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Anyone else getting sick and tired of people b*tching about the wildlife they encounter while living in their domain? Am I missing something - it's like moving next to an airport and complaining about the noise. Or next to a stock yard and b*tching about the smell. Get a brain people.
Move to the prairie and complain about the prairie dogs -
I don't mind prairie dogs. The problem is they can carry diseases and are destructive. So when they come into my yard I have no choice but to get rid of them. Its not something I enjoy doing but its a fact of life.
I hate pigeons, but it is because a person continues to feed them (intentionally). Otherwise they wouldn't come here everyday.
I enjoy the rest of the wild life. Seeing deer in town, and foxes behind my house, makes me feel happy to be in Colorado. I even saw a bunny last night while out for a walk. It was adorable.
the wildlife they encounter while living in their domain
Yes.
I was in my favorite mom and pop restaurant in town several days ago and sat down next to a couple DOW employees. Overhearing their conversation regarding private property versus wildlife, they related a story that I almost forgot about which happened in 2009.
One of them cleaned up a mess that is a DOW worst concern, attacking and killing a human being. The victims name was Donna Munson, an elderly lady who lived in a older four room cabin just outside Ouray. The DOW people had contacted her several times in person and by phone to please quit feeding the bears as there were complaints from other neighbors. According to the DOW people they were coming out to her cabin with a printed notice giving her one last warning regarding this. They had hoped they could talk to an individual who would finally listen to them.
What the employees found instead was a dead body with a couple bears feeding on her corpse.
I don't mind prairie dogs. The problem is they can carry diseases and are destructive. So when they come into my yard I have no choice but to get rid of them. Its not something I enjoy doing but its a fact of life.
Exactly. To me, we as humans come first, the planet is OURS to do with as we so please for the most part. Besides, the animals have plenty of natural preserves in the National Forests etc where they can prosper and do so in a much more natural & genuine type of setting as opposed to a zoo. I'm not one particularly big on yielding to the right of way of an animal, as a human being I'm more important.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for letting things be which are not being a nuisance or causing any problems, and letting animals have space WITHIN REASON to be what they are. However, I get tired of being told that, say, if you have a cat or dog that you let play outside IN YOUR OWN YARD and a coyote hurts it, well it's your fault for choosing to live in the coyote's habitat and not spending thousands of dollars and dozens of man hours erecting a huge fence (which often-times animals maneuver around anyway) to keep them out. I'm tired of being told that my children have to be supervised while playing outside when I grew up doing just fine playing outside alone while my parents did whatever inside--because a mountain lion may harm them and, hey, "you chose to live in their territory." Heck, even if I'm hiking in a hiking place (for lack of a better word), I think my right to enjoy that hiking trail supersedes the rights of the animals to live there, if they chose to attack me anyway (otherwise leave them alone no hunting).
I pay the mortgage and taxes on my land, and spend the time to keep it in decent shape, I should be able to dictate what is allowed there and why, for whatever reason. If it takes "shoot, shovel, shut up" then so be it. What's the difference in, say, killing a mountain lion or stray animal trespassing and inflicting a mess or physical harm in YOUR LIVING SPACE vs killing mice and cockroaches etc? Should we just let the roaches & mice have the run of our house because, well, "you chose to live in an area where they're known to exist?"
Don't get me wrong, if something is of no harm to me I have no problem letting it be. I see snakes at our places on occasion, and if it's not poisonous, I let it be, or at least relocate further into the woods which surrounds our place. It's not harming anything and in fact does good in terms of killing mice & rats etc, I say leave it alone. Blue jays, deer and squirrels, same thing--no harm, let it be, enjoy its beauty and wonder.
But if an armadillo comes on here ransacking our trash we have left for the guy to pickup the next day, or a stray pit bull dog endangers our kids who are playing IN THEIR OWN YARD and just scaring it off doesn't work and it keeps coming back, I'm filling it full of .22 bullets. It's no different than setting a mouse trap for mice or spraying for bugs if you ask me. I typically will blast a couple of firecrackers to scare it off, and if that does the trick, fine, but if it keeps coming back, I'm not fooling around with this all day, I've got a life to live. They can go "live in harmony" somewhere else.
When those stray pit bulls and armadillos start paying the taxes and such on our property, then I'll do otherwise--otherwise, trespass at your own peril. If that woodpecker keeps waking me up drilling its business on the roof of my house, it's going to find itself turned into a lifeless feather duster--leave me alone and drill your business on a tree, then you're allowed to live.
When I came onto my property to build a house, I went and had a discussion with all the trees and bushes first... discussing if it would be ok for me to move there. There were no trees to speak of, so it was a short discussion.
Then I met with the prairie dogs and we talked about lead poisoning. They were curious to know the range of my 1000 fps .177 pellet gun and they were surprised to find that my range was beyond my 1.2 acre property and well into the next one.
Now, on the McGowdog Property, there's a mortgage to pay, so... if any other "dogs" want to come live with MrsGowdog and I, they can come have a cup of coffee with me some morning, pay into our mortgage and utilities, and I'll not only tolerate them on the McGowdog Estate, but I'll cook a nice meal for them now and again.
Exactly. To me, we as humans come first, the planet is OURS to do with as we so please for the most part. Besides, the animals have plenty of natural preserves in the National Forests etc where they can prosper and do so in a much more natural & genuine type of setting as opposed to a zoo. I'm not one particularly big on yielding to the right of way of an animal, as a human being I'm more important.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for letting things be which are not being a nuisance or causing any problems, and letting animals have space WITHIN REASON to be what they are. However, I get tired of being told that, say, if you have a cat or dog that you let play outside IN YOUR OWN YARD and a coyote hurts it, well it's your fault for choosing to live in the coyote's habitat and not spending thousands of dollars and dozens of man hours erecting a huge fence (which often-times animals maneuver around anyway) to keep them out. I'm tired of being told that my children have to be supervised while playing outside when I grew up doing just fine playing outside alone while my parents did whatever inside--because a mountain lion may harm them and, hey, "you chose to live in their territory." Heck, even if I'm hiking in a hiking place (for lack of a better word), I think my right to enjoy that hiking trail supersedes the rights of the animals to live there, if they chose to attack me anyway (otherwise leave them alone no hunting).
I pay the mortgage and taxes on my land, and spend the time to keep it in decent shape, I should be able to dictate what is allowed there and why, for whatever reason. If it takes "shoot, shovel, shut up" then so be it. What's the difference in, say, killing a mountain lion or stray animal trespassing and inflicting a mess or physical harm in YOUR LIVING SPACE vs killing mice and cockroaches etc? Should we just let the roaches & mice have the run of our house because, well, "you chose to live in an area where they're known to exist?"
Don't get me wrong, if something is of no harm to me I have no problem letting it be. I see snakes at our places on occasion, and if it's not poisonous, I let it be, or at least relocate further into the woods which surrounds our place. It's not harming anything and in fact does good in terms of killing mice & rats etc, I say leave it alone. Blue jays, deer and squirrels, same thing--no harm, let it be, enjoy its beauty and wonder.
But if an armadillo comes on here ransacking our trash we have left for the guy to pickup the next day, or a stray pit bull dog endangers our kids who are playing IN THEIR OWN YARD and just scaring it off doesn't work and it keeps coming back, I'm filling it full of .22 bullets. It's no different than setting a mouse trap for mice or spraying for bugs if you ask me. I typically will blast a couple of firecrackers to scare it off, and if that does the trick, fine, but if it keeps coming back, I'm not fooling around with this all day, I've got a life to live. They can go "live in harmony" somewhere else.
When those stray pit bulls and armadillos start paying the taxes and such on our property, then I'll do otherwise--otherwise, trespass at your own peril. If that woodpecker keeps waking me up drilling its business on the roof of my house, it's going to find itself turned into a lifeless feather duster--leave me alone and drill your business on a tree, then you're allowed to live.
LRH
I really, really hope this is sarcasm.... I fear it's not.
Here we have (again, I seem to encounter these all-or-nothing convos all the time) another issue where people are standing on polar opposite sides of a subject, and I strongly feel that basic logic and sense resides in the middle somewhere.
For the most part, as far as I'm concerned, my personal territory is the interior of my home, garage, and vehicles. I will absolutely dictate what may live there and what may not. Spider outside on the fence or bush, great...spider in my house, dead. And then there are creatures that try and set up housekeeping in such a manner as to present a nuisance or threat. Barn swallows attempting to nest above my front door will be made to relocate. I can do this without killing them, by hanging plastic or dangling fishing line to impede them. Yes, they are delightful creatures...that need to nest elsewhere! Bees. Well, sorry to say it but I'm not up for tolerating the typically aggressive species of wasps, hornets, and bee-kind that take up residence at my residence. I don't want to be stung. We long-range poison those suckers, circle of life or no.
Where is the line drawn...hm...well I think it's sensible to respect that bears, mountain lions, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, etc share our space. There are plenty of other good reasons to keep your pets indoors and/or supervised or enclosed. It's good policy to have the kids come in before dusk, and learning basic techniques to not encourage altercations with the wildlife. But master-of-the-universe primate supremacy or no, a "kill 'em all" approach is no bueno. Saying "I shouldn't have to worry about these things on a walking trail" is ridiculous. What, should we send dudes with guns and traps to eliminate everything bigger than a squirrel...and then take them, the bunnies, and the prairie dogs out too, for carrying plague? Squirrels carry it too, you know, and rabbits. Come on...
I do think a person should be able to hike reasonably armed to their level of proficiency and safety training and licensure to carry, and certainly shoot anything threatening their safety. But to say that because we're "man-supreme!" (*insert flexing muscles here*) and need to rule with a firm and lethal hand (and a shotgun) everything in our path...is a bit much.
I should have included the below to my original post but here goes:
I just come back from Grand Junction's DOW office on Independence Ave. to drop off some paperwork there. IMO This department is understaffed and underfunded. For out of staters who aren't aware of this states fiscal situation, well, just do a search on it here. The last I heard this state is sitting at a $272 million deficit.
While there I picked up a report on one of my favorite fishing spots, Miramonte Reservoir, located 10 miles south of Norwood. Last Fall some Jerkwater McGurk decided to stock the reservoir with a whole bunch of small mouth bass. Miramonte is one of the top reservoirs in this state for rainbow and brown trout. Smallmouth bass is a predator and is a warm water species and does NOT mix with trout for ****. So guess what DOW gets to do? Draw down the lake altogether with a huge dose of Rotenone, a proven organic pesticide that will do a total fish kill. Until maybe mid September everybody and their mother will be down there taking out as much fish as they can as the DOW has announced a no limit catch possession limit on ALL species. After that the reservoir will close. No camping, no boating.
From what I've been told the reservoir might stay closed next year and re-open in 2015. The monetary contribution in this part of San Miguel County accounts for close to $2 million a year, according to their figures. All on account of someone wanting to be funny. And someone who doesn't take responsibility for their actions.
That amount of money has to come out of the DOW budget which isn't very healthy as it is.
Back to Donna Munson. I believe this was another case of not taking responsibility for your actions, and the result proved deadly. The DOW people should have made ONE trip to her place saying NO! And ONLY one trip! If you want to live out in the wild, you better be aware of your surroundings, you're inviting trouble when you don't take responsibility for your own actions.
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