Bear, elk, eagle, hawk, wolves
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65176 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg” alt=”Wildlife” width=”401″ height=”401″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="65176" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"{"remix_data":[],"remix_entry_point":"challenges","source_tags":["local"],"origin":"unknown","total_draw_time":0,"total_draw_actions":0,"layers_used":0,"brushes_used":0,"photos_added":0,"total_editor_actions":{},"tools_used":{"clone":2,"border":1,"effects":1,"adjust":1},"is_sticker":false,"edited_since_last_sticker_save":true,"containsFTESticker":false}","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Bear, elk, eagle, hawk, wolves" data-image-description="
Bear, elk, eagle, hawk, wolves
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65176 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-23-32-287-e1715657040304.jpg?resize=401%2C401&ssl=1″ alt=”Wildlife” width=”401″ height=”401″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
Much bad news, but Harvard Animal Law Clinic shows management priorities can be changed
TOKYO, VICTORIA, RENO, BOSTON––Japanese plans to hunt fin whales, the ongoing British Columbia purge of wolves to try to bring back caribou, a recent Nevada Wildlife Commission decision to double the bear hunting quota, Massachusetts’ addiction to anticoagulant rodenticides, and the longtime National Park Service practice of fencing tule elk away from water and grass at the Point Reyes National Seashore in California are more than just five current examples of atrocities toward animals.
Each atrocity also represents cultural conservatism rather than the fundamental principles of wildlife conservation, the first precept of which might be Charles Darwin’s observation that “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Writing more than 175 years ago, before the dawn of “modern” wildlife management, Darwin likely never imagined that wildlife management would mutate from the traditional practice of gamekeeping into a “science” largely dedicated to resisting evolution, in the cultural sense even more than in preventing species extinctions.
Finn whale
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Finn whale.
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?fit=300%2C182&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?fit=1024%2C620&ssl=1″ class=”wp-image-65180 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg” alt=”Finn whale” width=”378″ height=”229″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="65180" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?fit=800%2C485&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,485" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"{"remix_data":[],"remix_entry_point":"challenges","source_tags":["local"],"origin":"unknown","total_draw_time":0,"total_draw_actions":0,"layers_used":0,"brushes_used":0,"photos_added":0,"total_editor_actions":{},"tools_used":{"border":1,"ai_enhance":1,"transform":2,"effects":1},"is_sticker":false,"edited_since_last_sticker_save":true,"containsFTESticker":false}","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Finn whale" data-image-description="
Finn whale
” data-image-caption=”
Finn whale.
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?fit=300%2C182&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?fit=1024%2C620&ssl=1″ class=”wp-image-65180 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?resize=378%2C229&ssl=1″ alt=”Finn whale” width=”378″ height=”229″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?w=800&ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?resize=300%2C182&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_21-42-42-536-scaled-e1715663986458.jpg?resize=768%2C466&ssl=1 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> Fin whale. (Beth Clifton collage)
Japan to hunt fin whales
The Japan Fisheries Agency on May 2, 2024 offered a blatant case in point, proposing to add fin whales to the national hit list already including minke, Bryde’s, and sei whales.
“The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in July 2019,” explained Mari Yamaguchi for Associated Press.
The withdrawal “ended 30 years of what Japan called ‘research whaling’ that had been criticized by conservationists as a cover for commercial hunts banned by the IWC in 1988,” Yamaguchi recounted.
Japanese whalers in 2023 killed 294 whales, “less than 80% of the quota,” Yamaguchi mentioned, “fewer than it once hunted in the Antarctic and the northwestern Pacific under the research program.”
Japanese minke whale and dolphins
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(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?fit=266%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?fit=908%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=”size-full wp-image-23668 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg” alt=”Whale & Japanese lady” width=”350″ height=”395″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="23668" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2018/12/27/japan-hands-whales-a-christmas-gift-camouflaged-as-coal/picsart_12-26-09-57-14/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?fit=350%2C395&ssl=1" data-orig-size="350,395" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"261721881009102","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Whale & Japanese lady" data-image-description="
Japanese minke whale and dolphins
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(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?fit=266%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?fit=908%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=”size-full wp-image-23668 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_12-26-09.57.14-e1623277358820.jpg?resize=350%2C395&ssl=1″ alt=”Whale & Japanese lady” width=”350″ height=”395″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
No demand
There is no evident demand for more whale meat, whether from fin whales, the second largest whale species, or any other.
Whale meat consumption in Japan has “fallen to around 2,000 tons in recent years, Fisheries Agency statistics show,” Yamaguchi wrote.
“Whaling officials want to increase that to about 5,000 tons to keep the industry afloat.”
The whaling company Kyodo Senpaku “last year launched whale meat vending machines,” Yamaguchi continued.
Now unsold whale meat can rot in public places, as well as in warehouses.
Douglas MacArthur.
(Beth Clifton collage)
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Douglas MacArthur.
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?fit=293%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?fit=999%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65186 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg” alt=”Douglas MacArthur. (Beth Clifton collage)” width=”334″ height=”342″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="65186" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?fit=800%2C820&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,820" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"{"remix_data":[],"remix_entry_point":"challenges","source_tags":["local"],"origin":"unknown","total_draw_time":0,"total_draw_actions":0,"layers_used":0,"brushes_used":0,"photos_added":0,"total_editor_actions":{},"tools_used":{"clone":4,"border":1,"ai_enhance":1,"transform":1,"effects":2},"is_sticker":false,"edited_since_last_sticker_save":true,"containsFTESticker":false}","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Douglas MacArthur. (Beth Clifton collage)" data-image-description="
Douglas MacArthur.
(Beth Clifton collage)
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Douglas MacArthur.
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?fit=293%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?fit=999%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65186 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_23-04-07-108-scaled-e1715666701640.jpg?resize=334%2C342&ssl=1″ alt=”Douglas MacArthur. (Beth Clifton collage)” width=”334″ height=”342″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> Douglas MacArthur. (Beth Clifton collage)
New whaling factory ship
Kyodo Senpaku also built a new whaling factory ship, at government-subsidized cost of $48 million.
Why?
“Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 63, whose electoral district is traditionally known for whaling, said his government supports sustainable use of whales as part of Japan’s traditional food culture,” reported Yamaguchi.
How “traditional” is hunting whales with factory ships?
Only as “traditional” as the Japanese recovery from World War II. Supervising the U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951, General Douglas MacArthur responded to a national meat and fish shortage by authorizing the conversion of two oil tankers into whaling factory ships.
Served chiefly for school lunches, whale meat became part of the “traditional” food culture for Hayashi’s generation, but that was a food culture of famine and defeat, rapidly abandoned after other options became available.
Caribou & wolf ghosts, Beth Clifton collage | ANIMALS 24-7
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(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?fit=300%2C294&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?fit=358%2C351&ssl=1″ class=”size-full wp-image-38778 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg” alt=”Caribou & wolf ghosts” width=”358″ height=”351″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="38778" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2020/12/20/strychnine-for-christmas-alberta-gift-to-wolves-caribou-other-wildlife/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?fit=358%2C351&ssl=1" data-orig-size="358,351" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Caribou & wolf ghosts" data-image-description="
Caribou & wolf ghosts, Beth Clifton collage | ANIMALS 24-7
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?fit=300%2C294&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?fit=358%2C351&ssl=1″ class=”size-full wp-image-38778 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?resize=358%2C351&ssl=1″ alt=”Caribou & wolf ghosts” width=”358″ height=”351″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?w=358&ssl=1 358w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/131944668_726614904943323_547893795784206891_n.jpg?resize=300%2C294&ssl=1 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 358px) 100vw, 358px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
Killing wolves to pretend to conserve caribou
In British Columbia, meanwhile, hunting caribou was part of the Native American food culture for millennia. European settlement gradually expanded caribou hunting into part of the regional recreational culture as well.
A provincial economy built around logging and mineral extraction transformed much caribou habitat. Global warming transformed even more.
Caribou all the while continued to be heavily hunted, until the population crashed, with no realistic chance of recovery to the abundance that hunters had become accustomed to shooting.
But rather than stop caribou hunting, the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship blamed wolves.
Takaya the Vancouver Island sea wolf | ANIMALS 24-7
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(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?fit=300%2C280&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?fit=1024%2C956&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-30465 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg” alt=”Takaya sea wolf” width=”313″ height=”292″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30465" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2020/04/10/takaya-the-sea-wolf-headed-for-home-but-hunter-shot-him/picsart_03-29-06-48-51/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?fit=375%2C350&ssl=1" data-orig-size="375,350" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"261721881009102","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Takaya the Vancouver Island sea wolf | ANIMALS 24-7" data-image-description="
Takaya the Vancouver Island sea wolf | ANIMALS 24-7
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?fit=300%2C280&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?fit=1024%2C956&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-30465 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?resize=313%2C292&ssl=1″ alt=”Takaya sea wolf” width=”313″ height=”292″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?w=375&ssl=1 375w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_03-29-06.48.51-e1603947835448.jpg?resize=300%2C280&ssl=1 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 313px) 100vw, 313px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
“Regional-scale extermination”
“Between December 2023 and March 2024, the B.C. government has killed 248 wolves and six cougars, bringing the total number of wolves culled by helicopter in the last nine years to 2,192,” the conservation group Pacific Wild disclosed on May 9, 2024.
“However, the true numbers of wolves killed each year in B.C. remains unknown,” Pacific Wild pointed out, “because in addition to the government-funded cull, countless wolves are legally killed by hunters and trappers with no mandatory reporting in effect and in many cases no bag limits.
“Since 2015, when the B.C. government ramped up its war on wolves, at least 8,084 wolves have been killed by hunters and government contractors combined,” said Pacific Wild wildlife specialist Mollie Cameron.
“This is close to the government estimate of 8,500 wolves for the entire province. This is not a management or a control program. This is regional-scale extermination.”
Molly Cameron Wildlife specialist.
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Molly Cameron.
(Pacific Wild photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?fit=230%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?fit=784%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65178 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg” alt=”Molly Cameron Wildlife specialist.” width=”309″ height=”404″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="65178" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?fit=800%2C1045&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,1045" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"{"remix_data":[],"remix_entry_point":"challenges","source_tags":["local"],"origin":"unknown","total_draw_time":0,"total_draw_actions":0,"layers_used":0,"brushes_used":0,"photos_added":0,"total_editor_actions":{},"tools_used":{"border":1,"ai_enhance":1,"transform":2,"adjust":1},"is_sticker":false,"edited_since_last_sticker_save":true,"containsFTESticker":false}","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Molly Cameron Wildlife specialist." data-image-description="
Molly Cameron Wildlife specialist.
” data-image-caption=”
Molly Cameron.
(Pacific Wild photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?fit=230%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?fit=784%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-65178 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-05-13_20-30-17-357-scaled-e1715657443735.jpg?resize=309%2C404&ssl=1″ alt=”Molly Cameron Wildlife specialist.” width=”309″ height=”404″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> Molly Cameron. (Pacific Wild photo)
$10 million in taxpayer dollars
Pacific Wild charged that “The B.C. government has now invested over $10 million in taxpayer dollars,” to cull wolves since 2015, ostensibly to save caribou, meanwhile subsidizing the logging, oil and gas and other industries.”
But whether caribou are abundant enough to hunt is immaterial to the logging, oil, and gas industries. Hunter demand drives both the caribou decline and the wolf cull.
Observed Cameron, “This past season 110 wolves were culled by the government in regions where up to 255 caribou tags are being issued to hunters. Since the wolf cull began in 2015, an estimated 851 caribou have been killed by hunters; this does not include First Nations right to sustenance hunting.”
(See “Cargo cult” politics make caribou the bison of the Canadian North.)
Activist protects wolf and grizzly bear.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-62271 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg” alt=”Activist protects wolf and grizzly bear.” width=”369″ height=”369″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="62271" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/01/09/raincoast-buys-out-hunting-rights-in-the-great-bear-rainforest/picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Activist protects wolf and grizzly bear." data-image-description="
Activist protects wolf and grizzly bear.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-62271 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-01-08_19-58-29-479-e1704772762368.jpg?resize=369%2C369&ssl=1″ alt=”Activist protects wolf and grizzly bear.” width=”369″ height=”369″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
Nevada doubles bear hunt
The Nevada Wildlife Commission on May 4, 2024 voted to allow hunters to kill 42 bears a year, “more than twice the number permitted to be slaughtered in the first decade of the hunt, which began in 2011,” reported Dana Gentry for the Nevada Current.
Neither the Nevada Wildlife Commission nor anyone else, however, “knows how many bears are in Nevada,” Gentry wrote.
“The Nevada Department of Wildlife estimates the black bear population in Nevada at between 239 and 740 with 95% confidence, and growing at a rate of 5% annually.”
Pointed out Nevada Wildlife Alliance president Donald Molde, in an email to Gentry, “A 95% confidence level that varies by several hundred animals means you have no confidence level at all. Pick a number.”
Female moose in Maine
(Esther Mechler photo)
” data-image-caption=”
Female moose in Maine
(Esther Mechler photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?fit=300%2C265&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?fit=1024%2C904&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-49297 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg” alt=”Female moose in Maine (Esther Mechler photo)” width=”372″ height=”329″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="49297" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/attachment/1654828906529/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?fit=600%2C530&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,530" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Female moose in Maine (Esther Mechler photo)" data-image-description="
Female moose in Maine
(Esther Mechler photo)
” data-image-caption=”
Female moose in Maine
(Esther Mechler photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?fit=300%2C265&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?fit=1024%2C904&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-49297 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?resize=372%2C329&ssl=1″ alt=”Female moose in Maine (Esther Mechler photo)” width=”372″ height=”329″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/1654828906529-e1654828936268.jpg?resize=300%2C265&ssl=1 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Esther Mechler photo)
Nevada targets moose, too
The Nevada Wildlife Commission in March 2024 authorized the state’s first-ever moose hunt, though barely 100 moose inhabit Nevada, the only state in which the moose population has increased in the present century.
“I believe the moose story is one of `ghost’ habitat or `ghost’ range expansion,” Defenders of Wildlife southwest program manager Bryan Bird told Scott Sonner of Associated Press.
“By that I mean,” Bird explained, “these animals are expanding into habitat that may not be suitable in 50 years due to climate change,” Bird said.
Bear and moose are now on the Nevada Wildlife Commission hit list simply because the conservation priority for the commission is preserving the hunting culture of the once sparsely inhabited state, not preserving wildlife amid 500% human population growth over the past 50 years.
Rat.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?fit=222%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?fit=758%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-63871 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg” alt=”Rat.” width=”345″ height=”466″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="63871" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/03/19/has-the-pied-piper-come-to-lassa-fever-rat-plagued-nigeria/picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?fit=800%2C1081&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,1081" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Rat." data-image-description="
Rat.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?fit=222%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?fit=758%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-63871 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_24-03-18_21-19-47-713-scaled-e1710822020682.jpg?resize=345%2C466&ssl=1″ alt=”Rat.” width=”345″ height=”466″ data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
Rats, mice, & wildlife
The cultural conservation issue in Massachusetts is the inherent conflict between the human need to protect homes and food supplies from rodents, irrespective of humane and wildlife conservation concerns, and the use of anticoagulant rodenticides.
Coping with rodents is a problem accentuated in Massachusetts because the state has the third oldest housing stock, on average, of any, trailing only New York and Rhode Island.
(The median ages of housing in the three states is 57, 62, and 58 years, respectively.)
The older the house, the more likely it is to harbor rodents.
Rodent-proofing homes, stores, and restaurants is much more effective at ridding buildings of rats and mice than any killing method, but costs time and money.
Reality is that no method of killing rats and mice is actually humane. Glue traps may be the most cruel; snap-traps sometimes fail to kill the animals quickly.
That leaves anticoagulant rodenticides as the rodent eradication method of preference for much of the public, largely because poisoned rodents tend to die out of sight and mind.
Raven or crow in a tree.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?fit=277%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?fit=946%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=”wp-image-55239 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg” alt=”Raven or crow in a tree.” width=”351″ height=”380″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="55239" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2024/05/14/when-cultural-conservation-comes-ahead-of-wildlife-five-current-cases/picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?fit=600%2C649&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,649" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Raven or crow in a tree." data-image-description="
Raven or crow in a tree.
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?fit=277%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?fit=946%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=”wp-image-55239 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?resize=351%2C380&ssl=1″ alt=”Raven or crow in a tree.” width=”351″ height=”380″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-03-02_15-07-32-303-scaled-e1715665324847.jpg?resize=277%2C300&ssl=1 277w” sizes=”(max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton photo)
“Hawks, owls, crows, a raven, a coyote pup, & foxes”
This does not mean poisoned rodents die where wildlife cannot find them, dead or in their death throes.
“In 2022 alone, Massachusetts commercial applicators used over half a million pounds of anticoagulant rodenticides,” according to the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic.
In consequence, said Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic spokesperson Rachel Mathews in a May 13, 2023 media release, “tests commissioned by Cape Ann Wildlife have found rat poisons in the livers of dozens of patients in recent years, including hawks, owls, crows, a raven, a coyote pup, and red foxes. A recent study by the Tufts Wildlife Clinic reported that 100% of the 43 red-tailed hawks admitted over a two-year period tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticides.”
Rat in cage smoking
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?fit=300%2C269&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?fit=1024%2C918&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-28138 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg” alt=”Rat in cage” width=”376″ height=”337″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="28138" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2019/11/19/why-is-trump-epa-chief-cutting-animal-testing-while-the-nrdc-defends-it/picsart_11-18-10-29-45/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?fit=390%2C350&ssl=1" data-orig-size="390,350" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"261721881009102","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Rat in cage" data-image-description="
Rat in cage smoking
” data-image-caption=”
(Beth Clifton collage)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?fit=300%2C269&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?fit=1024%2C918&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-28138 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?resize=376%2C337&ssl=1″ alt=”Rat in cage” width=”376″ height=”337″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?w=390&ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/PicsArt_11-18-10.29.45-e1616364045346.jpg?resize=300%2C269&ssl=1 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 376px) 100vw, 376px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> (Beth Clifton collage)
Transitioning from reaction to prevention
Therefore, Mathews announced, the Harvard’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic has “petitioned the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to immediately suspend the registrations of anticoagulant rodenticide products,” and “is also calling for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to investigate the impacts of rodenticides on species protected by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.”
What really needs to be done about anticoagulant rodenticides, in Massachusetts and elsewhere, is transitioning the human response to rodent infestations from reaction to prevention.
If that sounds like a tall order, consider that compliance with wearing seat belts in cars has increased from 10% circa 1980 to 92% today, according to the American Automobile Association.
Tobacco smoking has declined from 50% of the adult population circa 1945 to just 11% today.
Prevention can become a habit, if culturally encouraged.
Tule elk at Point Reyes
” data-image-caption=”
Tule elk.
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?fit=300%2C284&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?fit=1024%2C970&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-51288 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg” alt=”Tule elk” width=”384″ height=”364″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="51288" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2023/02/28/range-war-over-diversity-equity-inclusion-in-wildlife-management/polish_20221003_144407348/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?fit=1658%2C1570&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1658,1570" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Tule elk" data-image-description="
Tule elk at Point Reyes
” data-image-caption=”
Tule elk.
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?fit=300%2C284&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?fit=1024%2C970&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-51288 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?resize=384%2C364&ssl=1″ alt=”Tule elk” width=”384″ height=”364″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?w=1658&ssl=1 1658w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?resize=300%2C284&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?resize=1024%2C970&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?resize=768%2C727&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_144407348.jpg?resize=1536%2C1454&ssl=1 1536w” sizes=”(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> Tule elk. (Beth Clifton photo)
Good news for tule elk
The Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic meanwhile has argued since June 2021 in a lawsuit against the National Park Service “for the removal of a fence that prevents tule elk in Tomales Point,” within the Point Reyes National Seashore, “from gaining access to water and forage.
“The fence has led to the suffering and death of hundreds of elk in recent years,” the lawsuit claims.
(See Dying tule elk need water now diverted to cattle; can lawyers save them?)
The underlying problem is that while the 1962 Act of Congress that created the Point Reyes National Seashore stipulated that cattle ranching was to end there by 1987, the National Park Service under local political pressure prioritized preserving the cattle ranching culture of the community.
In consequence, 10 times more cattle now crowd the habitat than before the land was nominally “protected.”
Tule elk at Point Reyes
” data-image-caption=”
Tule elk.
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?fit=253%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?fit=864%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-51292 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg” alt=”Tule elk” width=”301″ height=”356″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="51292" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2023/07/01/happy-ending-for-chimp-horror-for-hoarding-victims-a-trove-of-bones/polish_20221003_145709085/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?fit=1420%2C1683&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1420,1683" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Tule elk" data-image-description="
Tule elk at Point Reyes
” data-image-caption=”
Tule elk.
(Beth Clifton photo)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?fit=253%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?fit=864%2C1024&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-51292 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?resize=301%2C356&ssl=1″ alt=”Tule elk” width=”301″ height=”356″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?w=1420&ssl=1 1420w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?resize=253%2C300&ssl=1 253w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?resize=864%2C1024&ssl=1 864w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?resize=768%2C910&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Polish_20221003_145709085.jpg?resize=1296%2C1536&ssl=1 1296w” sizes=”(max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> Tule elk. (Beth Clifton photo)
Fence may come down
“On May 6, 2024,” the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic announced, “the National Park Service released a much-anticipated Environmental Assessment, finding that “removal of the fence would benefit the Tomales Point tule elk by allowing the elk to access additional habitat, increasing population resilience during drought, and thereby promoting more natural population cycles.”
The Environmental Assessment says the National Park Service now favors “removal of the existing elk enclosure fence and the construction of a new wildlife-friendly fence,” to “allow the elk to migrate outside of Tomales Point, but prevent cattle from encroaching upon the Tomales Point wilderness.”
Beth & Merritt Clifton
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?fit=300%2C293&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?fit=1024%2C1000&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-54785 lazyload” src=”https://www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg” alt=”Beth and Merritt” width=”294″ height=”287″><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="54785" data-permalink="https://www.animals24-7.org/2023/02/15/charles-henry-turner-proved-darwin-was-right-about-animal-sentience/picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?fit=600%2C586&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,586" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Beth and Merritt at Mount St. Helens" data-image-description data-image-caption="
Beth & Merritt Clifton
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?fit=300%2C293&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?fit=1024%2C1000&ssl=1″ class=” wp-image-54785 lazyload” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?resize=294%2C287&ssl=1″ alt=”Beth and Merritt” width=”294″ height=”287″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/www.animals24-7.org/wp-content/uploads/Picsart_23-02-15_18-36-04-230-e1676515017779.jpg?resize=300%2C293&ssl=1 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px” data-recalc-dims=”1″> Beth & Merritt Clifton
The Environmental Assessment “also proposes removing twelve elk ‘exclosures’ that were erected in the late 1990’s for a vegetation monitoring project. The exclosures have remained ever since, posing a hazard to the tule elk population and the other wildlife at Tomales Point,” the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic said.
The National Park Service is accepting public comments on the Environmental Assessment through June 5, 2024, the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic finished.