outdated system are:

A focus on producing a harvestable surplus of game animals under an agricultural model (i.e. game animals equal “crops”), rather than conserving all species and ecosystems;
Preference given to consumptive wildlife users (hunters, anglers and trappers) over the broader public;

Politically appointed wildlife commissions that are stacked with consumptive users and agricultural representatives;

Hostility towards carnivores like wolves and coyotes, which are seen as competitors with hunters for game animals, or as threats to livestock;

Lack of legal protection in state statutes for many species;

A focus on species and populations, to the near total disregard for the interests of individual animals and their social groups;

Wildlife agency revenues that are tied to consumptive uses; and,

Declining agency funding (or at least the threat of it) as the number of hunters and anglers falls relative to the general population.

The fundamental problem is that state wildlife management is stuck in the past, focused more on satisfying hunters and anglers and selling licenses than addressing the extinction crisis. It is rooted in a worldview in which wild animals are seen as soulless resources without intrinsic or ecological values, whose highest purpose is to serve human needs and whims. It is out of touch with changing public attitudes and modern ecological science.

Why It Matters
The world’s wildlife faces a grim future. The fabric of life is unraveling. Habitats are being destroyed and species are being driven towards extinction:

Vertebrate populations have declined worldwide by more than two-thirds on average since 1970.

North America has lost nearly three billion birds over the same period.
Nearly one-fifth of animal species in the U.S. are currently threatened with extinction.
Bold action is needed to reverse these trends.

In the U.S., the first line of defense against this “biological annihilation” is state governments, not the federal government.

And yet…the states are missing in action. Why?

Because state wildlife management has been hijacked by a minority of people whose views are out of step with science and public attitudes towards wildlife.

Rather than evolving to be more responsive to current societal and ecological needs, state wildlife management has become an entrenched system in which the dominant ethos is one of control and exploitation.

This is a system that is fundamentally undemocratic and unjust.

I don't mind giving other users a seat at the table when it comes to funding, etc, but the "spiritual ecology" nutjob crowd seems intent on simply taking over and phasing out hunting or anything to do with consuming animals.