Attribution: Kyletracysrs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper notes yet another push for a Wisconsin hunting season on sandhill cranes.
As reported by Henry Redman in the “Wisconsin Examiner” the crane hunt is being touted as relief for farmers who claim losses of $900,000 from cranes feeding on freshly planted corn. Redman’s report cites opponents of the hunt touting the use of a chemical added to seed corn which makes it unpalatable to birds.
Should a Wisconsin crane hunt be established, it will take its place along with the unconscionable–ONLY IN WISCONSIN–summer bear hound training, which is just wrapping up, as rules promoted and written largely by gun-oriented special interests with little citizen input.
Wisconsin farmers kill about 1,000 cranes annually under the provisions of federal nuisance permitting, and conservationists cite evidence that a hunting season would have little or no impact on crop predation.
Amid the political frenzy gripping the state, the keeper urges the citizenry to also have their voices heard on behalf of the bears and the big birds.
Photo by Bill Stokes
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