By Paul Bean and Guy Page
Tuesday evening, The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen held their annual legislative mixer at the Vermont Statehouse. They were there to show solidarity and stand against S.258, a bill to severely restrict trapping and coyote hunting and – more important, critics say – takes away the authority of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board to make hunting and fishing regulations.
Wednesday morning, the Senate Natural Resources and Energy introduced an even tougher version of the bill. In addition to taking the power of majority appointment of F&W board members from the governor and giving it to the Legislature, Draft 1.2 would completely prohibit trapping and hunting of coyotes and even further remove the Fish & Wildlife Board as a hunting/fishing/trapping regulator.
Specifically, the draft would:
- Require a balance of ‘licensed users and non-licensed users’ (hunters/fishers/trappers and non-participants in those activities) on the board
- Expand the board from 14 to 15 members, with at least one member from each county – thus requiring a shake-up of current membership
- Reimposes trapping ‘setbacks’ prohibiting trapping near human habitation or trails
- Repeals all regulations for hunting coyotes with dogs and replaces them with: “The Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife shall not issue a permit to hunt or take coyote with the aid of dogs.”
“We have in our nation and locally, an imbalance of people who are breaking the contract which our society has been built on..” said John Klar of Brookfield, farmer, sportsman, and former candidate for governor and state senate. “Part of that in this state has always been a balance where we allow a department of wildlife people whose expertise is in studying deer, bear, and other animals, make regulations that govern us. Because of extremists who are taking over the system in every dimension as a one party system, they even want to actually bypass those people who have spent their lives studying biology.”
S.258 calls for a structural change in how members of the fish and wildlife board members are appointed by the legislative bodies, taking one of the appointments from the Governor, giving more power to the Democratic supermajority within the legislature. It also calls for a complete ban on coyote hunting and trapping.
“That’s a bill to essentially dismantle and reorganize the fish and wildlife board,” said Chris Herrick, Vermont Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife. “I think a lot of people understand that this bill is ill conceived. It’s going to change the way the fish and wildlife board has been doing business. I think they’re very concerned about that. The fish and wildlife board works and functions very well.”
The Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife Chris Herrick spoke to the crowd of sportsmen explaining to them exactly what changes this bill was seeking to make, and how they affected them. There were genuine concerns from the crowd that in a few years there would be significant bans on all types of hunting.
“We’re starting to feel like it’s a death by a thousand cuts, they knew taking little pieces out of what we feel our foundational and cultural rights are,” Said John Rodgers, a former Vermont legislator. “Now trying to get rid of the Fish and Wildlife board, which has worked very well at controlling herds and creating fish and wildlife regulations, since, I think it was instituted in 1969.”
Earlier Tuesday, David Appleton of Reading shared a gruesome photo of a moose calf eaten alive by coyotes on his property. The photo was accompanied by this text:
“I have actively worked with my forester to manage my 80 acres of forest land for wildlife and timber production. As a landowner, hunter, fisherman and wildlife observer I am very concerned with this Idea of dismantling our state’s proven methods of managing our wildlife.The current set up of our wildlife board and Fish and Wildlife Dept. has worked very well for many years.. Now the brilliant idea is to screw that up and cause constant infighting and controversy between citizens, hunters, fishermen, the F+W Dept. and activists who use emotion rather than proven scientific methods to govern Vermont’s wildlife management. I strongly oppose these proposals.”
Also, he idea to put more restrictions on trappers is ludicrous. The photo [above] was taken on my property recently. The moose (and deer) populations are seriously affected by coyote predation. Moose are hammered by brain worm and winter ticks and the survivors (especially calves) are lucky to get through our winters without coyote encounters.This moose calf was eaten alive while its mother tried frantically to defend it. A pack of coyotes ham-stringed it and literally ate it alive. Please don’t let anyone use the “inhumane” argument when talking about coyote control.. a coyote’s methods of obtaining food is about as far from “humane” as one can get. Coyote populations need to be monitored and controlled.. PERIOD.”
S.258 is expected to be voted on in the next 2 weeks before “crossover.” VDC will continue coverage of this story.
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Categories: Outdoors
We should call out the cultural bigotry displayed in these PETA-inspired moves against hunting and trapping. Lefties don’t like it when their bigotry is exposed.
Bigotry by creating an impartial border. Got it.
The brutality observed when carnivores like coyotes take down deer or moose is a stark reminder of the consequences of inadequate wildlife management. Such scenes underscore the urgent need for responsible stewardship of our natural spaces, ensuring that predator and prey populations are kept in balance to prevent unnecessary suffering.
JT Dodge
People should kill the animals before animals kill the animals. Got that too.
Guess ol’ Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom should have been yanked off the airwaves back in the ’60’s for violent content, huh?
The point …. The brutality of a natural predator prey interaction is typically by far more inhumane than that of a hunter taking game. Activists tend to scream about how inhumane hunters are when they interact with the game that they are harvesting. It’s obvious that they have never gone out hunting with a seasoned hunter.
It is vital that our Fish and Wildlife Department professionals maintain their successful management practices which includes their board and functions.
The core problem is the fear of the whittling away of, whittling the way of life for many hunters, gun owners and 2nd Amendment supporters. Our Legislators swore to uphold our State Constitution, included in that Constitution is The Sportsman’s Bill of Rights, they are breaking their oath.
I have seen a young deer torn apart by a pack of coyotes near my house, it was awful, another time a full grown deer was dragged into my driveway, partially eaten by coyote, their cries while hunting are hair raising, it made me glad I was not out walking at night
Seriously though Kathleen, and I’m asking this not snarkily, not sarcastically, not maliciously. Why do you think it is fine for animals to kill one another for food and/or sport (just watch my cats if don’t think there is some sport involved) but it is somehow heinous when humans kill animals?
Typical of progressives that have taken over Vermont politics and want Vermont to be horrible like the states they left. Thanks to them Vermont is not Vermont anymore.
Well, looks like then three quarters of citizens must”be “progressives”, since the majority of Vermonters and of the population of the U.S. as a whole oppose trapping.
When will you learn that false narratives aren’t working here? Try rational, reasonable, civil dialogue supported by facts or data. Got any?
You continue to parakeet “three quarters of Vermonters oppose trapping” in your all of your anti hunting and trapping comments. That is an assumption and “fact” based on data.
They say figures don’t lie but liars can figure, I assume you are referencing interpretations of the October 2022 VT Residents’ Attitudes Toward Furbearer Management survey conducted by Responsive Management on behalf of Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department as “facts and data” to support your assumption.
That survey was conducted by a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) process calling both landlines and cell phones collecting a total of 809 completed questionnaires.
809 people is 0.15% of the roughly 533,000 Vermont residents over the age of 18.
Do you really think a 0.15% sample size that took time out of their day to answer questions asked by a computer accurately reflects the views of “three quarters of Vermonters”?
Additionally, the “fact” you continue to parakeet that “three quarters of Vermonters oppose trapping” is incorrect. Here is the actual information from the survey;
“About two thirds of those who disapprove of trapping (68%) do so because they feel it is cruel or inhumane. A majority of residents (60%) support the right of others to trap in Vermont, regardless of their personal opinion on trapping.”
Fact with Data –
Even a 0.15% sample size of voting age Vermonters support the right of others to trap in Vermont.
Apparently we are too civilized and lazy to run the liberals out of town and reclaim the Vermont of before 1970. It wont matter much soon though, the border crossers will be bringing another foreign form of “justice” to VT soon enough. Thank you dems.
I’d bet dollars to donuts that if a pack of Coy dogs took down a progressive lawmaker, snowshoeing in the back country, in the N/E Kingdom, at 20 below… at the first nibble, they’d get a gag reflex, and spit them out…in all due respect.
Yeah, because we all know what common occurrences coyote attacks on humans are….
I’m much more afraid of any pro-choice activist than I am of any woodland creature, particularly a coyote. Then again, I do try to be mindful not to traverse the National Park with a Chihuahua by my side and a 10-pound sack of raw entrails contained in my backpack. Call me exceptionally cautious.
KJG,
Have you ever been surrounded by a pack of coyotes, in the woods, or on a frozen lake, after dark?!
I have, more than once, and these are encounters while out not hunting/trapping, have also had encounters while hunting/fishing.
Let me tell you, not peaceful encounters in anyway shape or form!
I’ve also witness firsthand a Moose trot down a neighborhood street near Burlington Airport several years back, also had bobcat & her cubs right outside my office window near the airport.
FWIW, literally this week I’ve had not 1 but 2 encounters in a very residential area locally, with coyotes out early morning roaming the neighborhood, not to mention the Fishercat also compost dumpster diving at 4AM.
You can be a smart-ass about this subject all you want, but the fact of the matter is, coyotes/bears/bobcats/lynx and yes, even those mysterious non-existent Catamounts (aka WILDLIFE), they all need to be dealt with by those that are “qualified” in the field of Animal Husbandry/Wildlife Management, not activists/legislators/artisans of the regulations & arm chair quarterbacks…
These communists do not care they hate you. They double down. All they care about is POWER. Not the money, not the animals not the voters, just POWER and control!!
Communists are now animal lovers?? Any documentation and historical proofs? I mean, even Hitler had his German Shepherd dogs shot in the end. Now that’s genuine animal activism! Oh wait…..no it isn’t. Never mind.
It’s another way to let the store of food in our forest hunting grounds be diminished when and if we really need it. Some of us could survive in the wilderness without too much hardship. But they seem to be chipping that ease away from us bit by bit. It seems it is all by design.
It’s actually all about better regulating trapping specifically, not hunting. And it’s actually all about making trapping safer for all, particularly, yet AGAIN, domestic dogs, endangered species, and non-targeted species.
Yet the dog whistle has again been sounded, and no one appears to recognize that the continued bullying, false narratives and rhetoric is merely inciting animal advocates and lawmakers.
Again, maybe attempt a different tact?
But who is best qualified to render regulations that is in the best interest of all, not just some? This is a field best left to those in this field. Fish and game and sportsmen. All others are not informed enough to make an educated unemotional decision.
need to capture coy in a steel cage and bring it into the house chambers so the great leaders in the state house can pet the puppy dog/// try to find a big one over forty pounds///
I sat in on the presentations by both sides on Tuesday. One of the main concerns by the animal rights people was that the current F+W board set up was one sided and biased . I would argue that that statement is pretty hypocritical when you look at the make up of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. ( Chris Bray – Democrat., Ann Watson – Dem/Prog., Dick McCormack- Democrat., Becca White-Democrat). Does it seem like there is a balance there..? Not to me.
If you think more balance is needed, you need to elect more Republicans. Only seven of thirty Senators are Republicans. There are 14 standing committees.
The F&W board is comprised on only hunters and trappers – that’s why it must be restructured. The state’s wildlife resources belong to all Vermonters.
You are right. We need more Republicans in our state Government.. The current Democrat/progressive majority is basically a monopoly. Now it appears immediately after Tuesday’s hearing a quick decision was made to move forward with even more trapping/ hunting restrictions. Seems a little like it was out of spite.. Not how Governing should work.
As I have said all along and others have stated -the worry is that if passed this legislation will cause nothing but headaches for F+G and everyone involved. I just do not see that there are any good reasons to change a proven system that has benefited both hunters, trappers and non hunters alike for so many years.
So Mr. Mark, you want less experienced and educated and informed people on the F & W Board to make recommendations, regulations on something that they have likely never engaged in nor have any experience doing or academic preparation in? How would you like non physicians to be a part of a regulatory body determining whether or not your physician is capable or not? Or maybe you might like non pilots to oversee and regulate pilots?
Should there be educated, experienced and well-informed people coming together to maturely and with great solemnity discuss and recommend courses of action to best manage the wild parts of our state? I would hope you would. Or should we let folks who, while passionate, maybe have let their passion override their common sense and who certainly have no firsthand experience in the topic at hand? Isn’t that precisely the position we find ourselves in on a national and even global level?
While I believe oversight to be an effective tool, and a good leader inspects what they expect, this applies across all facets of life. So, there could be a role for oversight or participation on a limited level, however, completely removing the experts from the body of the Board or transferring their responsibilities is a terrible idea.
Finally, the average human in western civilization is so far removed from their food production that if they saw my perfectly clean, humane chicken processing set up come this fall, they would be screaming bloody murder because they lack perspective, experience and in some cases common sense. If you take away the common sense and allow those with high passion and low experience to make laws and regulations and management decisions then shortly, they will be coming for my backyard meat chickens.
Ms. Pam – I did not say I wanted less experienced, educated, and informed people on the F&W board. I said I wanted more balance. The values of non-consumptive users of Vermont’s wildlife resources should also be respected and taken into account in policy making. No one is coming after your chickens.
Duh, hunters and trappers are the best to regulate. They certainly are more concerned about over and under population then any democrat. There needs to be a balance and those on the frontline are better to assess and implement the controls needed to maintain that balance. Looks like the VT senate is also WAY out of balance.
Sorry I left one out..(Senator Mark MacDonald-Democrat)
Can’t we just set up county Grand Juries, and remove these incompetant thugs from office. They’ve more than deserve it. If We the People don’t take action soon these treasonous scum are going to destroy our state completely.
Banning even coyote hunting is about as short sighted as “clean heat”, net zero by 2030, Act 127 in public education, defunding the police, etc. Guaranteed it will not go well.
And The State of Vermont shutting down VY so we can buy power somewhere else out of state. The Vermont legislature is a bunch of fringe alt left progressive socialists clearly.
Jim, don’t get me started on VY. A Legislature with hair on fire denies contract to biggest carbon-free power generator in state history.
Maybe when Phil Baruth’s dog gets left ina bloody pile by a pack in overpopulation mode, he’ll stop telling lifelong Vermonters what the Vermont way of life should be.
The only dogs that have been left dead in bloody piles are the ones trapped & killed by trappers over the decades.
Only recently, there was the beautiful Shetland Sheepdog, Clara, ensnared around the neck by an ILLEGAL trap in East Corinth. VT.
In November of 2023, Mr. John Wehner of Dummerston, VT shot & killed a pet dog on public property for the “crime” of approaching one of his traps and then lied to police about the incident.
According to Sean Fowler, deputy chief of the VT F & W Department – in ’23 there were approximately 13 cases of people’s pets being caught in traps with at least one death. For that single year. Similar cases abound annually however.
The rationale to kill as many predators as possible in order to “save” human beings from the wrath of Mother Nature & the millions of species people share this planet with far too ridiculous to even counter.
I had a coyote try to kill my bird dog last Spring. I have had coyotes stalk me in the woods while tracking deer in the dark. If you beleive in the management of invasive flora species in our state like buckthorn, honeysuckle, knotweed, napweed, etc. surely you beleive in management of our fauna as well.
Carl- I had a similar experience a few years ago. I was out training my bird dog in a small field when I heard something in the leaves to our left. Two coyotes were stalking her and I guarantee if I were not there things would have ended up real bad for her. Was wishing I had my revolver on me but didn’t. I carry it all the time now when I’m hiking with my dogs.
KJG-
How many dogs, cats, and pets are killed by automobiles daily in VT?
Funny, you don’t propose banning driving vehicles…. Hmmmmm….
There are always unintended consequences in anything you do.. That’s part of life.
Sorry Brett – my statistics are NOT an assumption and are a FACT.
The Dept. of Fish & Wildlife itself conducted a poll of Vermonters in ’22/’23 and two-thirds of Vermonters are opposed to trapping, making those in favor of trapping the minority here. No assumptions, just simple mathematics.
As far as my sources for the national opposition against trapping, I cited the article & the author of that data & polling from Natural Geographic magazine and though I’m not going to keep on reiterating those, as that is just part of the “deflection” & “dismiss” game that trappers use on here, YOU and anyone else can peruse the back articles on VDC for the year of 2023 & garner all that information once again, very easily.
It appears that your F & W buds have been quite disingenuous with all the newbies on VDC today who were assembled from the rather small “crowd” who attended the State House meeting the other evening and have intentionally told you that:
1.) Data from polling re: trapping opposition was purely speculative – it IS NOT.
2.) The only VT residents who oppose trapping are “progressives” and “liberals” – they ARE NOT, they amount to the MAJORITY of the VT population including many born & raised here, especially those under age 40.
Before you make assertions that aren’t true – check the accuracy & truth about what YOU are being told by your fellow trapping aficionados, as they apparently haven’t been honest.
TWO-THIRDS of Vermonters oppose trapping. Fact. Reality.
THREE-QUARTERS of the general populace of the U.S. oppose trapping. Fact. Reality.
get this notice/// coy may be called a state resource /// on my property coy will be guilty of trespass/// i do not house state resources// if my self or my family are put in danger coy will not be going home///
Coyotes don’t view humans as prey. Fact. Reality. Science.
I’m HARDLY a Communist, as my hundreds of posts on VDC over the many months would testify. However, again, the newbies who responded to the dog whistle a few days ago following the state house meeting re: trapping regulations falsely believe so as they have been lied to and misled by their fellow trapping enthusiasts in order to invoke fury against those who oppose trapping for GOOD reasons – all of which have been related on this site over and over and over and….
Therefore, since I cannot speak for “Communists”, I can however tell you, for the 27th time on VDC that three-quarters of all Americans OPPOSE trapping and two-thirds of all Vermonters OPPOSE trappers. You trappers are the MINORITY, not me.
Further, you have caused yourselves this “hardship” (as you seem to believe it is) in having the state have appropriate oversight over your “sport” by attempting, very obviously unsuccessfully, to harass, bully, and impose fear mongering as tactics to try to force the majority of citizens to acquiesce. You have alone caused the wrath of the state getting involved, rightly so, by your inhumane disregard for the dogs you have killed by trapping and the protected species that you trapped which you have flippantly disregarded along with the aforementioned bullying tactics. You did so as well by ensuring only avid trappers were appointed to boards that made certain that the concerns of the average citizens went unheard. A biased board is no board at all, and now your board will finally be impartial and fair.
And no. I’ve never been alone at night on a frozen body of water with coyotes encircling me. WHY? Because humans are NOT considered prey by coyotes and never have been. With the thousands of coyotes you kill annually though, list half of that number, a quarter of that number or just ONE Vermonter killed by a roving band of coyotes last year…..list name, location, and police report number. Coyotes are NOT a danger to man. Men however are dangers to them.
After living in VT for 24 years now in homes that abut the National Forest and sit on acreage, I have, astoundingly, NEVER been molested by coyotes despite hundreds of hours spent hiking in the woods. I have NEVER had bears bust thru my front or side doors, and never been chased by Big Foot either. Just super lucky, I suppose?
Try to cease from ridiculous, baseless fear mongering. No one in VT appears to live in terror of the animals we all share the earth with except you trappers. Your silly tactics accomplish nothing except providing the lawmakers with additional fader to use against you.
Now, what will be will be and I’m going for my daily hike in the “highly dangerous” woods where my only fear at this point will be running into a drug runner or gang banger from Springfield, MA. And for that reason alone, I NOW carry.
Hi Kathleen,
Just curious if you support s258? I know your stance on the dogs. Im wondering your stance on revoking the power of the f&w board and replacing it with legislative approved appointees? I think putting these two things in the same bill was purposeful and frankly malicious. While i do think many share your perspective on coyote hunting (respectfully not me), i speculate many, maybe you, take issue with our legislators, especially current, empowering non elected officials to pass laws affecting all Vermonters. It feels like a way to gather support for an otherwise highly controversial bill….kinda like the omnibus bills that are all frequent in Washington DC these days. Thanks.
The legislature has made it clear that they are seeking to institute an unbiased and more fair board that is comprised of BOTH trappers and non-trappers. As I’ve stated time and time again but shall repeat yet again though I’m sure you yourself are well aware – the Department of F & W fairly recently polled Vermont citizens and discovered that two-thirds (a substantive majority) are opposed to trapping.
Therefore, since most conservatives, especially on VDC, are advocates for a “checks & balances” system in conjunction with fair & equitable representation in all governmental affairs, I’m unclear as to how & why these same self-described conservatives/independents who very vocally demand even-handed democratic processes in other arenas are so infuriated with the majority of Vermonters wanting the same balanced representation on this F & W board? In my opinion, no board organized in this state should be an exception to the rules of fairness & self-governance which we generally all expect, though less & less have the opportunity to participate in. Currently, I believe Governor Scott personally appoints every member to this board via F & W “recommendation” and further, not all towns/regions even hold representation. To add further offense, every member is pro-trapping & thus far has been adamantly unwilling to even remotely consider alternate means to effectively reduce harm to domestic animals & protected species or implement other safety measures & protections to this largely unregulated “sport” – measures that are being not just being seriously considered throughout many other areas of the country, but ones that are being implemented as we write.
Whatever happens in terms of these proposed safety measures & calls for a better-balanced oversight board are far beyond my control and I’m not certain why so many of these independent-minded so-called conservatives & proponents of “democracy” are so incensed at my providing my opinion, as a lifelong animal-lover, on this topic…..interesting as the general sentiment expressed on VDC since the forum’s inception has been that it is republicans/conservatives/libertarians who are represent the “tolerant” faction of the political population. Obviously, not so much. Yet if those who remain so intolerant & unaccepting of my views believe that harassing & haranguing me will somehow silence me, I’m thinking that they’re not particularly fast learners in that particular regard.
But in any event, I hope I answered your queries as posed to me, but I repeat I honestly have absolutely nothing to do with this piece of legislation that might be pending. I am only resolute, I guess you could say, in my love & respect for all of God’s creations as well as in having truly fair & impartial boards across the state that listen to and respond to the concerns of ALL Vermonters and never a select portion.
And please – in compiling the list – I again requested said “scores” of attacks by wild animals, not rare incidents that have obviously & occasionally occurred – but scores that provide necessitation for the furtherance of serious culling of wild animals*** due to the persistent, prevailing danger these coyotes & bobcats, etc. are inflicting upon a sizeable portion of the population of VT.
***Please note that domestic dogs inflict bites upon an estimated 4.5 million people in the US annually, while an average of 25 people or so (mostly children) are killed by domestic dogs each year.
In conclusion, please afford the requested police logs that record, proportionately of course, similar numbers of non-fatal attacks and fatal attacks annually afflicted on humans in VT. (This obviously requires more than but a mere handful of attacks which would automatically characterize such incidents as “rarities” and the exception to the rule). Please no hearsay or otherwise undocumented incidents of purported attacks, nor tall tales of “near fatal” encounters. Thanks! Remember……scores: so as to justify the wanton, unlimited culling & near extermination of single species in order to protect & preserve the human populace at large.
Remember this was, in fact, done already to the Eastern Cougar, the Timber Rattler, and the Gray Wolf – in order to “protect” the human population from these highly dangerous species – which were all “native” to the Green Mountains long before European-Americans ever stepped foot on this soil due to potato famine on the Emerald Isle or because the British didn’t wish to venerate the King of England. The Rattler was here first(!) and still manages to co-exist in many states of the Union….just not in VT with the exception of a tiny population still extant in Rutland County.
Re: ***Please note that domestic dogs inflict bites upon an estimated 4.5 million people in the US annually, while an average of 25 people or so (mostly children) are killed by domestic dogs each year.
Yes, even the kindest pet dog might bite someone in a given circumstance. Just ask Joe Biden. But 359,000 dogs were killed last year in ‘shelters’ in the U.S.. So, I’m not sure where you’re going with this statistical comparison.
And even with Vermont’s current hunting and trapping laws, the coyote population is relatively stable, if not ‘saturated’, at between 6000-9000 individuals, a number which is, apparently, more dependent on habitat, not hunting and trapping. In the west, for example, only concerted and sustained control efforts have proven to limit the coyote population.
And no, I don’t hunt coyotes. But I am cautious of many critters in the woods. Bear and moose in particular. And there is also the concern of rabies, which coyotes can carry. So, I wouldn’t think twice about protecting myself should the occasion call for immediate concern.
Coyotes are pests to wildlife and livestock alike. The Northeast is overrun with them!
FACT: Coyotes aren’t “pests” to wildlife – they are the only predator now (besides people) left in the wilderness of Vermont and hunt and eat primarily small rodents that you & yours also loathe & consider “pests”.
Perhaps some research on what mammals are more inclined to be characterized as “pests” and what “predators” are might have been helpful before inferring that canids are essentially rodents. Coyotes are instead, factually: social, highly intelligent omnivores and are members of the aforementioned “CANID” species. They live in highly structured social groups or families and are an imperative part of the ecosystem.
Perhaps though since you personally but incorrectly refer to them as “pests”, human beings such as yourself should have given more forethought in previous years to not EXTERMINATING other entire species of animals in VT such as the Gray Wolf and the Eastern Cougar (likely also considered “pests” as per your unscientific perspective, I’m presuming) so that the natural order of the environs we ALL have a GOD GIVEN right to share in would have maintained proper balance.
Why don’t you toughen the laws of criminals .Hmmm ,stop spending our time and money on bull sh— laws that take away rights of the citizens and taxpayers of Vermont .
I’m not a legislator. Hmmmm…….. how about then you “toughen” the laws for criminals and stop focusing all your energy on seeking to continue the practice of harming & killing wildlife for personal profit or pleasure which two-thirds of all Vermonters oppose?
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. But thank you for providing me the platform to have the legislature read the realities over & again.
The same ‘ol trapping is the identical scenario to accidentally striking a deer with a car…… not only repetitive rhetoric, but laughably unrefined.
Are trappers “accidentally” crushing the face and jaw of a beautiful fox & then clubbing them to death (legal in most states) as they lay terror-stricken unable to flee as you ready yourself to profit by selling their very skin to the fur trade? Hmmmmm…..
I’d hardly call engaging in such deliberate acts such as trappers do as “unintended consequences”. And doing such isn’t just “life”, the vast majority of Americans neither trap nor take any pleasure from harming & killing wildlife.
As far as livestock goes: purchase a Caucasian Shepherd or a Great Pyrenees or a Kuvasz, etc. – any one of the ancient & highly effective Mountain Dog breeds that serve as FIERCE protectors of livestock. The vast majority of farmers who use these working breeds for such purpose very often go for years with nary a single loss to their herd.
There are and long have been alternatives to randomly exterminating the lives of predatory animals that serve great purpose to the ecosystem and which in the end accomplish NOTHING in terms of reducing population growth.
And if farmers aren’t supposedly committed enough to invest in a dog or two to act as guardians over their droves, this then simply points to some inextinguishable desire or urge to kill with abandon for the sheer perverse pleasure of doing so – and that has and apparently continues to be a problem that mankind has been wrangling with since time immemorial. Disregard & wanton disrespect of life is NOT an admirable trait.
I know I have said this before but I will repeat it. Our legislature is now made up of 80% progressive social activists not civic minded business leaders any longer. What should we expect when our public schools are brainwashing our children with nonsense ideas and outright lies and falsehoods. Sadly things are not going to improve until our legislature has changed hands. Keep voting for imbeciles like sanders, balint and baruth and this madness will only get worse. Remember 70% of Vermont voted to abdicate their First Amendment Rights to change the Vermont Constitution to perpetuate a lie.
I hardly connote greater oversight & regulations re: trapping (based upon the significant number of adverse problems/deaths it causes non-targeted species/protected species/domestic animals) with this largely unhinged legislature attempting to impede religious freedom in violation with the US Constitution, or to teaching impressionable children that boys can be girls & vice versa, etc.
Freedom of religion is a Constitutional Right that can never be abridged. Trapping wildlife without appropriate safety precautions in place and a biased F & W Board that doesn’t represent all the people all of the time – is not. Apples & oranges.
We need to take these liberal clowns into Mother Nature’s outdoors in the evening into the night and let them walk around when these fluffy creatures act up, I bet that they will soil themselves and want to go back to their Prius……………….
Where do we get the inept fools, Oh I know any state but Vermont !!
Though I’m not a legislator, a large portion of Americans utilize National Parks, the open wilderness regions, the hiking trails such as the Appalachian, etc. and do not engage in trapping. Therefore, most Americans, such as I, has spent, over the decades in places such as NYS (Adirondack Park), VT, MA, & even western Canada – many hundreds of hours in the back woods at dawn, dusk, in rain, & in snow traversing these regions often not seeing another soul for several hours at a time, though I have, numerous times over decades, spotted at least a dozen bears, one lone bobcat, two Moose, and about three coyotes.
Thus far, though I personally carry, I have yet to encounter ANY danger to myself or to my dogs from any wildlife in the 40 plus years I’ve hiked & camped & have never had to even consider discharging a weapon; though at this point I remain much more cautious due to the illegal immigrants & cartel members ambling about.
And because most Americans are not involved in trapping, but do otherwise enjoy exploring & hiking the wildernesses, I’m betting that the tall tales of near-fatal coyote attacks on humans & bears devouring unsuspecting housewives in their kitchens are as ludicrous to them as they are to me. At this point, I’d feel safe in stating that the only folks who appear terrorized by creatures in the woods are the trappers.
If I’m incorrect about all these wild animals that have mangled, torn limb from limb, or killed innocent Vermonters by the scores as they trek the backcountry as I have, please provide police log names/dates – and try not to go as back as far as folks like Freida Langer whose cause of death is still listed as “unknown”.
The hormone balance in the cities has been messed up for years with too much estrogen running things. But now, it’s also seeped into rural places. All I see are ladies posting their backyard bambi pics. Whenever I refer to those as food they all blow their stack like I had mentioned Trump’s name or something to that effect.
The lack of testosterone in Western countries is really sad. I had a friend who recently died. Was in his eighties. Complained he was always interested, still. I admired that about him. I am also lucky in that way. Maybe it was a good thing I don’t drink tap or bottled water, or any soda pop. Or eat cheese doodles. Definitely something going on in those. Like birth control and anxiety meds getting into men’s systems causing them to whither away. Once that happens, we’re all gonna be girls. It’s called parthenogenesis. Look it up. We resemble them, with the exception of newcomers to America. Wonder no longer about what you see once you see the forest. The real men are only just beginning to arrive within our realm, and the empire has yet to see the spectacular results. Meantime, worry about bambi and the wolves. No one’s gonna care about either of them in a few years.