Please Read: Urgent Updates
*caution* This link will take you to PETAs site, directly to the related article, however I must warn you, said article has a link to a video clip...♣lowers ears♣...you have been warned...
Urgent Update: Wolf Dogs Still at Risk on Texas Breeder's Property
- The Breeder Denies There Is A Problem!
- The Authorities Deny There Is A Problem!
- Peta Sends Out New Alert
- Email Links
*** Please Email The Authorities! ***
This Cannot Be Allowed To Continue
Turning A Blind Eye Is NOT Acceptable!
There Is No Question
This Is An Attack
All attempts to get the breeder and the authorities to act on this abuse, has been met with excuses and disdain. As we mentioned in our last alert, this is CLEARLY an attack and most likely attributable to energy displacement (see What Is Happening! below).
The Fox News Network has picked up this story. Phil Keating (Journalist for Geraldo At Large) has been to TX to interview this breeder and his neighbors. He also went to PA to interview individuals who were associated with a woman, killed by her wolf-dogs last week. Last, but certainly not least, he came to Wolf to interview us about the behavior of wolves and wolf-dogs in captivity.
This program is scheduled to air on the Geraldo At Large syndication on Friday, July 28th. We encourage everyone concerned about this situation to view the program. We are not totally sure how all of this will be presented, but believe it will be insightful. You can find the exact channel and time for your local area by visiting the Geraldo At Large web site. Link:
http://www.geraldoatlarge.com/where-to-watch.php?PHPSESSID=7ff7d62887873a074a39db89f77251dc
After viewing the program, please go back to their web site and send in your comments. This will demonstrate that the public is interested in this type of programming and they will be more willing to do additional programs, in the future, to help animals.
We also encourage you to visit the Peta web site and read their new alert on this situation and view an updated video. The link for that alert and video is referenced below.
Again, we also ask that you email, fax or write a polite letter to the authorities and media in Texas. Their email and address links are listed below.
Thank You for your help!
What Is Happening!
Puppy - Victim of Attack
This type of behavior by wolves and wolf-dogs is described by L. David Mech in his book “The Wolfâ€. It is called energy displacement. We have witnessed this type of behavior in person and it has been a major factor in the development of our philosophy and mission. Indeed, it is the main reason why we do NOT believe wolves and wolf-dogs should be bred for a life in captivity. The bottom line, it is unfair to the animals. It causes aberrant, unnatural behavior.
Wolves possess a very high energy level, extremely high intelligence and are predators. In the wild these traits are perfect for the role they play in the ecosystem. In captivity these innate qualities are stifled. As the unused energy, boredom and lack of a challenge build, the pressure cooker will eventually explode. This is especially true when captive wolves are kept in large groups and there is no attention given to enriching factors in their environment. When the lid blows, they will attack a member of their own pack, usually the omega. This is not an indication of their like or dislike for that individual, they must expend the pent up energy.
The animals at Starcross Wolves are not being cared for properly. There are way too many animals in one enclosure and the fencing is not suitable or safe. This situation must be rectified quickly.
Please HELP!
Please Send An Email, Fax or Letter!
Kaufman County Authorities
Email Addresses:
sharliedavis@kaufmanso.com,
chiefsmith@kaufmantx.org,
902@kaufmantx.org,
jlaney@kaufmantx.org,
sellis@kaufmantx.org,
animalcont@kaufmantx.org,
eblack@kaufmantx.org,
Texas State Vet:
comments@tahc.state.tx.us,
Media Email Addresses:
dbray@dallasnews.com,
jeffdavis@dallasnews.com,
grodrigue@dallasnews.com,
ssmith@dallasnews.com,
wstallings@dallasnews.com,
kdfw@kdfwfox4.com,
metronorth@kdfwfox4.com,
newstips@ktvt.com,
investigates@wfaa.com,
bharris@wfaa.com,
bshipp@wfaa.com,
publisher@themonitor.net,
ttrib@swbell.net
Kaufman County Authorities:
(USPS Addresses & Fax Numbers)
David Byrnes, Sheriff
Deputy R. Widener, Animal Control Officer
Kaufman County Sheriff's Department
100 W. Mulberry
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-932-4337
972-932-9751 (fax)
Deputy Walter Dykes, Environmental Crimes Division
Kaufman County Sheriff's Department
100 W. Mulberry
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-932-4337, ext. 2857
972-932-9751 (fax)
Ed Walton, District Attorney
Kaufman County District Attorney's Office
Kaufman County Courthouse
100 W. Mulberry St.
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-932-0262
972-932-0357 (fax)
Jim Deller, Commissioner, Precinct 4
Kaufman County
P.O. Box 766
Kemp, TX 75143
903-498-2013, ext. 2
903-498-4033 (fax)
Texas State Vet:
(USPS Address & Fax Number)
Dr. Bob Hillman
Texas State Veterinarian
P.O. Box 12966
Austin, TX 78711
512-719-0700
512-719-0719 (fax)
~*~
Help Save Idaho wolves
The reintroduction of wolves to the American West is one of the crowning conservation accomplishments of the last century. But now that achievement and the wolves whose lives depend on it is once again at risk as the state of Idaho plans new “management” activities that could kill 3 out of 4 wolves in parts of the state.
DISPATCH FROM IDAHO:
ORPHANED WOLF PUPS LIKELY DEAD
Here in Idaho, politicians voted in 2001 for a measure to eliminate wolves “by any means necessary.” Now tragedy has struck again.
Last month, a federal trapper responding to an incident of livestock loss killed two adult wolves in Idaho, ignoring established wildlife management practice and leaving the wolves’ orphaned pups to an inhumane death.
Hoping to find the pups, my daughter Sierra and I drove the 120 miles from Boise to Sawtooth National Forest.
We hiked the back-country and howled and looked for tracks or other signs of the pups. We searched until nightfall, but couldn’t find them.
Young pups like these need their parents. Alone, they will likely starve to death or be killed by other predators.
Today, we desperately need your help to protect Idaho wolves.
Incidents like these pups’ deaths can be prevented. With public education and careful oversight of state and federal agencies, such needless deaths can be avoided.
That’s why Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund and Defenders of Wildlife are working hard for common sense wolf management in Idaho:
* In the Courts: We’re ready to stand up and fight in court to save the 3 out of 4 wolves that could be killed in an area of Clearwater National Forest if the state is allowed to proceed with its wolf control plan for the area. Already, we’ve helped mobilize tens of thousands of people to submit comments in opposition to the state’s plan, which is based on insufficient science.
* With Ranchers: We’re working to reduce conflicts between ranchers and wolves by supporting non-lethal wolf deterrents, purchasing fencing and livestock guard dogs, protecting sheep bedgrounds, providing grazing alternatives and more.
* With the State: While we oppose many of the state’s management choices, we’re working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to provide non-lethal control alternatives to reduce conflicts and build support for science-based management. These efforts help protect wolves from being needlessly killed due to politics or bad science.
We’re committed to protecting Idaho wolves and promoting sound wildlife management practices. But we need your help.
Your financial support allows us to keep investigating wolf killings, watchdog state and federal agencies, devise and implement methods to reduce conflicts between wolves and ranchers, and challenge plans to kill wolves in the Lolo District of Clearwater National Forest.
Please make a donation online now to support our important work to protect wolves and other imperiled wildlife in Idaho and beyond.
We’re doing all we can to protect Idaho wolves. I hope you will, too.
For the Wild Ones,
Suzanne Stone, Defenders of Wildlife
Northern Rockies Representative
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
~*~
How do you take the wild out of a wilderness area? Kill the carnivores. That’s what the U.S. Forest Service has in mind.
Tell the U.S. Forest Service to keep our wilderness areas wild and withdraw their proposal to make it easier to kill wolves and other carnivores.
The Forest Service is proposing to make it easier to kill key animals in places they were once safe -- and let an agency with a checkered past take control over these operations.
They want to use an array of poisons, traps and shooting -- including aerial gunning -- to wipe out wolves and other carnivores in federally designated wilderness areas.
Take action now. Tell the U.S. Forest Service to withdraw this ill-advised proposal. Submit your personalized comments before the August 7th deadline!
Your comments will be most effective if they are personalized. Tell officials why it is important to you that they do not go forward with this harmful proposal.
And it's not just wolves -- bears, coyotes, cougars and other carnivores are at risk.
These creatures play an important role in the ecological balance of our wilderness areas. They are essential species that keep other wildlife populations in check by preventing overpopulation and habitat damage.
The Forest Service proposal would upset the natural balance in the most remote and natural places we have left -- and Wildlife Services, the agency that would be put in charge, has a grim track record. In 2004 alone, Wildlife Services agents killed more than 37,000 animals -- coyotes, wolves, foxes, and bobcats -- from the air.
Help stop this harmful proposal from becoming a reality! Submit your comments today.
The proposal allows for the use of the controversial pesticide sodium cyanide. Baited devices could be used to shoot the highly toxic gas into a wolf’s mouth, causing a horrible death.
Under the proposal, federal agents could also chase down and kill bears or other carnivores using planes, helicopters, and all-terrain vehicles -- invading areas once safe for these creatures with loud, intrusive machines.
Submit your comments today. Tell the Forest Service to drop their proposal to loosen restrictions on killing our wolves, bears and other carnivores.
Wilderness areas were meant to be wild and free. According to the 1964 Wilderness Act, these special places should be preserved in their natural conditions with little or no human influence. But the Forest Service’s plan could fundamentally alter these largely untouched areas, allowing low-flying airplanes, trucks and all-terrain vehicles to hunt down populations of wolves, bears and other carnivores.
Write to the U.S. Forest Service today. Tell them to abandon their proposal to take the wild out of our wilderness areas.
Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen, President Signature
President
Defenders of Wildlife
~*~
Update - The Wide Awake Rescue (2)
Happy Is Still Missing
- Medical Exams
- Test Results
- The Next Step
*** We Need Your Help! ***
(read more below)
Update - Dells Wolf (6)
- Letter From Adrian Wydeven
- Latest News Report
"Dells Wolf May Have Been Killed"
(read more below)
Update - The Wide-Awake Rescue
Medical Exams
Collar Taken Off Atlantis
After allowing the animals some time to settle and get somewhat acclimated to their new surroundings, the day came for their medical exams, vaccinations and blood draws for testing. Tuesday, June 6th began the process of trying to return them to a healthy state. Before this could happen however, we needed to be as sure as possible that we had the right animal located in an enclosure that would put them either with their mate or companion or next to that individual. It had become quite apparent after receiving the animals from Minnesota that a number of the travel kennels were labeled incorrectly. Visual examination with photos from their original location, determined that approximately 10 of the kennels were labeled incorrectly.
It is our understanding that the catch-up, of these animals, at the original site was accomplished by Gary Tank and his organization (the animal transport company), which makes this mislabeling totally understandable. The Tank Crew really had no feelings for the animals and were only in this for the money, so why worry if they had the right names or not.
It is extraordinarily important for the wolves' physical and emotional well-being that we try to get them paired as quickly as possible. Wolves are extremely social animals and need the companionship of other wolves in order to feel comfortable and at ease. We are still struggling with this evaluation and have been communicating with some of Jamie Willard’s friends trying to get accurate information. We still needed to take our best shot at getting the animals as close to their bonded companions as possible, so that as they re-established bonds with them we could open the fence between their enclosures. This exercise took an exorbitant amount of time.
Finally we were underway, with our vet Priscilla Dressen -- catching them up, giving their vaccinations, doing their exams, blood draws and documenting our findings. Catching them up was done without tranquilizers in order to insure that we did not have chemical issues with animals that were already compromised. Each was cornered, quickly covered with a blanket and pinned down for the procedures. Once pinned the animals totally surrender and then it was our goal to be quick, quiet and efficient. This approach is actually the best one to use with animals whose health is already in question.
There were only a couple of animals who were defensive, with their fear, and tried to bite. The catch-up team was very good at controlling these situations and indeed kept all of the animals safely under control.
As we performed the physical exams it became even more clear how neglected these animals had been and how much remedial help they would need.
- 17 are anywhere from 25 to 40 lbs. under weight.
- 17 are suffering from stress & varying levels of dehydration.
- 16 have old frost bite damage to their ears.
- 2 have heart murmurs.
- 2 have hip issues.
- 1 has old brain trauma affecting eyesight and coordination.
- 1 has severe cataracts, which might be operable.
- 1 is missing his left eye.
It also became clear that even more animals than we thought were mislabeled. One that was supposed to be a female turned out to be a male and one that was supposed to be male was indeed female. As we determined new identities, finished exams and removed their horrible collars, we then moved the appropriate animals to their new enclosures.
Now we would have to wait on the blood tests to see what else was going on with them physically.
Test Results - The Next Step
It took a day for the blood work to be processed and the results to start arriving. Reviewing these reports, indicated the critical nature of their health issues and how far we were from having healthy, happy animals. These guys were not out of the woods yet and indeed many of their issues were life-threatening.
- 14 tested heartworm positive.
- 2 of those are in advanced stages.
- 2 are suffering from severe bacterial infections.
- 2 are suffering from moderate bacterial infections.
- 15 appear to be suffering from extreme stress.
- 8 will have to be retested in a couple of weeks to see if there potassium levels are returning to normal.
The stress issues have severely compromised the adrenal functions of all the animals. This is not something that occurs from short-term stress, but rather prolonged extreme stress in their lives. At this point it is uncertain as to whether their adrenal glands will ever function normally again. The tests in several weeks should give us some answers. If the adrenals do not start functioning correctly, it will require significant monitoring and medication for the rest of their lives.
Likewise, the heartworm issue is going to be very critical to their lives. The normal treatment for heartworm requires confinement and little or no exertion. This is not an option for these animals -- as that would only exacerbate the stress issues. After consulting with the experts at the CSU Vet Teaching Hospital, we have decided to take a new path with the treatment for 12 of the animals. This involves using the preventative treatment for heartworm for the next 3 years of each animal’s life. This approach will effectively kill all of the new larva and allow the adult parasites to die off naturally and hopefully be absorbed without affecting normal heart functions. Unfortunately, we will have to treat the 2 advanced cases with the normal treatment, minus the confinement. These 2 animals will not be able to wait for 3 years for a resolution as the level of infestation is too advanced. We are guardedly optimistic that we can keep their lives calm enough, in order to give them the best chance of survival. This will however, be extremely risky. Because of the introduction of these diseased animals to the sanctuary we will also now have do preventative medication for all the residents at both locations.
We have started the 4 animals, with infections, on antibiotics and are giving all the animals adrenal support supplements. We will keep you updated as their conditions change.
We Need Your Help -- Please Send An Email & A Prayer!
Please Send An Email to the Humane Society and ask where the donations went
for these animals!
mgmt@animalhumanesociety.org
crmgr@animalhumanesociety.org
mail@mpr.org
readerrep@startribune.com
readers@pioneerpress.com
jkummer@pioneerpress.com
trish.vanpilsum@foxtv.com
jacqueline.mclean@foxtv.com
tom.lyden@foxtv.com
jeff.baillon@foxtv.com
gennewstips@kstp.com
atissue@kstp.com
investigative@kstp.com
wcconewstips@wcco.com
rbattle@kare11.com
acostantini@kare11.com
jcroman@kare11.com
jrdaniels72@yahoo.com
We have yet to hear from the Golden Valley Humane Society in Minnesota regarding our inquiries about donations they received for these animals. According to their web site they received approximately $24,000 in donations for the care and transport of these animals. We believe that the individuals who donated money for these animals expected it to be used for these animals. It would appear that The Humane Society has no intention of forwarding any remaining funds above their actual expenses to Wolf, for the care of these animals. We believe that this is not only unethical, but possibly in violation of the IRS regulations governing 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.
We encourage anyone who believes that this is improper, to please write to The Golden Valley Humane Society and express their concerns. We have included email addresses for the Humane Society and the media in Minnesota.
We ask you to please visualize these animals during your spiritual ceremonies and send them the energy they need to survive these challenges.
As we progress with their medical treatments, spays and neuters, the bills will increase rapidly.
We need your help to provide essential treatment. Our financial resources will be stretched to the maximum, in order to care effectively for these animals.
If you can afford even a donation of $5.00, it will help. You can send it via our web site at this link:
http://www.wolfsanctuary.net/10-funding/10-01.htm#donations
or send it to our USPS address:
Post Office Box 1544
La Porte, CO 80535
THANK YOU to all of you who have already helped and to those of you who will. We will be getting your receipts sent out shortly.
MN Humane - TV News Report
(on-line video available)
KSTP TV 5 News from 26 May 2006
http://www.kstptv5.com/article/stories/S16579.html?cat=1
Wisconsin Officials Seize 19 Wolf-Dog Hybrids
KARE 11 TV News from 26 May 2006
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=125646
Animal Humane Society Rescues Wolf Hybrids
MN Humane - TV News Report
WCCO TV 4 News from 26 May 2006
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_146071205.html
Humane Society Houses 19 Wolf-Dog Hybrids
Update - Dells Wolf
What Do We Think Now!
Adrian.Wydeven@dnr.state.wi.us
The latest news on the Dells Wolf has come to us from a supporter who received an email from Adrien Wydeven saying:
Trapping was discontinued after depredations stopped and the animal apparently moved on to another location.
As I was preparing this update another news story broke regarding our boy. Please demand that the DNR respond to this situation and let us know if they believe the animal shot was the Dells Wolf.
Dells Wolf May Have Been Killed
http://www.channel3000.com/news/9351806/detail.html
Thank You, for your help with this situation. I really thought your efforts gave this boy enough time to do his thing and get on the road again. Now we must wait to see what the DNR has to say.
X-Posted to wolf_lovers.