Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Police evacuating a New Jersey neighborhood following a gas explosion
last week made an unexpected discovery in one of the
homes a six point whitetail buck being kept in a
dog cage. You can imagine that this is not what
the officers wanted to deal with during a gas leak,
but probably better than some of the other things they
(00:42):
could have found in a cage in New Jersey. Well
bring out the gimp. But despite the looming danger, they
called an environmental conservation officer to help get the deer
out of the house. The deer was successfully removed and
the homeowner was interviewed. The homeowner said the deer had
been injured and they'd been taking care of it, but
the animal had since recovered and they just decided to
(01:05):
keep it as a pet. Here's PSA to all the
well intentioned but ill informed folks out there. It's illegal
in every state to keep wildlife as a pet. Yeah,
there's kind of an asterisk there for like the game
farm things and how those animals are treated, which can
be very pet like. But anyway, if you think an
(01:26):
animal might be hurt, give your wildlife agency a call.
If they think it's necessary, they'll dispatch a professional who
will handle the situation that's the best for the animal
and for you. You're not snow white. Wild animals can't
be domesticated like livestock or dogs and kiddies can. Those
animals have had thousands of years of domestication bred into them,
(01:47):
even if they don't act like it all the time.
If you care at all about the upholstery on your couch,
the state of your carpet, or your human neighbors, don't
try to rehabilitate woodland creatures. Caging wild animal could also
send you to the kind of cage made for people.
In this case, the would be deer whisper. We'll be
facing charges from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
(02:10):
Thanks to listener Eric Streil for sending us that story.
This week, we've got urban animals, wildlife crime, and killing contests.
But first I'm going to tell you about my week.
In my week Oh wow, Where to start? So, as
you know, I took a couple of days to attempt
to kill bluefin tuna with a spear, this time with
(02:31):
the buddy mine, Greg Fontz. Greg and I dove together
with our buddy Paul a few years ago. If you
guys watched the Cow in the Field episode on the
Mediator YouTube channel about Striper's and salmon, Paul and Greg,
we're both in that episode and awesome people, super fun
to be around, super pro. But to wrap up this adventure,
(02:52):
make it as short and sweet as I can, it
did not go well in my land base vernacular outfitted
which before you lose your shirts. I've worked for many
outfitters over the years, and I'll tell you that even
the most well intentioned and hard working outfitters or in
this case, captains, can still have shit weeks. Sometimes all
(03:14):
the working knowledge gained through years of experience, still you
know the sea or the elk, or the forest, or
the conditions conspire against you, and despite all of that knowledge,
things just keep going wrong. I'm not sure that's what
happened during our week. In fact, i'd leaned towards the
fact that this crew we attempted to fish with just
(03:35):
had other shit going on, and the people paying for
everything were not the priority, which led to a bunch
of mishaps, a ton of lost time both on the
water and off the water. As you know, I mean,
it's September, right, There's a million other places a bunch
of outdoor folks could be in September, but we chose
to spend her time and money there. We did gain
(03:56):
some time, however, but just with the California Department of
Fishing and Wildlife, who were super pro It was a
true cluster of a trip, and really none of it
on the part of the clients, of which I was
one of three, or you know, or four of us
total awesome folks. Big shout out to firefighters in California.
(04:19):
Every dude on the trip other than myself was a
city fire person and got to meet a bunch of
those folks on the tail end and literally the tail end.
But that's a story for another time. Anyway, awesome folks,
super cool and you folks who live in NorCal you
got some super good dudes looking out for you, so
(04:41):
feel good about that. I'll tell you this, if a
destination trip booked through a reputable captain or outfitter can
go south on me, it can go south on you two.
And it's a tricky situation. Our failure as a group
was kind of giving too much space or credit to
(05:02):
this very reputable captain. Once things started going south, once
it was like noticeable that the level of pro just
was not there. Once that was like very noticeable. We
could have, in hindsight and should have been a lot
more upfront with stating the obvious. You know, this isn't working,
(05:24):
so let's pivot to something that has a higher rate
of success. And success at this point would just be
like being in the water enjoying ourselves. But you know,
I mean that's hindsight for you. These situations may look
plain as day from the outside looking in, but they're
pretty murky when you're on the inside. A huge part
of what you pay for on a guided trip is
(05:45):
the local knowledge and the expertise. Man, when you travel,
you can't, you know, bring your in my case, Montana
to the ocean right. The timeline of waking up and
hunting elk in September in Montana is not necessarily the
same timeline as waking up and hunting tuna in San diego.
(06:06):
You need to be able to go with the flow
and have some trust that they know what's going on.
And that is a lot easier with straightforward conversations which
ideally are prompted by the professional guides and outfitters or
captains and mates that you are paying, right, and if
they do not prompt those conversations, you need to do it.
(06:30):
It's really simple. It's not a confrontational thing. I mean,
it's business as usual and they do it every single week.
But you just got to be prepared for that stuff.
You know, speaking to somebody who made my living as
a guide for a lot of years growing up, it
was never a negative thing to get like a bunch
(06:50):
of questions or often as not, it was like, hey,
when I booked this trip, they said it was going
to be this way most of the time, very reasonable
explanation as to why it is not that way, right,
Like yeah, that trip or you know that sales pitch
that you got is like when X, Y and Z happened,
(07:14):
but today or this week, A, B and C are
happening right like forest fires, crazy wins. You know, just
elk aren't here yet, you know whatever, and you got
to pivot and you just got to make it clear
that pivoting is what you do right. It's wildlife and
wild places, and you adjust and carry on and it'll
(07:36):
be super fun. I do want to throw this out
at you. I'm not using the captain's name or business
name for a reason. I really don't think this dude
is a bad person. I don't think he runs a
bad business per usual. I just think we caught up
to him at the end of a very long season
(07:58):
and things hadn't been pro a little bit, and the
end is near as far as the season end is near,
and you know it's a taxing job, and we just
got bit by sloppiness at the end. So confident that
this this dude will get back on his feet and
get back to being pro. So anyway, when I got
(08:20):
home from my bust to tunea trip, I decided to
save the weekend by going bird hunting, where I promptly
lost my phone. Got out of Bozeman real eight, ran
right into stop and go traffic, some wrack up on
nine ninety, ended up pulling off on the side of
the county road and going to bed at about midnight.
(08:41):
Woke up the next day, I went on a nice
long walk. Thought for sure we'd find birds right out
of the gate, but that was not the case. But
I did, like I say, lose my phone, and damn
you on X for making me so reliable on that sweet,
sweet mapping software. I love going new places, places where
I haven't been, and man, what a bummer to have
(09:03):
the confidence of going to those places because all the
info you need is right on your phone. All you
got to do is like download the map ahead of time.
And yeah, I just didn't have it. And I'm not
a guy who looks at the weather because I'm just
going to go anyway. Tempts were hitting ninety degrees, so
it was way too hot to run the dog during
the day anyway, So I pivoted, as you do, and
(09:27):
I headed to my mommy's. She's got a big old
shop where I could do some wrenching on the old
black series camper. I blew the hot water heater out,
which I'm sure I told you guys last winter. But
I had got a replacement water heater which I've had
like partially installed for a little bit, and I just
needed to kind of do the wiring and get her
(09:47):
all plugged in and test it out, and so I
was able to back it into the shop, had all
the tools, got everything done, didn't have to sweat like crazy,
and once I pumped water through the system, I found
out that the new replacement, brand spanking new chunk of
copper instant hot water coil from Fugati came pre installed
(10:09):
with a pinhole leak in the copperwatercoil. Uh, she's just
really kicking a guy when he's down. So if you
have an ace in the whole way of patching, a
pinhole leak on a copper line that cannot be wrapped,
and when that copper line is operational, it's hot and
under pressure. Right in to ask cl at the meat
(10:32):
eater dot Com.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Were the Morio Brothers and Plumbings again or not?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Let the others get all the fame.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
You could call us on the Doubles professter than the others.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
You'll on the brothers moving on to the Urban Animal's desk.
Snitches get stitches, as they say, and some British Columbia
residents are applying that mob logic to their town's black
bear problem. Black bears are being spotted all across the
town of Prince George or PG, and conservation officers are
(11:04):
struggling to keep up. The CBC reports that there were
two two hundred and forty one complaints about bears in
the month of August, and thirty six bears have been
put down. That's a market rise from last August, when
zero bears were killed in the city. Residents report that
they see bears in their yards almost every day, and
bears are regularly spotted in the middle of town. They're
(11:26):
fattening up for winter and are attracted to the usual
suspects of trash, unpicked apples, pet food, and dirty barbecues.
The public is supposed to report all aggressive bears, but
some residents are refusing. One woman told the CBC that
she's effectively adopted a no snitching policy. I don't fault
people for calling conservation officers, she said, but I've never
(11:48):
called the conservation officer, and I have difficulty imagining a
situation in which I would, rather than calling, to ask
the bears to be put down or removed. She and
her neighbors warn each other when pets and children need
to be brought inside. In my neighborhood, we don't say
hi to each other anymore. We just say, did you
see the bear in the driveway around the corner. Wildlife
(12:09):
professionals should be made aware of aggressive bears, but this
no snitching policy is having some positive effects. The CBC
reports that other towns have Facebook groups in which people
are called out for bad bear behavior, things like leaving
trash cans unlocked or leaving out pet food. Their hope
is that rather than rely on conservation officers to come
in and deal with the problem, people will change their
(12:30):
behavior so that bears aren't attracted to towns and cities in
the first place. Big thanks to listener Jeff Graham and
his sons for sending us that story. Good luck to
Alex as he starts a guy in moose hunts and
BC tons of fun up there. And I just got
to say, this social consciousness that's going on up there,
you know where it's not the conservation officer's fault for
(12:53):
not keeping track of their bears, but it's actually the
people in the neighborhood's fault for leaving attractants out. My god,
it's like we've entered into a new era. Send those
Facebook group invites down to all the neighborhoods down here
in the Lower forty eight police speaking of Moose and
(13:13):
staying in Canada. A moose that wandered into a Calgary
neighborhood this month died because of the crowds of people
trying to get a good picture of it. Thanks to
listener Jeffrey Chang for sending us that story. Alberta Fishing
Wildlife Enforcement Services said in a statement that the adult
cow moose was reportedly breaking through fences and trying to
jump a six foot concrete retaining wall. One police officer
(13:34):
told the CBC that even though law enforcement tried to
keep the crowds away, people were climbing fences, sneaking around trees,
and crawling through bushes to get the perfect photo. The
moose eventually bedded down between two houses and wildlife officials
and police corned off the area to give the animal
space to rest, but when they tried to move the
moose after a few hours, it died from something called
(13:54):
capture myopathy. Capture myopathy is a fatal condition that causes
serious m damage resulting from extreme exertion, struggle, or stress.
In this case, the stress came not from the wildlife biologists,
but from Calgarians hoping to snap a photo for the gram.
If you ever see a wild animal wandering through a city,
you know, just leave it alone. You guys have seen
(14:16):
coyotes in that town. I sure have tweet out that
social responsibility and your you know, your media followers will
forgive you. Moving on to the crime desk, a Washington
man is facing up to a decade in prison for
unlawfully hunting bears, elk, and deer in twenty twenty one
(14:36):
and twenty twenty two, and he might still be poaching
animals if not for his penchant to brag about his
kills on social media. Jason Smith of North Bend, Washington
is facing two felonies, twenty seven gross misdemeanors, and three
misdemeanors for his alleged crimes. We don't have time on
this thirty minute podcast to cover each of these charges,
but I'll hit the highlights. One of Smith's hunting strategies
(14:59):
was to set out a pile of apples near his
house and try to shoot the bears that came sniffing around.
It is illegal to bait bears in Washington, but that
didn't stop Smith from snapping a photo of a bear
eating from that pile of apples or bait as you'd
call it. On September twenty ninth, twenty twenty one, he
took that photo at eleven PM, and then the next
morning took another photo of a dead bear located about
(15:22):
thirty eight but yards from his bait pile. He posted
a photo on Instagram of himself with that bear, along
with what may be the most hilarious caption of all
time quote, I wanted this bear bad, especially after my
failed attempt a week prior. Persistence in the mountains pays.
If you quit, the hunt is over. I love that
there are no participation trophies in the mountains. You get
(15:44):
what you earn, nothing more, nothing less end quote. Smith
is right about one thing. He'll get what he earns
if he's found guilty. At least we all hope so.
Another of Smith's brilliant strategies appeared to be purchasing tags
only after killing the animals. On October twenty ninth, twenty
twenty one, Smith posted a photo of a dead buck
(16:06):
on Instagram. He also texted four people quote big buck down,
and the first of those tags went out at nine
to twenty nine am, but records showed that he did
not purchase a deer tag until nine thirty nine am,
or at least ten minutes after he killed the deer.
In addition to illegally baiting animals and hunting without proper tag,
Smith is being charged with hunting during close seasons, hunting
(16:28):
over the bag limit, failing to submit bare premolars which
her teeth, retrieving animals from private property without permission, and
wasting wildlife. For all the details, check out the article
at themeateater dot com. Moving across the pond to Jolliola, England,
would be angler has been sentenced to two hundred hours
(16:50):
of community service for threatening, among other things, to put
a donkey head in the bed of a local landowner.
That's a Godfather reference for all of you kids out there.
Race horses and donkeys are interchangeable. Thirty six year old
Paul Darlington, which you know can't be an easy name
to have in prison, had trespassed on the property of
(17:11):
Thomas Canning to try to steal trout from Canning's pond.
Canning called the police when he spotted Darlington, but that
situation escalated when the two men confronted one another. Darlington
had been previously convicted of assault and something called antisocial behavior,
which is totally unsurprising given what happened next. Darlington told
Canning that he knew the layout of the farm and
(17:33):
would come back and kill his children. We know that
you have got donkeys. We will come back in the
night and kill them. Have you ever woken up with
the donkey's head in your bed? Darlington was arrested without
following through on any of his threats, and he eventually
pled guilty in exchange for many of his charges to
be dropped. Along with his community service, he was forced
to pay three hundred pounds in fines, which equals about
(17:55):
three hundred and seventy five dollars. Speaking of antisocial behavior,
to Connecticut teams were charged recently with maiming and possibly
killing an egret at Ocean Beach. The two eighteen year
olds were reported to police after they were spotted throwing
rocks at the bird and then tackling it and holding
it by the neck. A good smaritan at the scene
chased away the hooligans and supplied the police with photos
(18:17):
of the men, which led to their arrest. Benjamin M.
Pavano and Parker Wallace were charged with Class D cruelty
to animals, which is a felony and released on a
five thousand dollars bond. Their cases are still working their
way through the Connecticut courts. Both the great egret and
snowy egret are listed as threatened species by the state
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and protected under the
(18:39):
Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. No word yet on whether
the pair will face federal charges. Boy, all that, and
they didn't even threaten to kill anybody's kids. Your chop
off donkey heads getting soft over there in Ocean Beach.
Three South Carolina man are facing federal wildlife charges for
bringing a CWD positive deerhead from Kansas to the Palm
(19:00):
Meadow State. Caldwell Seymour faces two federal counts of unlawfully
transporting wildlife, while Sean Pashaw and Justin Lamaster each face one.
If convicted, the men face up to five years in prison.
If a hunter takes a deer or elkin estate where
CWD has been detected, South Carolina law prohibits them from
importing whole carcasses or parts that contain nervous system tissue.
(19:22):
Hunters can bring back meat as long as the spinal
column is not attached, and they can bring back skulls
as long as they have been cleaned. But these men
allegedly brought infected parts back to South Carolina because it
was cheaper to process those parts in South Carolina than Kansas.
Breaking a state wildlife law and then transporting that animal
across state lines constitutes a federal offense under the Lacy Act,
(19:44):
which is why the penalties are so serious. One of
the men's lawyers told South Carolina media that they didn't
know about the rules against importing deer from CWD states.
It's unclear how wildlife officials found out about the violation,
but the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says that
they confirm the deer head imported all the way back
in twenty nineteen tested positive for CWD. This is the
(20:05):
first and only time the disease has been verified in
a deer transported into South Carolina. Last one from the
crime desk. Three Nevada men will have to pay a
fifteen thousand dollars fine and won't be able to hunt
for five years after using a drone to kill a
mule deer buck. The Nevada Department of Wildlife said the
men spied the buck on private land and use the
(20:26):
drone to harass it onto public land. But they didn't
even shoot it in the right unit. One of the
men had a mule deer tag, but it wasn't for
the unit where they shot the buck. Quote. I'm not
quite sure what these men were thinking, game Ward and
Captain Jake Kramer said in a statement, I can answer
that question. They probably weren't thinking at all. As Meat
(20:46):
Eater contributor Pat Dirkin famously said, big bucks make people stupid.
I think that applies in this case. Moving on to
the sharp desk, regular listeners will remember a few episodes
back when we had Representative Rob Whitman on the show
to talk about the Shark Act. The legislation would form
a working group to investigate ways to decrease shark angler
(21:09):
interaction and reduce the tax bill for saltwater anglers. Quote
paying the tax man is what fishermen call it. When
a shark eats part of their catch. That's just a
little ocean slying for you. You know, the next time
you find yourself in a bar with a you know,
salty crew of scurvy pirates. Anyway, when I hear decrease
shark angler interactions. I assume that means killing more sharks,
(21:31):
but that's not the only way to keep sharks away
from recreational fishing boats. The students at the University of
New England are investigating ways that low level electrical impulses
might be used to repel sharks. They've invented a cylindrical
device that attaches to a fishing line about eight inches
away from baited hooks. The device emits a random pattern
(21:51):
of weak electric impulses that are designed to disorient sharks.
It works because sharks have special receptors in their snouts
called ampulize of Lorenzini. These receptors allow them to detect
electrical fields, which usually helps them find and capture prey,
but random electrical currents in the water have the opposite
effect and theoretically keep them away from an angler's line.
(22:14):
It shouldn't affect most fish, since they don't have those
electrical receptors. The results so far sound, promising the students
tole the Portland Herald Press that the emitters appear to
lower shark bycatch by about a half during a two
hour fishing lab on a recent weekday in the Gulf
of Maine. The emitters warded off all but the youngest dogfish,
which is a type of shark. The students believe young
(22:36):
sharks might be less affected because their receptors aren't fully developed. Yeah,
makes sense. It's worth noting that if these and other
similar devices prove successful, recreational anglers aren't the only ones
that will benefit. If sharks could understand the situation, they'd
also appreciate the warnings stay away from angler's hooks. Shark
bycatch can be both frustrating for anglers and deadly for sharks,
(22:59):
especially when fishing with pelagical onlines. These lines can extend
for miles behind a boat and suspend thousands of baited hooks.
Keeping sharks clear of these long lines would benefit the
shark populations just as much as it would relieve anglers.
Big thanks to listener Christy Holmes for sending us that story.
Moving on to the hunting desk, the body of a
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ten year old West Virginia boy was found recently after
he went missing on a hunting trip with his grandfather. Wyatt.
Eves and Ibert went missing on a Saturday morning earlier
this month in Mason County. Officials first responded to the
area because the grandfather called to report that he'd been
in an ATV accident. He said his grandson was missing,
that he'd been using the ATV to find him. Wyatt's
(23:42):
mother told local media that Wyatt and his grandfather had
been eating lunch when Wyatt went to take a walk
to look for squirrels. When his grandfather finished and started
looking for the boy, he said he couldn't find him.
Law enforcement searched the woods through the night and found
Wyatt's body the next morning with a single gunshot wound,
which was determined to be the cause of death. As
of this recording, officials have not said whether it was
(24:05):
an accident or suspective foul play. It's unclear how far
away the boy had walked or why the grandfather did
not hear the shot. The boy's mother told local media
that why it had been trained on gun safety. He
knew to carry the gun on his back with it
pointed in the air. He had very good trigger discipline.
Whatever happened, this is a tragedy. Wyatt's family says he
(24:25):
enjoyed hunting, fishing, wrestling, heavy metal music, and anything to
do with the military. His mother told local media that
he wanted to be a marine when he grew up.
Hunting is safer than it's ever been, thanks in large
part to mandatory hunter education and increased awareness of firearm
in tree stand safety. Even though we don't know the
details of this latest tragedy in West Virginia, it should
(24:46):
remind us that even an afternoon in the squirrel woods
can turn deadly fast. In fact, squirrel hunting presents safety
concerns you don't have in other kinds of hunting scenarios.
Squirrel hunting is often done in groups, but it's easy
to lose track of your buddies with your eyes trained
in the branches of the trees. Squirrels can also be
found on the ground, so it's crucial to know exactly
(25:07):
where everyone is before taking a shot. Even if you
hit the squirrel, a twenty two bullet can pass through
and hit something beyond it. If you shoot at a
squirrel high up in a tree, you have to be
sure you're not shooting in the direction of people or homes.
Small game cartridges like the twenty two long rifle don't
travel as far as big game calibers, but they can
still be deadly as squirrel seasons open up this fall.
(25:29):
Remember to stay vigilant. Moving on to the coyote desk,
Oregon joined eight other states last week when it's Fish
and Wildlife Commission voted to ban coyote hunting contests. Five
of the commissioners voted for the ban, while one abstaind.
The commission made the decision after a meeting on September fifteen,
and I'm told that they made little attempt to notify hunters.
(25:52):
Over forty people testified at the meeting in ben and
it sounds like most of them voiced support for the ban.
The animal rights group Project Coyote celebrated the decision in
an article on their website. As per usual, they put
their thesaurus to good use. In the short four hundred
and twenty seven word press release, they described coyote hunting
contests as Barbara grew some cruel, wasteful, ethically indefensible, ecologically reckless,
(26:15):
and abhorrent. I actually think they missed out on a
few five dollars words that would have taken the press
or to the next level, you know, classed it up
a little bit. Any of you who have ever played
scrabble with my Grandma know what I'm talking about, Like
words like heinous, repugnant, reprehensible, repulsive, abominable, loathsome contemptible or nauseating,
(26:36):
an opportunity squandered. I'd say if Project Coyote wants help
write in press releases, they know where to find me. Anyway,
the iconic thing about this breathless description of coyote hunting
contests is that this ban may not end up banning
the contests. After all, coyotes are categorized in two ways
in Oregon, as unprotected mammals and as predatory animals. The
(27:00):
new rule bans contests for unprotected mammals, but the Commission
has no authority to ban the take of predatory animals.
Coyotes are considered predatory when they are causing agricultural damage
on private land. In other words, if coyotes are killing caves,
which is why many contests are held in the first place,
a landowner can still hold the coyote hunting contest under
(27:22):
this rule. Oregon landowners will want to double check with
the Department of Fish and Wildlife, but that's my understanding
of how this new rule works. Little commentary on animal
contests right, So oftentimes at least in my personal experience,
these contests result in great social connectivity in small communities
(27:46):
and not a lot of impact on coyote populations. Be
that as it may, should wildlife be used in contests
of any sort. You know, I personally just don't even
like the way people behave in any sort of contest.
You know, look at the way that we behave on
the darn meat eat or trivia contests every single week. Right,
(28:07):
Spencer Newhart is going to be up for sainthood by
the time I'm done with it. Anyway, there is an
interesting argument here, and you know, it really depends on
how far you want to take it. Right, But we
know that when prey populations drop, it takes a season
(28:27):
or two for the predator population to drop. When prey
populations rise, the predator population typically takes a season or
two to catch up to those prey population booms. So
at times it can be very necessary to knock down
these predator populations. That doesn't mean all the time anywhere.
(28:51):
There's some great studies that have been done that show
that keeping coyotes on the landscape knock down nest predators.
It's more beneficial to have coyotes on the landscape than
like skunks or foxes, which coyotes can kill raccoons as well,
things that are, you know, slinking around in the night
rating nests of our upland game birds. But we also
(29:13):
know that coyote populations when they get big, can raise
hell on calves, can raise hell on lambs sheep in particular.
So even though I think the word balance has really
no place in wildlife management, there are times when it
is absolutely like necessary, needed and warranted to knock down
(29:34):
wildlife populations. And it's going to get done, whether it's
in a coyote killing contest or every single taxpayer, be
you a vegan or not, is going to pay for
it when Aphis goes and flies their helicopters. So tangled
web we weave, isn't it? Hey from the desk of
(29:58):
Col's wee can review here. Hope your September is kicking ass.
You're all gonna have down weeks maybe similar to mine,
maybe not, but you're gonna have big up weeks too.
So the key is to keep on grinding away and
take advantage of all those little times in the woods,
right time on the water time in the water time,
(30:18):
in the woods, be it in ten or fifteen minute increments,
running out after work, running out before work, just looking
and watching and listening all adds up to success, stuff
that cannot be replicated by buying stuff or watching stuff online.
So spend your time out there, get some exercise, and
(30:40):
I'll talk to you next week. Thanks a much for listening.
Right in to ask c Al that's Asscal at themeateater
dot com. Remember if you're in a conundrum right now,
you have a big, old, sloppy lawn backyard, wood lot.
What have you need to clear that stuff up before
the better half lets you out on the road for
hunting season. Go to www dot steel Dealers dot com
(31:03):
to find a local, knowledgeable steel dealer near you. They're awesome.
They're gonna get you set up with what you need.
They're not gonna try to send you home with what
you don't, and you're gonna look like a pro when
you're out there hacking stuff down and cleaning stuff up,
taking everybody happy. Thanks again, We'll talk to you next week.
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Police evacuating a New Jersey neighborhood following a gas explosion
last week made an unexpected discovery in one of the
homes a six point whitetail buck being kept in a
dog cage. You can imagine that this is not what
the officers wanted to deal with during a gas leak,
but probably better than some of the other things they
(00:42):
could have found in a cage in New Jersey. Well
bring out the gimp. But despite the looming danger, they
called an environmental conservation officer to help get the deer
out of the house. The deer was successfully removed and
the homeowner was interviewed. The homeowner said the deer had
been injured and they'd been taking care of it, but
the animal had since recovered and they just decided to
(01:05):
keep it as a pet. Here's PSA to all the
well intentioned but ill informed folks out there. It's illegal
in every state to keep wildlife as a pet. Yeah,
there's kind of an asterisk there for like the game
farm things and how those animals are treated, which can
be very pet like. But anyway, if you think an
(01:26):
animal might be hurt, give your wildlife agency a call.
If they think it's necessary, they'll dispatch a professional who
will handle the situation that's the best for the animal
and for you. You're not snow white. Wild animals can't
be domesticated like livestock or dogs and kiddies can. Those
animals have had thousands of years of domestication bred into them,
(01:47):
even if they don't act like it all the time.
If you care at all about the upholstery on your couch,
the state of your carpet, or your human neighbors, don't
try to rehabilitate woodland creatures. Caging wild animal could also
send you to the kind of cage made for people.
In this case, the would be deer whisper. We'll be
facing charges from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
(02:10):
Thanks to listener Eric Streil for sending us that story.
This week, we've got urban animals, wildlife crime, and killing contests.
But first I'm going to tell you about my week.
In my week Oh wow, Where to start? So, as
you know, I took a couple of days to attempt
to kill bluefin tuna with a spear, this time with
(02:31):
the buddy mine, Greg Fontz. Greg and I dove together
with our buddy Paul a few years ago. If you
guys watched the Cow in the Field episode on the
Mediator YouTube channel about Striper's and salmon, Paul and Greg,
we're both in that episode and awesome people, super fun
to be around, super pro. But to wrap up this adventure,
(02:52):
make it as short and sweet as I can, it
did not go well in my land base vernacular outfitted
which before you lose your shirts. I've worked for many
outfitters over the years, and I'll tell you that even
the most well intentioned and hard working outfitters or in
this case, captains, can still have shit weeks. Sometimes all
(03:14):
the working knowledge gained through years of experience, still you
know the sea or the elk, or the forest, or
the conditions conspire against you, and despite all of that knowledge,
things just keep going wrong. I'm not sure that's what
happened during our week. In fact, i'd leaned towards the
fact that this crew we attempted to fish with just
(03:35):
had other shit going on, and the people paying for
everything were not the priority, which led to a bunch
of mishaps, a ton of lost time both on the
water and off the water. As you know, I mean,
it's September, right, There's a million other places a bunch
of outdoor folks could be in September, but we chose
to spend her time and money there. We did gain
(03:56):
some time, however, but just with the California Department of
Fishing and Wildlife, who were super pro It was a
true cluster of a trip, and really none of it
on the part of the clients, of which I was
one of three, or you know, or four of us
total awesome folks. Big shout out to firefighters in California.
(04:19):
Every dude on the trip other than myself was a
city fire person and got to meet a bunch of
those folks on the tail end and literally the tail end.
But that's a story for another time. Anyway, awesome folks,
super cool and you folks who live in NorCal you
got some super good dudes looking out for you, so
(04:41):
feel good about that. I'll tell you this, if a
destination trip booked through a reputable captain or outfitter can
go south on me, it can go south on you two.
And it's a tricky situation. Our failure as a group
was kind of giving too much space or credit to
(05:02):
this very reputable captain. Once things started going south, once
it was like noticeable that the level of pro just
was not there. Once that was like very noticeable. We
could have, in hindsight and should have been a lot
more upfront with stating the obvious. You know, this isn't working,
(05:24):
so let's pivot to something that has a higher rate
of success. And success at this point would just be
like being in the water enjoying ourselves. But you know,
I mean that's hindsight for you. These situations may look
plain as day from the outside looking in, but they're
pretty murky when you're on the inside. A huge part
of what you pay for on a guided trip is
(05:45):
the local knowledge and the expertise. Man, when you travel,
you can't, you know, bring your in my case, Montana
to the ocean right. The timeline of waking up and
hunting elk in September in Montana is not necessarily the
same timeline as waking up and hunting tuna in San diego.
(06:06):
You need to be able to go with the flow
and have some trust that they know what's going on.
And that is a lot easier with straightforward conversations which
ideally are prompted by the professional guides and outfitters or
captains and mates that you are paying, right, and if
they do not prompt those conversations, you need to do it.
(06:30):
It's really simple. It's not a confrontational thing. I mean,
it's business as usual and they do it every single week.
But you just got to be prepared for that stuff.
You know, speaking to somebody who made my living as
a guide for a lot of years growing up, it
was never a negative thing to get like a bunch
(06:50):
of questions or often as not, it was like, hey,
when I booked this trip, they said it was going
to be this way most of the time, very reasonable
explanation as to why it is not that way, right,
Like yeah, that trip or you know that sales pitch
that you got is like when X, Y and Z happened,
(07:14):
but today or this week, A, B and C are
happening right like forest fires, crazy wins. You know, just
elk aren't here yet, you know whatever, and you got
to pivot and you just got to make it clear
that pivoting is what you do right. It's wildlife and
wild places, and you adjust and carry on and it'll
(07:36):
be super fun. I do want to throw this out
at you. I'm not using the captain's name or business
name for a reason. I really don't think this dude
is a bad person. I don't think he runs a
bad business per usual. I just think we caught up
to him at the end of a very long season
(07:58):
and things hadn't been pro a little bit, and the
end is near as far as the season end is near,
and you know it's a taxing job, and we just
got bit by sloppiness at the end. So confident that
this this dude will get back on his feet and
get back to being pro. So anyway, when I got
(08:20):
home from my bust to tunea trip, I decided to
save the weekend by going bird hunting, where I promptly
lost my phone. Got out of Bozeman real eight, ran
right into stop and go traffic, some wrack up on
nine ninety, ended up pulling off on the side of
the county road and going to bed at about midnight.
(08:41):
Woke up the next day, I went on a nice
long walk. Thought for sure we'd find birds right out
of the gate, but that was not the case. But
I did, like I say, lose my phone, and damn
you on X for making me so reliable on that sweet,
sweet mapping software. I love going new places, places where
I haven't been, and man, what a bummer to have
(09:03):
the confidence of going to those places because all the
info you need is right on your phone. All you
got to do is like download the map ahead of time.
And yeah, I just didn't have it. And I'm not
a guy who looks at the weather because I'm just
going to go anyway. Tempts were hitting ninety degrees, so
it was way too hot to run the dog during
the day anyway, So I pivoted, as you do, and
(09:27):
I headed to my mommy's. She's got a big old
shop where I could do some wrenching on the old
black series camper. I blew the hot water heater out,
which I'm sure I told you guys last winter. But
I had got a replacement water heater which I've had
like partially installed for a little bit, and I just
needed to kind of do the wiring and get her
(09:47):
all plugged in and test it out, and so I
was able to back it into the shop, had all
the tools, got everything done, didn't have to sweat like crazy,
and once I pumped water through the system, I found
out that the new replacement, brand spanking new chunk of
copper instant hot water coil from Fugati came pre installed
(10:09):
with a pinhole leak in the copperwatercoil. Uh, she's just
really kicking a guy when he's down. So if you
have an ace in the whole way of patching, a
pinhole leak on a copper line that cannot be wrapped,
and when that copper line is operational, it's hot and
under pressure. Right in to ask cl at the meat
(10:32):
eater dot Com.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Were the Morio Brothers and Plumbings again or not?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Let the others get all the fame.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
You could call us on the Doubles professter than the others.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
You'll on the brothers moving on to the Urban Animal's desk.
Snitches get stitches, as they say, and some British Columbia
residents are applying that mob logic to their town's black
bear problem. Black bears are being spotted all across the
town of Prince George or PG, and conservation officers are
(11:04):
struggling to keep up. The CBC reports that there were
two two hundred and forty one complaints about bears in
the month of August, and thirty six bears have been
put down. That's a market rise from last August, when
zero bears were killed in the city. Residents report that
they see bears in their yards almost every day, and
bears are regularly spotted in the middle of town. They're
(11:26):
fattening up for winter and are attracted to the usual
suspects of trash, unpicked apples, pet food, and dirty barbecues.
The public is supposed to report all aggressive bears, but
some residents are refusing. One woman told the CBC that
she's effectively adopted a no snitching policy. I don't fault
people for calling conservation officers, she said, but I've never
(11:48):
called the conservation officer, and I have difficulty imagining a
situation in which I would, rather than calling, to ask
the bears to be put down or removed. She and
her neighbors warn each other when pets and children need
to be brought inside. In my neighborhood, we don't say
hi to each other anymore. We just say, did you
see the bear in the driveway around the corner. Wildlife
(12:09):
professionals should be made aware of aggressive bears, but this
no snitching policy is having some positive effects. The CBC
reports that other towns have Facebook groups in which people
are called out for bad bear behavior, things like leaving
trash cans unlocked or leaving out pet food. Their hope
is that rather than rely on conservation officers to come
in and deal with the problem, people will change their
(12:30):
behavior so that bears aren't attracted to towns and cities in
the first place. Big thanks to listener Jeff Graham and
his sons for sending us that story. Good luck to
Alex as he starts a guy in moose hunts and
BC tons of fun up there. And I just got
to say, this social consciousness that's going on up there,
you know where it's not the conservation officer's fault for
(12:53):
not keeping track of their bears, but it's actually the
people in the neighborhood's fault for leaving attractants out. My god,
it's like we've entered into a new era. Send those
Facebook group invites down to all the neighborhoods down here
in the Lower forty eight police speaking of Moose and
(13:13):
staying in Canada. A moose that wandered into a Calgary
neighborhood this month died because of the crowds of people
trying to get a good picture of it. Thanks to
listener Jeffrey Chang for sending us that story. Alberta Fishing
Wildlife Enforcement Services said in a statement that the adult
cow moose was reportedly breaking through fences and trying to
jump a six foot concrete retaining wall. One police officer
(13:34):
told the CBC that even though law enforcement tried to
keep the crowds away, people were climbing fences, sneaking around trees,
and crawling through bushes to get the perfect photo. The
moose eventually bedded down between two houses and wildlife officials
and police corned off the area to give the animal
space to rest, but when they tried to move the
moose after a few hours, it died from something called
(13:54):
capture myopathy. Capture myopathy is a fatal condition that causes
serious m damage resulting from extreme exertion, struggle, or stress.
In this case, the stress came not from the wildlife biologists,
but from Calgarians hoping to snap a photo for the gram.
If you ever see a wild animal wandering through a city,
you know, just leave it alone. You guys have seen
(14:16):
coyotes in that town. I sure have tweet out that
social responsibility and your you know, your media followers will
forgive you. Moving on to the crime desk, a Washington
man is facing up to a decade in prison for
unlawfully hunting bears, elk, and deer in twenty twenty one
(14:36):
and twenty twenty two, and he might still be poaching
animals if not for his penchant to brag about his
kills on social media. Jason Smith of North Bend, Washington
is facing two felonies, twenty seven gross misdemeanors, and three
misdemeanors for his alleged crimes. We don't have time on
this thirty minute podcast to cover each of these charges,
but I'll hit the highlights. One of Smith's hunting strategies
(14:59):
was to set out a pile of apples near his
house and try to shoot the bears that came sniffing around.
It is illegal to bait bears in Washington, but that
didn't stop Smith from snapping a photo of a bear
eating from that pile of apples or bait as you'd
call it. On September twenty ninth, twenty twenty one, he
took that photo at eleven PM, and then the next
morning took another photo of a dead bear located about
(15:22):
thirty eight but yards from his bait pile. He posted
a photo on Instagram of himself with that bear, along
with what may be the most hilarious caption of all
time quote, I wanted this bear bad, especially after my
failed attempt a week prior. Persistence in the mountains pays.
If you quit, the hunt is over. I love that
there are no participation trophies in the mountains. You get
(15:44):
what you earn, nothing more, nothing less end quote. Smith
is right about one thing. He'll get what he earns
if he's found guilty. At least we all hope so.
Another of Smith's brilliant strategies appeared to be purchasing tags
only after killing the animals. On October twenty ninth, twenty
twenty one, Smith posted a photo of a dead buck
(16:06):
on Instagram. He also texted four people quote big buck down,
and the first of those tags went out at nine
to twenty nine am, but records showed that he did
not purchase a deer tag until nine thirty nine am,
or at least ten minutes after he killed the deer.
In addition to illegally baiting animals and hunting without proper tag,
Smith is being charged with hunting during close seasons, hunting
(16:28):
over the bag limit, failing to submit bare premolars which
her teeth, retrieving animals from private property without permission, and
wasting wildlife. For all the details, check out the article
at themeateater dot com. Moving across the pond to Jolliola, England,
would be angler has been sentenced to two hundred hours
(16:50):
of community service for threatening, among other things, to put
a donkey head in the bed of a local landowner.
That's a Godfather reference for all of you kids out there.
Race horses and donkeys are interchangeable. Thirty six year old
Paul Darlington, which you know can't be an easy name
to have in prison, had trespassed on the property of
(17:11):
Thomas Canning to try to steal trout from Canning's pond.
Canning called the police when he spotted Darlington, but that
situation escalated when the two men confronted one another. Darlington
had been previously convicted of assault and something called antisocial behavior,
which is totally unsurprising given what happened next. Darlington told
Canning that he knew the layout of the farm and
(17:33):
would come back and kill his children. We know that
you have got donkeys. We will come back in the
night and kill them. Have you ever woken up with
the donkey's head in your bed? Darlington was arrested without
following through on any of his threats, and he eventually
pled guilty in exchange for many of his charges to
be dropped. Along with his community service, he was forced
to pay three hundred pounds in fines, which equals about
(17:55):
three hundred and seventy five dollars. Speaking of antisocial behavior,
to Connecticut teams were charged recently with maiming and possibly
killing an egret at Ocean Beach. The two eighteen year
olds were reported to police after they were spotted throwing
rocks at the bird and then tackling it and holding
it by the neck. A good smaritan at the scene
chased away the hooligans and supplied the police with photos
(18:17):
of the men, which led to their arrest. Benjamin M.
Pavano and Parker Wallace were charged with Class D cruelty
to animals, which is a felony and released on a
five thousand dollars bond. Their cases are still working their
way through the Connecticut courts. Both the great egret and
snowy egret are listed as threatened species by the state
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and protected under the
(18:39):
Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. No word yet on whether
the pair will face federal charges. Boy, all that, and
they didn't even threaten to kill anybody's kids. Your chop
off donkey heads getting soft over there in Ocean Beach.
Three South Carolina man are facing federal wildlife charges for
bringing a CWD positive deerhead from Kansas to the Palm
(19:00):
Meadow State. Caldwell Seymour faces two federal counts of unlawfully
transporting wildlife, while Sean Pashaw and Justin Lamaster each face one.
If convicted, the men face up to five years in prison.
If a hunter takes a deer or elkin estate where
CWD has been detected, South Carolina law prohibits them from
importing whole carcasses or parts that contain nervous system tissue.
(19:22):
Hunters can bring back meat as long as the spinal
column is not attached, and they can bring back skulls
as long as they have been cleaned. But these men
allegedly brought infected parts back to South Carolina because it
was cheaper to process those parts in South Carolina than Kansas.
Breaking a state wildlife law and then transporting that animal
across state lines constitutes a federal offense under the Lacy Act,
(19:44):
which is why the penalties are so serious. One of
the men's lawyers told South Carolina media that they didn't
know about the rules against importing deer from CWD states.
It's unclear how wildlife officials found out about the violation,
but the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says that
they confirm the deer head imported all the way back
in twenty nineteen tested positive for CWD. This is the
(20:05):
first and only time the disease has been verified in
a deer transported into South Carolina. Last one from the
crime desk. Three Nevada men will have to pay a
fifteen thousand dollars fine and won't be able to hunt
for five years after using a drone to kill a
mule deer buck. The Nevada Department of Wildlife said the
men spied the buck on private land and use the
(20:26):
drone to harass it onto public land. But they didn't
even shoot it in the right unit. One of the
men had a mule deer tag, but it wasn't for
the unit where they shot the buck. Quote. I'm not
quite sure what these men were thinking, game Ward and
Captain Jake Kramer said in a statement, I can answer
that question. They probably weren't thinking at all. As Meat
(20:46):
Eater contributor Pat Dirkin famously said, big bucks make people stupid.
I think that applies in this case. Moving on to
the sharp desk, regular listeners will remember a few episodes
back when we had Representative Rob Whitman on the show
to talk about the Shark Act. The legislation would form
a working group to investigate ways to decrease shark angler
(21:09):
interaction and reduce the tax bill for saltwater anglers. Quote
paying the tax man is what fishermen call it. When
a shark eats part of their catch. That's just a
little ocean slying for you. You know, the next time
you find yourself in a bar with a you know,
salty crew of scurvy pirates. Anyway, when I hear decrease
shark angler interactions. I assume that means killing more sharks,
(21:31):
but that's not the only way to keep sharks away
from recreational fishing boats. The students at the University of
New England are investigating ways that low level electrical impulses
might be used to repel sharks. They've invented a cylindrical
device that attaches to a fishing line about eight inches
away from baited hooks. The device emits a random pattern
(21:51):
of weak electric impulses that are designed to disorient sharks.
It works because sharks have special receptors in their snouts
called ampulize of Lorenzini. These receptors allow them to detect
electrical fields, which usually helps them find and capture prey,
but random electrical currents in the water have the opposite
effect and theoretically keep them away from an angler's line.
(22:14):
It shouldn't affect most fish, since they don't have those
electrical receptors. The results so far sound, promising the students
tole the Portland Herald Press that the emitters appear to
lower shark bycatch by about a half during a two
hour fishing lab on a recent weekday in the Gulf
of Maine. The emitters warded off all but the youngest dogfish,
which is a type of shark. The students believe young
(22:36):
sharks might be less affected because their receptors aren't fully developed. Yeah,
makes sense. It's worth noting that if these and other
similar devices prove successful, recreational anglers aren't the only ones
that will benefit. If sharks could understand the situation, they'd
also appreciate the warnings stay away from angler's hooks. Shark
bycatch can be both frustrating for anglers and deadly for sharks,
(22:59):
especially when fishing with pelagical onlines. These lines can extend
for miles behind a boat and suspend thousands of baited hooks.
Keeping sharks clear of these long lines would benefit the
shark populations just as much as it would relieve anglers.
Big thanks to listener Christy Holmes for sending us that story.
Moving on to the hunting desk, the body of a
(23:21):
ten year old West Virginia boy was found recently after
he went missing on a hunting trip with his grandfather. Wyatt.
Eves and Ibert went missing on a Saturday morning earlier
this month in Mason County. Officials first responded to the
area because the grandfather called to report that he'd been
in an ATV accident. He said his grandson was missing,
that he'd been using the ATV to find him. Wyatt's
(23:42):
mother told local media that Wyatt and his grandfather had
been eating lunch when Wyatt went to take a walk
to look for squirrels. When his grandfather finished and started
looking for the boy, he said he couldn't find him.
Law enforcement searched the woods through the night and found
Wyatt's body the next morning with a single gunshot wound,
which was determined to be the cause of death. As
of this recording, officials have not said whether it was
(24:05):
an accident or suspective foul play. It's unclear how far
away the boy had walked or why the grandfather did
not hear the shot. The boy's mother told local media
that why it had been trained on gun safety. He
knew to carry the gun on his back with it
pointed in the air. He had very good trigger discipline.
Whatever happened, this is a tragedy. Wyatt's family says he
(24:25):
enjoyed hunting, fishing, wrestling, heavy metal music, and anything to
do with the military. His mother told local media that
he wanted to be a marine when he grew up.
Hunting is safer than it's ever been, thanks in large
part to mandatory hunter education and increased awareness of firearm
in tree stand safety. Even though we don't know the
details of this latest tragedy in West Virginia, it should
(24:46):
remind us that even an afternoon in the squirrel woods
can turn deadly fast. In fact, squirrel hunting presents safety
concerns you don't have in other kinds of hunting scenarios.
Squirrel hunting is often done in groups, but it's easy
to lose track of your buddies with your eyes trained
in the branches of the trees. Squirrels can also be
found on the ground, so it's crucial to know exactly
(25:07):
where everyone is before taking a shot. Even if you
hit the squirrel, a twenty two bullet can pass through
and hit something beyond it. If you shoot at a
squirrel high up in a tree, you have to be
sure you're not shooting in the direction of people or homes.
Small game cartridges like the twenty two long rifle don't
travel as far as big game calibers, but they can
still be deadly as squirrel seasons open up this fall.
(25:29):
Remember to stay vigilant. Moving on to the coyote desk,
Oregon joined eight other states last week when it's Fish
and Wildlife Commission voted to ban coyote hunting contests. Five
of the commissioners voted for the ban, while one abstaind.
The commission made the decision after a meeting on September fifteen,
and I'm told that they made little attempt to notify hunters.
(25:52):
Over forty people testified at the meeting in ben and
it sounds like most of them voiced support for the ban.
The animal rights group Project Coyote celebrated the decision in
an article on their website. As per usual, they put
their thesaurus to good use. In the short four hundred
and twenty seven word press release, they described coyote hunting
contests as Barbara grew some cruel, wasteful, ethically indefensible, ecologically reckless,
(26:15):
and abhorrent. I actually think they missed out on a
few five dollars words that would have taken the press
or to the next level, you know, classed it up
a little bit. Any of you who have ever played
scrabble with my Grandma know what I'm talking about, Like
words like heinous, repugnant, reprehensible, repulsive, abominable, loathsome contemptible or nauseating,
(26:36):
an opportunity squandered. I'd say if Project Coyote wants help
write in press releases, they know where to find me. Anyway,
the iconic thing about this breathless description of coyote hunting
contests is that this ban may not end up banning
the contests. After all, coyotes are categorized in two ways
in Oregon, as unprotected mammals and as predatory animals. The
(27:00):
new rule bans contests for unprotected mammals, but the Commission
has no authority to ban the take of predatory animals.
Coyotes are considered predatory when they are causing agricultural damage
on private land. In other words, if coyotes are killing caves,
which is why many contests are held in the first place,
a landowner can still hold the coyote hunting contest under
(27:22):
this rule. Oregon landowners will want to double check with
the Department of Fish and Wildlife, but that's my understanding
of how this new rule works. Little commentary on animal
contests right, So oftentimes at least in my personal experience,
these contests result in great social connectivity in small communities
(27:46):
and not a lot of impact on coyote populations. Be
that as it may, should wildlife be used in contests
of any sort. You know, I personally just don't even
like the way people behave in any sort of contest.
You know, look at the way that we behave on
the darn meat eat or trivia contests every single week. Right,
(28:07):
Spencer Newhart is going to be up for sainthood by
the time I'm done with it. Anyway, there is an
interesting argument here, and you know, it really depends on
how far you want to take it. Right, But we
know that when prey populations drop, it takes a season
(28:27):
or two for the predator population to drop. When prey
populations rise, the predator population typically takes a season or
two to catch up to those prey population booms. So
at times it can be very necessary to knock down
these predator populations. That doesn't mean all the time anywhere.
(28:51):
There's some great studies that have been done that show
that keeping coyotes on the landscape knock down nest predators.
It's more beneficial to have coyotes on the landscape than
like skunks or foxes, which coyotes can kill raccoons as well,
things that are, you know, slinking around in the night
rating nests of our upland game birds. But we also
(29:13):
know that coyote populations when they get big, can raise
hell on calves, can raise hell on lambs sheep in particular.
So even though I think the word balance has really
no place in wildlife management, there are times when it
is absolutely like necessary, needed and warranted to knock down
(29:34):
wildlife populations. And it's going to get done, whether it's
in a coyote killing contest or every single taxpayer, be
you a vegan or not, is going to pay for
it when Aphis goes and flies their helicopters. So tangled
web we weave, isn't it? Hey from the desk of
(29:58):
Col's wee can review here. Hope your September is kicking ass.
You're all gonna have down weeks maybe similar to mine,
maybe not, but you're gonna have big up weeks too.
So the key is to keep on grinding away and
take advantage of all those little times in the woods,
right time on the water time in the water time,
(30:18):
in the woods, be it in ten or fifteen minute increments,
running out after work, running out before work, just looking
and watching and listening all adds up to success, stuff
that cannot be replicated by buying stuff or watching stuff online.
So spend your time out there, get some exercise, and
(30:40):
I'll talk to you next week. Thanks a much for listening.
Right in to ask c Al that's Asscal at themeateater
dot com. Remember if you're in a conundrum right now,
you have a big, old, sloppy lawn backyard, wood lot.
What have you need to clear that stuff up before
the better half lets you out on the road for
hunting season. Go to www dot steel Dealers dot com
(31:03):
to find a local, knowledgeable steel dealer near you. They're awesome.
They're gonna get you set up with what you need.
They're not gonna try to send you home with what
you don't, and you're gonna look like a pro when
you're out there hacking stuff down and cleaning stuff up,
taking everybody happy. Thanks again, We'll talk to you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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