January 6, 2025 • 24 mins
This week Cal talks about hound hunting legislation in Virginia, the death of a bear hunter, buck theft and so much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calaan. Here's cal.
A sixty four year old mushroom forager had to be
rescued by the Coastguard after falling behind her foraging group
and getting lost along the southern Oregon coast. The woman
(00:31):
has not been identified, but she was eventually found sheltering
under a tree to keep warm after being lost in
the woods for two days. The search involved five separate
law enforcement and emergency management agencies, which deployed helicopters, ground crews,
and canine units to search for the missing forager. Thermal
cameras were unable to find her since she'd hidden under
(00:52):
a tree, but ground crews heard her shouting for help
after seeing the search and rescue helicopter. Proof that we
can't leave everything up to technology. Believe it or not,
it's pretty common for foragers to get lost in Oregon.
Oregon Live reports that three rescue efforts have been launched
just this fall, one of which lasted two days. Those
(01:13):
wild fun guy are just too tempting, take it from me,
and foragers don't always go out prepared for the elements.
I'll tell you one time, I was racing a storm
back from picking morels in a fairly remote drainage in
the Bitter Range and jumped on a log, slipped, whacked
my head, saw stars. Mild concussion is what we'd call
(01:36):
it these days. Back then, we just called it getting
your bell rung. And I've always thought about how that
very well could have been the way I went out
all for the love of mushroom. It's unclear whether the
woman in Oregon was able to bring home any woodland delicacies,
but another foraging story, this one from the United Kingdom,
was quite a bit more successful. There, a twenty seven
(01:58):
year old woman found a giant, eleven pound puffball mushroom
that she says has fed her family for an entire week.
My arms are weak, but my spirit is strong, she
wrote on Instagram after carrying the giant fung guy home.
She says she's enjoying it to make schnitzel, curry, meatloaf, pasta,
and steak, though after a week of puffball mushroom slices,
she says she's getting a little sick of it. In
(02:20):
case you're wondering, and I know you are, the largest
mushroom fruiting body ever recorded was discovered in China in
twenty ten. There, two fellas found a specimen of Felonus
ellipso idiots, you can tell me how to really say
it by writing into ask cal at the meat eater
dot com that weighed a wopping one thousand pounds. This
(02:42):
species of mushroom grows on deadwood, has a hard woody texture,
and is not safe to eat. The largest mushroom organism
that is the part under the ground is the Urmilaria
ostoie mushroom that lives in Oregon's Maleahere National Forest. Covers
a wopping three and a half square miles and is
the world's largest living organism. How's that for trivia spencer
(03:05):
demon suckers. Here's another mushroom fact to amaze your friends
and confound your enemies. What we normally think of as
mushrooms are actually a mushroom plant's reproductive organs. The fruiting
body is what a mushroom uses to reproduce, but it
also happens to be the bit we harvest and eat.
Just something to ruminate on the next time you bite
(03:26):
into a thick slice of puff ball. Or morell. This week,
we've got the barrel meters is dropping, which is a
bad joke. We'll get to you later, the crime desk,
an Australian report, and so much more. But first I'm
gonna tell you about my week. And my week well,
holy hell, kids, I just cannot hit the broadside of
a barn with a scatter gun right now. Just a
(03:47):
bizarre turn of events. I've stayed many times on this podcast.
Hunting pheasants is hard this time of year, and missing
them is just not acceptable. In fact, I often tell
people who join the Dog and I to watch how
hard the dog works, Watch how much ground she covers,
what she does in comparison to the humans that follow
(04:09):
her around. Snort does all this work. All you have
to do is be in a good shooting position and
kill the fricking bird. Just kill the bird in comparison.
Not that much to ask, not that hard to what
the dog's doing. I'm, my friends, am not killing the bird.
I went as far as to call a landowner I
know who allows us to occasionally hunt the Russian olive
(04:32):
choked river corridor on his place. It's tough hunting. Not
many people want to do it. And we should have
limited out in the first hour, but instead ended at
the truck four hours later. God knows how many miles
on poor Snort with zero roosters in the bag. I'm
not getting my face down on the shotgun. I'm not
shooting from my toes. I'm being lazy. I know this,
(04:54):
but I'm having a very hard time rectifying my actions
getting back on the horse. S sure I've ever experienced
this type of slump for so long. We only have
a couple of walks left in the season, and I
have a really hard time pivoting to the ducks and
geese that are circling overhead without getting the proper rooster
fix in for the season. So you know, right in,
let us know how you can help. This is the
(05:17):
first official podcast of the New Year. I hope the
new year is going well for everybody. As you know,
on our schedule, we tend to pre record these episodes,
so I'm actually sitting here pre Christmas telling you to
have a great new year, and I'm hoping by the
new year, I'm dropping ducks and geese left and right
because I've worked out of my shooting slump on the
(05:40):
wiley roosters freezer fill in season. So right in, let
me know what you want to do in the new year,
conservation wise, hunting wise, fishing wise. For this new year,
new year, we all have room to improve, I sure do.
I hope to participate at both the state and federal level,
(06:00):
representing both my and ideally the hunting angling conservation communities
views on you know, how we manage wildlife in the
state of Montana at the state level, what you know,
cow's we can review. Listeners want out of the federal
government in regards to forestry planning, travel management, fish and
(06:22):
wildlife regulations, all those things. So another thing that I'm
thinking about here is, you know, we've always talked about
doing these meat eater experiences, right So, like we went
to Louisiana to do some fishing, we went to foul Planes,
Kansas to do some bird hunting. Super fun trip, super awesome,
great people turned out. If you'd have any interest in
(06:45):
making a lap out to Washington, d C. To lobby
on behalf of good conservation or possibly to remind our
elected officials why you know that plan or this plan
or you know something in the future is not a
good idea, Please let me know and maybe we can
put something together. There's gonna be plenty of opportunity, as
(07:07):
everybody knows from listening to the Weekend Review. The big
goal here right is to get people informed, have some
fun listening to some good stories, but also just motivate
you to write in, call and ideally knock on a
few doors of your elected officials and let them know
that this stuff is super important and it's where you
(07:29):
spend your time and money, and you want it to
be around for later generations too. So all right, gang,
I'm trusting that you're having an awesome new year. Let's
get in to the news. Moving on to the flying
bear Desk. If Virginia man was struck and killed by
a falling black bear and what can only be described
as a last ditch attempt at revenge, the Virginia Department
(07:52):
of Wildlife Resources says fifty eight year old Lester Harvey
Junior was with a group of hound hunters who chased
a black bear into a tree in County in the
south central portion of the state. Most of the group
moved away from the tree so one of the hunters
could shoot the bear, but Harvey didn't move far enough.
He stayed within about ten feet of the tree, and
when the bear came crashing to earth, it landed on him.
(08:13):
There's no word on how heavy the bear was, but
it wouldn't have to be that hefty to do serious damage.
The other hunters rendered first aid until ems arrived and
Harvey was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. A
few days later, his family announced that he'd succumbed to
those injuries. Harvey was a self employed contractor and avid
out doorsman who was a friend to all and never
(08:34):
met a stranger, according to his obituary. He is survived
by a wife, three sons, two daughters, and eight grandchildren.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources says it is not
pursuing any criminal charges related to this incident, which would
be a heck of a twist criminal intent with black
bear something like that. Anyway, stay safe out there, folks.
(08:54):
You never know what Mother Nature is going to throw
out next. Moving on to the bow hunting desk, it's
been a tough few weeks for hunters in South Australia.
There the government has begun enforcing a total ban on
archery hunting in the state. The Governor of South Australia
has the power under the National Parks and Wildlife Act
to determine legal means of take. Animal rights activists have
(09:15):
been pushing for a bow hunting ban for several years,
and earlier this year the governor caved. She issued a
total ban on bow hunting of any kind, with one
exception for reasons that remain unclear. It will still be
legal to bowfish for carp or river murray. Everything else
is now a no go since the ban took effect
on December one, twenty twenty four. There was no ecological
(09:38):
or scientific reason for the ban. Animal rights activists simply
argued that bow hunting is inhumane, and three unfortunate incidents
were used to push the government over the edge. A
police officer was injured by a bow hunter and a
domestic cat and sea lion were killed. That's exactly the
kind of bad press the animal rights crowd was looking for,
which is crazy because domestic cats are killing the law.
(10:00):
It's sensitive wildlife, which we've covered often here on the
Week in Review, but it was apparently enough to convince
South Australia's government to prohibit bow hunting. Classic stuff. You know,
illegal acts are used to punish law abiding citizens. I've
read through the government's Frequently Asked Questions document and a
(10:20):
few things stand out. First, they don't even try to
offer a good explanation to justify the ban. Under the
question why are you introducing the ban, the government says
the ban reflects a commitment made by the state government
to prohibit the use of bows and crossbows to kill
animals in South Australia. Nothing about science or ecology. They
don't even say because bow hunting is cruel and inhumane.
(10:41):
They're doing it simply because they want to. I also
find it amusing that hunting with the spear is still allowed.
Under the question which activities will be permitted under the ban,
they say that lawful hunting using devices other than bows
and crossbows are allowed. They list off a few of
these lawful means of take, one of which is spear hunting.
I doubt many South Australians hunt with the spear, but
(11:03):
it seems like that's just as a quote inhumane as
a bow and arrow. It's also interesting that they still
allow bow fishing for karp. They care about the health
and well being of all animals, but not fish. We
will still be legal to own and use bows for
target practice in South Australia, but I imagine that's a small
comfort for the bow hunters who live there. As with
(11:24):
proposed waterfowl hunting band we covered a few weeks ago,
Australia gives us a window into the ultimate aim of
animal rights groups. They don't care about science or biology
or humaneness. They think hunting is wrong and they'll take
everything we give them. That's why it's important that we
retain our influence in the political sphere. Otherwise you can
bet this kind of thing we'll be coming to an
(11:46):
American state near you. Thanks to listener Jason Cameron for
sending us that story. Moving on to the crime desk,
and elderly hunter in Montana had his five x five
and hunting gear stole in last November near the town
of Troy in the northwestern part of the state. Seventy
four year old Bob Swiden had downed a nice mealy
(12:08):
about three miles up the Yack River Road. He was
trying to drag the deer out by himself when he
started feeling chest pain, so he left to go get help.
When he returned forty minutes later, he found to his
dismay that the deer and his backpack were nowhere to
be seen. To add injury to insult, Swindon did indeed
have a heart attack a few days later, but he
survived and is recovering at home. I imagine he and
(12:30):
his family are glad he went to get help instead
of trying to drag the deer back to his truck
by himself. Still, what kind of person steals a nice
buck from an old man or anybody? If you know
anything about this, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sawyer
Johnson would like to hear from you. You can call
him at four zero six two nine one six five
three nine or visit tipmont dot mt dot gov to
(12:53):
provide information. Believe it or not, this isn't the only
buck thievery that's happened this year. Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks posted on Facebook on October thirtieth that another person
had stolen a buckhead from a hunter who is trying
to get at home. The hunter had gutted the deer
and left it briefly to retrieve a game cart. When
he returned, he found that the head of his five
(13:14):
x five deer had been removed and stolen. I don't
know what these thieves get out of this. Do they
mount it on the wall and tell their friends, Yep,
that's one I stole off an old fella, or do
they make up some bs story about their own hunt.
Anybody who hunts knows that, you know, it's the memory
made by the hunt that you get to relive a
little more viscerally when you look at that picture or
(13:38):
the mount or the rack. Even if that racks thrown
up on your shed roof or something like that, or
laying around your garden fence. That's what thieves steal from hunters. Obviously,
there's a market for antlers and dog chews and bigger
racks fetch bigger bucks, no pun intended. I was speaking
to a game warden and at you know, high very
(13:59):
big time trophy in Wyoming this year, who told me
flat out he's like, if you get or in this case,
my buddy, if he gets a really nice ball, make
sure that you take care of that rack because it
will get stolen. Which is just such a freaking sad
state of affairs. Man. Anyway, one last thing for you.
We refer to these deer as five by five that
might not sound familiar to you whitetail nerds out east,
(14:22):
who usually talk about deer in terms of total points
instead of five by five. That's say it's a ten pointer.
That's just not how we do things out west. So
you know, it's like a win in Rome do as
the Romans. Thanks to listener Christy H. For sending us
that story. Have Alina's now known as the trophy Desk.
(14:43):
For the first time in over twenty years, the Boone
and Crocket Club is planning to add a new species
of game animal to its vaunted record book. The conservation
organization announced in December that it's in the process of
developing scoring guidelines for Havevelena's, also called Peckery's and not
to be confused with feral hu Havenas, are pig like
umbulates of the family Tayasua day. They're found through Central
(15:06):
and South America, Trinidad and the Caribbean, and in the
southwestern part of North America. They're even in the fossil record.
The proposal to include a new big game category for
halina was brought forward to Boone and Crockets Big Game
Records Committee by a working group made up of wildlife
managers from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, as well
as other hunting conservation groups. It's unclear right now what
(15:29):
criteria will be used to score these fun sized critters,
but it's likely to be some combination of head dimensions
similar to bears or mountain lions. Havelinas look like pigs,
but they're actually evolutionarily closer to deer than to their
pig cousins. According to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, they
measure between two and four feet in length and weigh
between forty and eighty pounds. Havelina is actually one of
(15:51):
their nicknames. Another is skunk pig. The reason for that
one is obvious. If they've ever been around you, they
have met a smelly musk from a glace near their
rear and a behavior known as a Haveleina handshake. A
family group will rub against each other's glands so that
the individual sense mix and transform into a group perfume.
Because they have poor eyesight, this family scent is important
(16:14):
to help individuals stay together. If you've never been around
to have Alena. They are super cool, full of character.
They clack their tusks, make lots of noise, very social,
little animals, really neat in Texas. I had, you know,
very unfortunately a great time chasing a little group of
Helena and big old West Texas sunset. If you've never been,
(16:38):
it's freaking gorgeous, and yeah, made what I thought was
a great shot out of Havelena ran off, tipped over
and instead of you know, giving it a couple of minutes,
I ran over there and the thing jumped up and
ran away. Never did find it, couldn't find it. Super
bummed about that, So I guess I probably have killed
(17:00):
a have alna I just didn't recover it. Anyway, I'm
super stoked to see these guys get some record book recognition,
just because I think it helps with a little higher
regard for the species, because there's definitely some folks out
there who don't call them skunk pigs. They call them
trash pigs, and it's not a term of endearment. Now,
I'm sure there's also animal protectionist groups who don't like
(17:23):
hunting and aren't happy that have alna's will now be
eligible for quote trophy status. But if they understand the
history and rationale behind boonon Crockett's record book they'd have
the opposite response. The record book was originally created to
encourage hunters to target large, old males. Going after these
animals is better for the health of species than targeting
younger males and females, which is how market hunters nearly
(17:46):
destroyed everything from deer to turkeys to largemouth bass. The
Boden Crockett's record Book was an important component of changing
the culture around hunting, and it also serves as a
vital record of biological harvest and location data. This information
is then used to determine the overall health of a
species and its habitat. If you think you have a booner,
(18:09):
have alina, we want to see it, so right in
to askcl at the meaeater dot com. Moving on to
the plague desk. Now, I don't know if you've seen
like extorcism movies. There is an actual attendee of Sunday School,
Bible camp, et cetera. Then you probably got to learn
(18:30):
at least a little bit about how like God turned
the Nile River to blood. Well, anglers in Pinedale, Wyoming
should probably check to make sure they haven't accidentally enslaved
an ancient tribe of nomadic Hebrews. That's because the Little
Soda Lake has turned red and destroyed a once beloved
fishery in the process. Biologists with the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department noticed after the ice came off the small
(18:51):
Mountain Lake in twenty twenty three that the water had
turned a strange shade of green. They also noticed a
strong foul smell coming from the water, along with lots
of manure around the shoreline. They decided not to move
forward with their annual stocking of rainbow trout that year.
This year, the situation has gotten even more serious and mysterious.
Now the lake has turned a bright shed of red
(19:12):
and the agency has notified residents that the water contains
a harmful cyanobacteria bloom that makes the water unsafe for
animals to drink. But biologists are still scratching their heads
because that kind of bacteria usually turns the water blue green,
not red. According to a report in Wiofile, I thought
when the temperatures dropped, the cyanobacteria would die back and
(19:33):
it would clear up, a fisheries biologist said, but obviously
it's still happening. Whatever it is, they plan to continue
testing in the years ahead for nitrogen, phosphorus, nitratee, ammonium,
and phosphate, along with the cyanotoxins that might exist. Whether
the reddish color has a scientific explanation or is the
result of divine displeasure, one thing is certain, Little Soda
(19:54):
Lake won't be a home for fish anytime soon. Moving
on to the mail bag, last month I received a
great email from a listener named Jacob Collins. Jacob wrote
in with some interesting information about the conflicts in Virginia
between hound hunters, landowners, and even some other hunters. We've
covered the topic several times on this podcast, and they
(20:15):
also mentioned it a few weeks ago on the Meat
Eater podcast. Basically, hound hunters in Virginia are getting into
more and more conflicts with landowners. Some of these landowners
have hurt or killed hunting dogs because they say the
dogs damage property and livestock. The hunters say they don't
mean to trespass with their hounds, but that it's legal
for them to run their dogs on public land, and
(20:36):
if the dogs end up on private property, the law
allows them to retrieve their dogs. Jacob points out that
the issue is even more complicated than many people realize
Virginia has a deep rooted history of hound hunting, with
those in the eastern part of the state using them
for deer while those in the west use them for bears.
It's in the eastern part of the state where more
conflicts are happening, partly due to population densities and part
(21:00):
due to the realities of running deer versus bear. Jacob
continues quote the thin line between right to retrieve and
property rights has been walked for decades by Virginians in
this part of the state. However, there are several issues
that are leading to more significant conflict in Virginia's Piedmont
and coastal plains. The first change has come in the
way we value deer. This is specifically true with the
(21:23):
way we view hunting big white tail bucks. Central and
Eastern Virginia have not been immune to the shift towards
careful management of private land leases to grow mature bucks.
For the owners of these properties and those that pay
to hunt there, having dogs chase deer through property isn't ideal,
even if it is unintentional and has been taking place
for decades. The bigger and more prevalent issue is the
(21:46):
population growth of central and eastern Virginia's rural areas. In
recent years, there has been significant growth in the counties
surrounding are traditional urban areas, such as Richmond and Hampton Roads.
The counties that have seen population growth of more than
two percent in the last several years accurately lines up
with the map showing hotspots of trespassing claims. When you
(22:07):
pair this with numbers suggesting the cities that those counties
surround are seeing a decline in population, one can safely
assume that people are moving from urban cities to rural areas.
This trend would increase run ins between hound hunters and
new landowners with different value systems in those subsequent areas.
I think Jacob makes some great observations here, and he
(22:28):
ends his email with another point that everyone should pay
attention to if they live in a state that allows
hound hunting quote. I think this fight is opening up
a pathway for anti hunting legislation to sneak its way
through our General Assembly. This last year, a bill named
SB seven one two was introduced by Senator David Marsden
that would have outlawed releasing or retrieving hunting dogs from
(22:51):
a road or right of way managed by Virginia's Department
of Transportation. This would have a widespread impact on the
practicality of hunting with dogs across the state. This is
why I really urge hunters in the state of Virginia
and elsewhere to pay attention when we go after the
hound hunting segment of our culture. If anyone has questions
or further clarification, two great organizations working hard on this
(23:14):
issue are Virginia Hunting Dog Alliance and Virginia Bear Hunters Association.
Thanks for the email, Jacob. Definitely some food for thought,
and I hope Virginians can work through this problem without
restricting hound hunting. It would be a shame if another
state lost this traditional method of putting meat on the table.
Dog folks are goofy I'm one of them, but they're
(23:34):
great folks. That's all I got for you this week.
Thank you so much for listening, and remember to write
in to ask c Al that's Ascal at the Meat
eater dot com. Let me know what's going on in
your neck of the woods. No, we appreciate it. Thanks again.
We'll talk to you soon.
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calaan. Here's cal.
A sixty four year old mushroom forager had to be
rescued by the Coastguard after falling behind her foraging group
and getting lost along the southern Oregon coast. The woman
(00:31):
has not been identified, but she was eventually found sheltering
under a tree to keep warm after being lost in
the woods for two days. The search involved five separate
law enforcement and emergency management agencies, which deployed helicopters, ground crews,
and canine units to search for the missing forager. Thermal
cameras were unable to find her since she'd hidden under
(00:52):
a tree, but ground crews heard her shouting for help
after seeing the search and rescue helicopter. Proof that we
can't leave everything up to technology. Believe it or not,
it's pretty common for foragers to get lost in Oregon.
Oregon Live reports that three rescue efforts have been launched
just this fall, one of which lasted two days. Those
(01:13):
wild fun guy are just too tempting, take it from me,
and foragers don't always go out prepared for the elements.
I'll tell you one time, I was racing a storm
back from picking morels in a fairly remote drainage in
the Bitter Range and jumped on a log, slipped, whacked
my head, saw stars. Mild concussion is what we'd call
(01:36):
it these days. Back then, we just called it getting
your bell rung. And I've always thought about how that
very well could have been the way I went out
all for the love of mushroom. It's unclear whether the
woman in Oregon was able to bring home any woodland delicacies,
but another foraging story, this one from the United Kingdom,
was quite a bit more successful. There, a twenty seven
(01:58):
year old woman found a giant, eleven pound puffball mushroom
that she says has fed her family for an entire week.
My arms are weak, but my spirit is strong, she
wrote on Instagram after carrying the giant fung guy home.
She says she's enjoying it to make schnitzel, curry, meatloaf, pasta,
and steak, though after a week of puffball mushroom slices,
she says she's getting a little sick of it. In
(02:20):
case you're wondering, and I know you are, the largest
mushroom fruiting body ever recorded was discovered in China in
twenty ten. There, two fellas found a specimen of Felonus
ellipso idiots, you can tell me how to really say
it by writing into ask cal at the meat eater
dot com that weighed a wopping one thousand pounds. This
(02:42):
species of mushroom grows on deadwood, has a hard woody texture,
and is not safe to eat. The largest mushroom organism
that is the part under the ground is the Urmilaria
ostoie mushroom that lives in Oregon's Maleahere National Forest. Covers
a wopping three and a half square miles and is
the world's largest living organism. How's that for trivia spencer
(03:05):
demon suckers. Here's another mushroom fact to amaze your friends
and confound your enemies. What we normally think of as
mushrooms are actually a mushroom plant's reproductive organs. The fruiting
body is what a mushroom uses to reproduce, but it
also happens to be the bit we harvest and eat.
Just something to ruminate on the next time you bite
(03:26):
into a thick slice of puff ball. Or morell. This week,
we've got the barrel meters is dropping, which is a
bad joke. We'll get to you later, the crime desk,
an Australian report, and so much more. But first I'm
gonna tell you about my week. And my week well,
holy hell, kids, I just cannot hit the broadside of
a barn with a scatter gun right now. Just a
(03:47):
bizarre turn of events. I've stayed many times on this podcast.
Hunting pheasants is hard this time of year, and missing
them is just not acceptable. In fact, I often tell
people who join the Dog and I to watch how
hard the dog works, Watch how much ground she covers,
what she does in comparison to the humans that follow
(04:09):
her around. Snort does all this work. All you have
to do is be in a good shooting position and
kill the fricking bird. Just kill the bird in comparison.
Not that much to ask, not that hard to what
the dog's doing. I'm, my friends, am not killing the bird.
I went as far as to call a landowner I
know who allows us to occasionally hunt the Russian olive
(04:32):
choked river corridor on his place. It's tough hunting. Not
many people want to do it. And we should have
limited out in the first hour, but instead ended at
the truck four hours later. God knows how many miles
on poor Snort with zero roosters in the bag. I'm
not getting my face down on the shotgun. I'm not
shooting from my toes. I'm being lazy. I know this,
(04:54):
but I'm having a very hard time rectifying my actions
getting back on the horse. S sure I've ever experienced
this type of slump for so long. We only have
a couple of walks left in the season, and I
have a really hard time pivoting to the ducks and
geese that are circling overhead without getting the proper rooster
fix in for the season. So you know, right in,
let us know how you can help. This is the
(05:17):
first official podcast of the New Year. I hope the
new year is going well for everybody. As you know,
on our schedule, we tend to pre record these episodes,
so I'm actually sitting here pre Christmas telling you to
have a great new year, and I'm hoping by the
new year, I'm dropping ducks and geese left and right
because I've worked out of my shooting slump on the
(05:40):
wiley roosters freezer fill in season. So right in, let
me know what you want to do in the new year,
conservation wise, hunting wise, fishing wise. For this new year,
new year, we all have room to improve, I sure do.
I hope to participate at both the state and federal level,
(06:00):
representing both my and ideally the hunting angling conservation communities
views on you know, how we manage wildlife in the
state of Montana at the state level, what you know,
cow's we can review. Listeners want out of the federal
government in regards to forestry planning, travel management, fish and
(06:22):
wildlife regulations, all those things. So another thing that I'm
thinking about here is, you know, we've always talked about
doing these meat eater experiences, right So, like we went
to Louisiana to do some fishing, we went to foul Planes,
Kansas to do some bird hunting. Super fun trip, super awesome,
great people turned out. If you'd have any interest in
(06:45):
making a lap out to Washington, d C. To lobby
on behalf of good conservation or possibly to remind our
elected officials why you know that plan or this plan
or you know something in the future is not a
good idea, Please let me know and maybe we can
put something together. There's gonna be plenty of opportunity, as
(07:07):
everybody knows from listening to the Weekend Review. The big
goal here right is to get people informed, have some
fun listening to some good stories, but also just motivate
you to write in, call and ideally knock on a
few doors of your elected officials and let them know
that this stuff is super important and it's where you
(07:29):
spend your time and money, and you want it to
be around for later generations too. So all right, gang,
I'm trusting that you're having an awesome new year. Let's
get in to the news. Moving on to the flying
bear Desk. If Virginia man was struck and killed by
a falling black bear and what can only be described
as a last ditch attempt at revenge, the Virginia Department
(07:52):
of Wildlife Resources says fifty eight year old Lester Harvey
Junior was with a group of hound hunters who chased
a black bear into a tree in County in the
south central portion of the state. Most of the group
moved away from the tree so one of the hunters
could shoot the bear, but Harvey didn't move far enough.
He stayed within about ten feet of the tree, and
when the bear came crashing to earth, it landed on him.
(08:13):
There's no word on how heavy the bear was, but
it wouldn't have to be that hefty to do serious damage.
The other hunters rendered first aid until ems arrived and
Harvey was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. A
few days later, his family announced that he'd succumbed to
those injuries. Harvey was a self employed contractor and avid
out doorsman who was a friend to all and never
(08:34):
met a stranger, according to his obituary. He is survived
by a wife, three sons, two daughters, and eight grandchildren.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources says it is not
pursuing any criminal charges related to this incident, which would
be a heck of a twist criminal intent with black
bear something like that. Anyway, stay safe out there, folks.
(08:54):
You never know what Mother Nature is going to throw
out next. Moving on to the bow hunting desk, it's
been a tough few weeks for hunters in South Australia.
There the government has begun enforcing a total ban on
archery hunting in the state. The Governor of South Australia
has the power under the National Parks and Wildlife Act
to determine legal means of take. Animal rights activists have
(09:15):
been pushing for a bow hunting ban for several years,
and earlier this year the governor caved. She issued a
total ban on bow hunting of any kind, with one
exception for reasons that remain unclear. It will still be
legal to bowfish for carp or river murray. Everything else
is now a no go since the ban took effect
on December one, twenty twenty four. There was no ecological
(09:38):
or scientific reason for the ban. Animal rights activists simply
argued that bow hunting is inhumane, and three unfortunate incidents
were used to push the government over the edge. A
police officer was injured by a bow hunter and a
domestic cat and sea lion were killed. That's exactly the
kind of bad press the animal rights crowd was looking for,
which is crazy because domestic cats are killing the law.
(10:00):
It's sensitive wildlife, which we've covered often here on the
Week in Review, but it was apparently enough to convince
South Australia's government to prohibit bow hunting. Classic stuff. You know,
illegal acts are used to punish law abiding citizens. I've
read through the government's Frequently Asked Questions document and a
(10:20):
few things stand out. First, they don't even try to
offer a good explanation to justify the ban. Under the
question why are you introducing the ban, the government says
the ban reflects a commitment made by the state government
to prohibit the use of bows and crossbows to kill
animals in South Australia. Nothing about science or ecology. They
don't even say because bow hunting is cruel and inhumane.
(10:41):
They're doing it simply because they want to. I also
find it amusing that hunting with the spear is still allowed.
Under the question which activities will be permitted under the ban,
they say that lawful hunting using devices other than bows
and crossbows are allowed. They list off a few of
these lawful means of take, one of which is spear hunting.
I doubt many South Australians hunt with the spear, but
(11:03):
it seems like that's just as a quote inhumane as
a bow and arrow. It's also interesting that they still
allow bow fishing for karp. They care about the health
and well being of all animals, but not fish. We
will still be legal to own and use bows for
target practice in South Australia, but I imagine that's a small
comfort for the bow hunters who live there. As with
(11:24):
proposed waterfowl hunting band we covered a few weeks ago,
Australia gives us a window into the ultimate aim of
animal rights groups. They don't care about science or biology
or humaneness. They think hunting is wrong and they'll take
everything we give them. That's why it's important that we
retain our influence in the political sphere. Otherwise you can
bet this kind of thing we'll be coming to an
(11:46):
American state near you. Thanks to listener Jason Cameron for
sending us that story. Moving on to the crime desk,
and elderly hunter in Montana had his five x five
and hunting gear stole in last November near the town
of Troy in the northwestern part of the state. Seventy
four year old Bob Swiden had downed a nice mealy
(12:08):
about three miles up the Yack River Road. He was
trying to drag the deer out by himself when he
started feeling chest pain, so he left to go get help.
When he returned forty minutes later, he found to his
dismay that the deer and his backpack were nowhere to
be seen. To add injury to insult, Swindon did indeed
have a heart attack a few days later, but he
survived and is recovering at home. I imagine he and
(12:30):
his family are glad he went to get help instead
of trying to drag the deer back to his truck
by himself. Still, what kind of person steals a nice
buck from an old man or anybody? If you know
anything about this, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sawyer
Johnson would like to hear from you. You can call
him at four zero six two nine one six five
three nine or visit tipmont dot mt dot gov to
(12:53):
provide information. Believe it or not, this isn't the only
buck thievery that's happened this year. Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks posted on Facebook on October thirtieth that another person
had stolen a buckhead from a hunter who is trying
to get at home. The hunter had gutted the deer
and left it briefly to retrieve a game cart. When
he returned, he found that the head of his five
(13:14):
x five deer had been removed and stolen. I don't
know what these thieves get out of this. Do they
mount it on the wall and tell their friends, Yep,
that's one I stole off an old fella, or do
they make up some bs story about their own hunt.
Anybody who hunts knows that, you know, it's the memory
made by the hunt that you get to relive a
little more viscerally when you look at that picture or
(13:38):
the mount or the rack. Even if that racks thrown
up on your shed roof or something like that, or
laying around your garden fence. That's what thieves steal from hunters. Obviously,
there's a market for antlers and dog chews and bigger
racks fetch bigger bucks, no pun intended. I was speaking
to a game warden and at you know, high very
(13:59):
big time trophy in Wyoming this year, who told me
flat out he's like, if you get or in this case,
my buddy, if he gets a really nice ball, make
sure that you take care of that rack because it
will get stolen. Which is just such a freaking sad
state of affairs. Man. Anyway, one last thing for you.
We refer to these deer as five by five that
might not sound familiar to you whitetail nerds out east,
(14:22):
who usually talk about deer in terms of total points
instead of five by five. That's say it's a ten pointer.
That's just not how we do things out west. So
you know, it's like a win in Rome do as
the Romans. Thanks to listener Christy H. For sending us
that story. Have Alina's now known as the trophy Desk.
(14:43):
For the first time in over twenty years, the Boone
and Crocket Club is planning to add a new species
of game animal to its vaunted record book. The conservation
organization announced in December that it's in the process of
developing scoring guidelines for Havevelena's, also called Peckery's and not
to be confused with feral hu Havenas, are pig like
umbulates of the family Tayasua day. They're found through Central
(15:06):
and South America, Trinidad and the Caribbean, and in the
southwestern part of North America. They're even in the fossil record.
The proposal to include a new big game category for
halina was brought forward to Boone and Crockets Big Game
Records Committee by a working group made up of wildlife
managers from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, as well
as other hunting conservation groups. It's unclear right now what
(15:29):
criteria will be used to score these fun sized critters,
but it's likely to be some combination of head dimensions
similar to bears or mountain lions. Havelinas look like pigs,
but they're actually evolutionarily closer to deer than to their
pig cousins. According to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, they
measure between two and four feet in length and weigh
between forty and eighty pounds. Havelina is actually one of
(15:51):
their nicknames. Another is skunk pig. The reason for that
one is obvious. If they've ever been around you, they
have met a smelly musk from a glace near their
rear and a behavior known as a Haveleina handshake. A
family group will rub against each other's glands so that
the individual sense mix and transform into a group perfume.
Because they have poor eyesight, this family scent is important
(16:14):
to help individuals stay together. If you've never been around
to have Alena. They are super cool, full of character.
They clack their tusks, make lots of noise, very social,
little animals, really neat in Texas. I had, you know,
very unfortunately a great time chasing a little group of
Helena and big old West Texas sunset. If you've never been,
(16:38):
it's freaking gorgeous, and yeah, made what I thought was
a great shot out of Havelena ran off, tipped over
and instead of you know, giving it a couple of minutes,
I ran over there and the thing jumped up and
ran away. Never did find it, couldn't find it. Super
bummed about that, So I guess I probably have killed
(17:00):
a have alna I just didn't recover it. Anyway, I'm
super stoked to see these guys get some record book recognition,
just because I think it helps with a little higher
regard for the species, because there's definitely some folks out
there who don't call them skunk pigs. They call them
trash pigs, and it's not a term of endearment. Now,
I'm sure there's also animal protectionist groups who don't like
(17:23):
hunting and aren't happy that have alna's will now be
eligible for quote trophy status. But if they understand the
history and rationale behind boonon Crockett's record book they'd have
the opposite response. The record book was originally created to
encourage hunters to target large, old males. Going after these
animals is better for the health of species than targeting
younger males and females, which is how market hunters nearly
(17:46):
destroyed everything from deer to turkeys to largemouth bass. The
Boden Crockett's record Book was an important component of changing
the culture around hunting, and it also serves as a
vital record of biological harvest and location data. This information
is then used to determine the overall health of a
species and its habitat. If you think you have a booner,
(18:09):
have alina, we want to see it, so right in
to askcl at the meaeater dot com. Moving on to
the plague desk. Now, I don't know if you've seen
like extorcism movies. There is an actual attendee of Sunday School,
Bible camp, et cetera. Then you probably got to learn
(18:30):
at least a little bit about how like God turned
the Nile River to blood. Well, anglers in Pinedale, Wyoming
should probably check to make sure they haven't accidentally enslaved
an ancient tribe of nomadic Hebrews. That's because the Little
Soda Lake has turned red and destroyed a once beloved
fishery in the process. Biologists with the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department noticed after the ice came off the small
(18:51):
Mountain Lake in twenty twenty three that the water had
turned a strange shade of green. They also noticed a
strong foul smell coming from the water, along with lots
of manure around the shoreline. They decided not to move
forward with their annual stocking of rainbow trout that year.
This year, the situation has gotten even more serious and mysterious.
Now the lake has turned a bright shed of red
(19:12):
and the agency has notified residents that the water contains
a harmful cyanobacteria bloom that makes the water unsafe for
animals to drink. But biologists are still scratching their heads
because that kind of bacteria usually turns the water blue green,
not red. According to a report in Wiofile, I thought
when the temperatures dropped, the cyanobacteria would die back and
(19:33):
it would clear up, a fisheries biologist said, but obviously
it's still happening. Whatever it is, they plan to continue
testing in the years ahead for nitrogen, phosphorus, nitratee, ammonium,
and phosphate, along with the cyanotoxins that might exist. Whether
the reddish color has a scientific explanation or is the
result of divine displeasure, one thing is certain, Little Soda
(19:54):
Lake won't be a home for fish anytime soon. Moving
on to the mail bag, last month I received a
great email from a listener named Jacob Collins. Jacob wrote
in with some interesting information about the conflicts in Virginia
between hound hunters, landowners, and even some other hunters. We've
covered the topic several times on this podcast, and they
(20:15):
also mentioned it a few weeks ago on the Meat
Eater podcast. Basically, hound hunters in Virginia are getting into
more and more conflicts with landowners. Some of these landowners
have hurt or killed hunting dogs because they say the
dogs damage property and livestock. The hunters say they don't
mean to trespass with their hounds, but that it's legal
for them to run their dogs on public land, and
(20:36):
if the dogs end up on private property, the law
allows them to retrieve their dogs. Jacob points out that
the issue is even more complicated than many people realize
Virginia has a deep rooted history of hound hunting, with
those in the eastern part of the state using them
for deer while those in the west use them for bears.
It's in the eastern part of the state where more
conflicts are happening, partly due to population densities and part
(21:00):
due to the realities of running deer versus bear. Jacob
continues quote the thin line between right to retrieve and
property rights has been walked for decades by Virginians in
this part of the state. However, there are several issues
that are leading to more significant conflict in Virginia's Piedmont
and coastal plains. The first change has come in the
way we value deer. This is specifically true with the
(21:23):
way we view hunting big white tail bucks. Central and
Eastern Virginia have not been immune to the shift towards
careful management of private land leases to grow mature bucks.
For the owners of these properties and those that pay
to hunt there, having dogs chase deer through property isn't ideal,
even if it is unintentional and has been taking place
for decades. The bigger and more prevalent issue is the
(21:46):
population growth of central and eastern Virginia's rural areas. In
recent years, there has been significant growth in the counties
surrounding are traditional urban areas, such as Richmond and Hampton Roads.
The counties that have seen population growth of more than
two percent in the last several years accurately lines up
with the map showing hotspots of trespassing claims. When you
(22:07):
pair this with numbers suggesting the cities that those counties
surround are seeing a decline in population, one can safely
assume that people are moving from urban cities to rural areas.
This trend would increase run ins between hound hunters and
new landowners with different value systems in those subsequent areas.
I think Jacob makes some great observations here, and he
(22:28):
ends his email with another point that everyone should pay
attention to if they live in a state that allows
hound hunting quote. I think this fight is opening up
a pathway for anti hunting legislation to sneak its way
through our General Assembly. This last year, a bill named
SB seven one two was introduced by Senator David Marsden
that would have outlawed releasing or retrieving hunting dogs from
(22:51):
a road or right of way managed by Virginia's Department
of Transportation. This would have a widespread impact on the
practicality of hunting with dogs across the state. This is
why I really urge hunters in the state of Virginia
and elsewhere to pay attention when we go after the
hound hunting segment of our culture. If anyone has questions
or further clarification, two great organizations working hard on this
(23:14):
issue are Virginia Hunting Dog Alliance and Virginia Bear Hunters Association.
Thanks for the email, Jacob. Definitely some food for thought,
and I hope Virginians can work through this problem without
restricting hound hunting. It would be a shame if another
state lost this traditional method of putting meat on the table.
Dog folks are goofy I'm one of them, but they're
(23:34):
great folks. That's all I got for you this week.
Thank you so much for listening, and remember to write
in to ask c Al that's Ascal at the Meat
eater dot com. Let me know what's going on in
your neck of the woods. No, we appreciate it. Thanks again.
We'll talk to you soon.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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