MEXICAN WOLF

For Immediate Release: July 9, 2007
For more information Contact: Laura Schneberger 505-772-5753

Wolf Removal Shrouded with Misinformation, Hysteria and Hyperbole.

The Mexican wolf program has long been a bone of contention between ranchers, who are caught between the packs and federal agencies administering the program.

Last week New Mexico ranchers learned that that Governor Bill Richardson is now advocating that cattle killing wolf packs remain on the ground. The New Mexico Governor has demanded that the federal government abandon the current method of dealing with habituated, problem wolves known as Standard Operating Procedure 13, Control of Mexican wolves. SOP 13 allows federal officials to remove or shoot any wolf or wolves that have been confirmed to have been involved in 3 livestock kills in a one year period.

Governor Richardson, says area rancher Laura Schneberger, can not possibly have the whole story.

“The Governors involvement came about after the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish decided not to cooperate in the removal of one wolf,” says Schneberger. “It takes a day to issue a lethal removal order after the third strike on a wolf pack. It appears that NMDG&F stonewalled the decision. Nearly a week after the last kill, the removal order was issued and it was not without their input into the decision-making.”

The mysterious circumstances surrounding the lethal control removal of the wolf are currently being investigated by the New Mexico State police and the Catron County Sheriff’s Department.

A Witness at the scene shortly after the shooting of the wolf described a female employee of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish arriving at the scene and becoming overwrought and verbally abusive to federal officers in the field upon learning the wolf had been shot. Recent media reports describe an armed confrontation that allegedly took place between program cooperators.

“We support Wildlife Services officers completely and have never had any problems with their professional demeanor. However, we have been concerned for some time over the caliber of people that the state agencies are hiring for this program,” says Schneberger. “If a person cannot understand the rules of the program and the reasons behind the policies it operates under, or is too emotional to deal with the deaths of animals that are bound to occur in these types of situations, they should be working in an ice cream parlor instead of interning for a program that is full of death. The NMDG&F should understand by now that our ranching and outfitter neighbors need competent, people that can be trusted in a crisis, not someone who falls apart and makes up stories when the agenda is interrupted.”

The wolf in question was AF-924 of the Durango pack, at the time of her removal she was the center of a controversy between federal agents and Catron County. In the weeks prior to her death, the county issued its own removal order for the animal. Catron County officials had placed humane traps in areas frequented by the wolf.

Federal agents with the wolf program attempted to acquire a restraining order to stop the county from removing the animal. Two weeks into the trapping effort, the agents still had not been able to procure that order, the reason why is unknown to the county. However, once the wolves killed another cow and calf, Catron County re-called its trapper and SOP 13 was initiated by federal officials in charge of the program.

“The use of this wolf in the program was just cruel stupidity on the part of the wolf team.” says Schneberger. They knew she was an accomplished stock killer, they released her in the Wilderness but within two weeks she moved right back to the same place she killed on before her removal last year. The agencies knew that all she had to do to meet the requirements for lethal control was to kill one more time. It was all entirely too predictable.”

It is not known whether a necropsy on the wolf is planned but the manager of the Adobe Ranch where the livestock kills have been taking place says he hopes they examine the wolf, so the issue of the pups can be laid to rest. “She was dry that is for sure, if that wolf had pups in a den somewhere, nobody ever saw them. All they have to do is look at her and see that she wasn’t producing milk for pups,” says Gene Whetten.”

The Aspen pack wolves have also localized on a nearby ranch and are confirmed to be raising pups. This pack is also preying on privately owned livestock to feed those pups and have already been confirmed to have killed three yearlings in the past month on the Diamond Ranch with no removal order issued for those killings.

If the New Mexico Governor does not change his support to stop control of livestock killing wolves, the Aspen pack and other problem wolves will be allowed to kill cattle indefinitely and area ranchers are dreading this possibility.

Laura's weblog is Wolf Crossing.