MENDOCINO Co., 9/13/19 — A coalition of concerned residents will be hosting a forums in Caspar on Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m., concerning the issue of Mendocino County’s contract with the federal Wildlife Services to trap and dispose of predatory animals. The issue of whether or not to trap and dispose of these animals has become contentious in recent years, and groups have file lawsuits against the county under environmental law.
Now that issue is coming up for review by the county, an a group of local activists have organized to try to get the county to change their policy. They will be holding this event to discuss the issue at the Caspar Community Center.
The group makes the following claim concerning the trappers, and this gives a good summary of what the group believes is at stake:
Mendocino County has contracted with USDA Wildlife Services (WS) to kill thousands of wild animals, largely at the behest of ranchers. Between 1997 and 2017, WS trappers killed 181 mountain lions, 261 black bears, 235 gray foxes, 112 bobcats and 4,119 coyotes in Mendocino County alone.
Here are the details of the event:
OUR WILD NEIGHBORS
Coexisting with North America’s Native Carnivores
Mendocino County currently faces a decision of whether to keep needlessly killing wildlife, or to adopt a more science-based and compassionate non-lethal approach to resolving conflicts between humans and our wild neighbors.
Project Coyote Founder and Executive Director Camilla Fox will introduce the issues at this open community forum. She will be joined by wildlife ecologist and founder of the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center, Dr. Robert Crabtree.
Dr. Crabtree will discuss why native carnivores matter, their role in keeping ecosystems resilient and healthy, how traditional predator control methods can be counterproductive and ecologically destructive, and why non-lethal approaches are proving effective in communities across the country.
Where: Caspar Community Center
Date: September 18, 2019
Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm, with live music from local musician Rosebud Ireland; Speakers begin at 7:00 pm. Q&A session to follow.
This event is FREE and the public is encouraged to attend to learn about this critical decision facing the Mendocino Board of Supervisors. Read more here.
For more information, contact Mendocino Non-lethal Wildlife Alliance at: [email protected] or (707) 391-7624
Special Guests:
Camilla H. Fox and Robert (Bob) Crabtree
why should we not kill coyotes is this a problem in the town’s or on the ranche’s ? nop to the town but yes to the ranche’s as this is how they to survive ? where doe’s your meat come from not the grocery store but the ranche’s ! so if a lone coyote take’s three or more of the rancher’s cattle young one’s no future meat from him ? and lamb’s one of the choice meat coyote’s love they can kill a whole bunch in a heart beat ! so if we have trapper’s doing what need’s be done and not a person who has no clew of what need’s to be done so be it !people who live in the city have no idea what is happening out in the ranche’s at night ?yes we need people who hunt wild animal’s like dump bear’s in brooktrail’s they even know when the garbage truck run’s are on Wednesday or Tuesday they are not dumb !