Despite the headline below, this is not about Pete. This issue as regular readers of this blog know, is about keeping wildlife wild. Nearly all wildlife groups in Vermont agree the Nelson amendment needs to be repealed. This would force Nelson to negotiate with the FWD on removing all wild deer and moose from his fenced in shooting grounds and to comply with the FW Board regulations on shooting his red deer.
The odds of the plan due today being anything but a blueprint for Nelson selling "hunts" for Pete and the rest of the formerly wild life is about nil.
From WCAX TV news website:
Irasburg, Vermont - September 10, 2010
Another page today in the drama of Pete the moose.
The animal is living on an elk hunting preserve in Irasburg after he was mauled by dogs, but the Fish and Wildlife Department planned to kill Pete. It's illegal to hold wild animals in captivity out of fear they'll spread disease.
Today is the deadline for the land owner to submit a plan to the state on turning his wildlife preserve into a wildlife farm.
WCAX News
This is my comment left on the website:
Eric Nuse
It is true the FWD is very concerned about the spread of disease, thus Pete could not be released in the wild and no other facilities would take Pete. However, the larger principle is wildlife is owned by all and held in trust by the State. Therefore wildlife can not be owned or held captive by any one person. Thus Pete was illegally taken and held by Mr. Nelson along with the other fenced moose and whitetail deer on his canned hunt facility. It is in the interest of everyone to keep wildlife wild.
It is true the FWD is very concerned about the spread of disease, thus Pete could not be released in the wild and no other facilities would take Pete. However, the larger principle is wildlife is owned by all and held in trust by the State. Therefore wildlife can not be owned or held captive by any one person. Thus Pete was illegally taken and held by Mr. Nelson along with the other fenced moose and whitetail deer on his canned hunt facility. It is in the interest of everyone to keep wildlife wild.
From WCAX news - they still have it wrong - Nelson can kill Pete and any of the moose and deer anytime he wants - the legislature gave them to him!
ReplyDeleteIrasburg, Vermont - September 10, 2010
The man at the center of the Pete the moose controversy is now complying with state law.
The animal is living on an elk hunting preserve in Irasburg after he was mauled by dogs, but the Vt. Fish & Wildlife Department planned to kill Pete. It's illegal to hold wild animals in captivity out of fear they'll spread disease.
But the moose got a reprieve from lawmakers when they re-classified Doug Nelson's preserve as a farm. Nelson was supposed to come up with a plan to manage it by Aug. 1. Nelson did not file a management plan on time this summer. But he did file it Friday-- meeting a new deadline. So Pete will not be killed.
WCAX News
The group we have assembled should be able to ask for case in point's of people who took wildlife in and were found guilty and fined , the # of cases must be high, even about the time this first became a problem .Or the sale of said game or other related things? Why was the intentional law breaker not brought to justice, after multiple ,fragrant, infractions? Why is Bob Rooks and David LaCourse silent? How can a laws be written, deadlines and fines issued without enforcement. How can a person admit to guilt on national news, say he'll do it again and continue to do so ! Repeal the nelson amendment and your only back to square one! New laws didn't help last time, remember? Apparently the Supreme court's rule's are unenforcable too!
ReplyDeleteRod Elmer
The point is that Vermont ,N.H. and Maine are the last Three states in this country to have no deer diseases and Vermont is second only to Alaska for the #'s of hunters per capita. She is covered with people who have a deep spiritual and physical connection with wild places and things. Nature is in the blood of her people and her people benifit from that connection every day. Our wild deer herd must be cared for and protected, as it is a food source of 25 % of our population. It is also a national resource of incalculable intrinsical value. A "GREENER" protein food source cannot be found. The exsistence of wild places and animals is what our country has always been about! Vermonter's were the first people in America to recognize the importance of wildlife game laws and impliment them. The first to have hunter Ed courses. The first to act on the freedom of government. As independent as people can get, loving freedom , space, showing tolerence and wisdom . As my 8'th generation sons of Vermont walk into their futures, they do not wish to look into the eyes of a moose in a fense. How long before they drive by Camel's Hump, they used to climb and know they can never go back?They have heard the stories of the days when excited phone calls to neighbors marked the presense of a lone deer. They sat in shock at a mountain of buffalo skulls. They see the disappointment in there father's heart when a yellow poster tells him where he can no longer roam. It's like to fleas arguing over the dog they are on! You must have already forgotten! Nature is bigger then the human race. I wish to pass on to our childern, lessons learned not misstakes repeated. The profit of one man is meaningless, the short term survival of one moose is insignificant when compared to the loss of mans connection to the natural world he must coexist in, to survive long term. I do not wish our childern a Vermont where the moose used to roam and the deer only play behind the fense. Where people take without asking, Where law breakers go unpunished, where people don't wave on a dirt road, where law makers deal quietly in a closed rooms, or a govenor tells his employees to be quiet,a state of uncommon sense.
ReplyDeleteRod Elmer
see 'Pete the Moose' the day he was taken from his cow. he was the picture of health - never was any dog attack. it was all a lie, and media continue to spread it.
ReplyDeletehttp://davidandthekingdom.blogspot.com/search/label/Video%20Clips
Can we get any info. on the results of his plan from the ag. dept. or a copy of the plan and the commissioner's thoughts? Should we not try to see if things are being addressed?
ReplyDeleteRod Elmer