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July 23, 2015

From the Associated Press

MARQUETTE, Michigan — The Michigan Court of Claims has upheld a law empowering an appointed panel to allow hunting of wolves.

The state Legislature approved the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act last August. It gave the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the authority to classify animals as game species. The commission already had given wolves that designation, which led to the state’s first authorized wolf hunt in 2013.

The law nullified two citizen votes last fall that would have prevented wolf hunts. A group called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected filed suit, saying the law violated the Michigan Constitution.

In a ruling issued Friday, Court of Claims Judge Mark T. Boonstra disagreed, writing that the group’s suit “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” He said the court was not taking a position on whether wolves should be hunted or not.

“That policy judgment is properly left to the Legislature and the people of the state of Michigan,” Boonstra said. “Rather, the sole question before this court is whether the legislative enactment in question violates the Michigan Constitution as alleged.”

A state spokesman praised the ruling.

“The citizen-initiated law gives authority to the Natural Resources Commission to regulate sport fishing in Michigan, aligning with the NRC’s authority to regulate the taking of game,” John Pepin, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman in Marquette, told The Mining Journal (http://bit.ly/1e0Sdwz ). “The act gives the NRC the authority to name game species. All of this supports sound scientific management of natural resources in Michigan.”

The Michigan United Conversation Clubs, a leading hunting and fishing group, also praised the decision.

“The court recognized that the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act was about just what its title says, managing fish, wildlife and their habitats with sound science,” spokesman Drew YoungeDyke said in a statement.

The wolf protection group said it will appeal.

“The judge was clearly hostile to our case, and did not seriously address the key issues of the complaint,” said Keep Michigan Wolves Protected Director Jill Fritz. “We have good legal arguments and our next step will be to the Court of Appeals.”

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Dog owners have been told to be on alert for a strain of canine flu that has sickened more than 1,000 across the Midwest.

The Associated Press reports that the virus has yet to appear in Minnesota, but that it has been detected in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, having believed to have originated in the Chicago area.

Tests by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Library confirmed the strain as H3N2, AP reports, which is believed to have come from Asia and causes coughs, a runny nose and fever in dogs.

KSTP reports that the strain is highly contagious, has never been seen before in the United States, and has so far killed five dogs.

The TV station says that dogs are contagious for about two weeks and should be kept away from other dogs during that time should they develop the symptoms.

FOX 9 reported last week that Minnesota’s veterinarians are keeping…

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Yet another case of animal abuse on a large scale!

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Scenes of filth and squalor met Minnesota Humane Society workers when they arrived at a Polk County home Tuesday and rescued dozens of beagles.

Acting on a report from a neighbor, authorities seized 51 dogs and took them to various animal shelters, according to Valley News Live.

The station notes the dogs appeared to be “well fed,” but that many were suffering from skin diseases, with one of the beagles appearing to have had an ear bitten off.

A Humane Society official told the Star Tribune the house was in disrepair and covered in feces, saying it was an environment unsuitable for both humans and dogs.

The paper says authorities are building a criminal case against the homeowner, an as yet unidentified woman.

One of the dogs was found dead, according to KARE 11.

There may be a bright future for the beagles, however – the West Central Tribune suggests they’ll be available…

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Wolf attacks rare

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A lone wolf has been following snowmobilers in Voyageurs National Park, so park officials are rerouting some trails until they figure out what the wolf is up to.

“We are taking precautions for the protection of the visitors and the wolf,” Superintendent Mike Ward said in a news release.

Recently the wolf, who doesn’t seem to be traveling with a pack, followed at least three snowmobilers in the Ash River area of the park located along the U.S. and Canadian border, the release notes.

The incidents happened within a mile of one another over a 10-day period, the Star Tribune says.

Ward told the Star Tribune the wolf made one snowmobiler nervous, while another group compared it to a playful dog.

The wolf hasn’t attacked anyone and officials aren’t describing it as aggressive or dangerous, the Pioneer Press reports, but they do say this type…

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A fisherman managed to escape after his truck broke through the ice on Lake Minnetonka Wednesday night, but his dog didn’t make it out.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office told the Star Tribune the truck went through the ice near the Arcola Bridge, between Crystal Bay and Browns Bay, which was not a posted thin-ice area. He was on his way to his fish house on Lafayette Bay.

The 35-year-old man was able to climb out of the truck and pull himself onto a shelf of thin ice, where he yelled for help and was heard by a nearby resident. Four police deputies then formed a human chain to pull him to safety, the newspaper notes.

The man’s dog however, could not be rescued from the truck as it sank.

Victim rescued transported to hospital. He was conscious. Dog in the vehicle did not get out.

— HCSO Sheriff (@HennepinSheriff) February 26…

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A Minnesota hunter had an elk confiscated after running afoul of hunting laws in Montana. And to make matters worse, it happened on reality TV.

Jim Latvala was delighted to bag a six-point bull elk while out hunting with his brother Warren in Montana, but his joy turned sour when he was approached by a warden – who in turn was followed by a TV cameraman, the Pioneer Press reports.

It turns out the cameraman was shooting for a reality TV show called Wardens, and he captured this particular warden handing out a $135 citation to the 65-year-old fishing guide from Two Harbors, Minnesota.

Latvala had failed to tag his elk immediately following his kill –which are the rules in Montana, but not Minnesota. The brothers feel that the presence of the cameraman made the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) warden hand out the citation.

“The people who work…

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A hunter who survived a savage attack from a wounded bear has spoken for the first time about the terrifying fight for his life.

Brandon Johnson, 44, fought off the 525lb black bear he was tracking with a hunting knife after he was attacked in woods near Duxbury, Minnesota, on September 27.

He has spoken with KSTP about how the bear bit his face, arms, chest and leg while he stabbed it repeatedly in the head with his knife. The bear pretended to leave on two occasions only to resume its attack.

“At the very beginning I didn’t know where I was, I was looking up at the sky and this bear was biting my face. I didn’t know what happened, I didn’t see the bear coming,” he told KSTP.

“I felt its tooth going underneath my jaw. Just at that instance I said this isn’t a dream. I still…

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DNR confirms that moose in Sleepy Eye has been found dead. Necropsy will be performed to determine cause of death. pic.twitter.com/UrtaXtBdOH

— Minnesota DNR (@mndnr) November 20, 2014

The wandering moose spotted chomping on apples at a farm in Sleepy Eye last week was found dead, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.

The yearling bull, who likely traveled down from Canada, was found dead in someone’s yard, MPR News reports. No further details are available, but the DNR plans to perform an autopsy.

The moose got a lot of attention last week because he wandered so far from home. DNR officials told the Mankato Free Press it’s odd for a moose to end up in southern Minnesota, but it’s not unusual for a young male moose to leave his place of birth.

Bull moose in Sleepy Eye, MN. Unusual, but not unheard of. Been about 12 moose…

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The total number of deer killed at the end of this year’s firearms season is down 31,000 compared to 2013, state figures show.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has revealed that hunters had registered 111,000 deer by the end of the third and final weekend of firearms hunting season.

Overall, 127,000 deer have been registered this year, which includes special hunts and archery season, and earlier antlerless and firearms seasons, down from 160,000 in 2013, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

This year’s harvest was expected to be lower, the News Tribune reports, because the DNR had put in place tighter restrictions on the number of deers allowed to be killed in a bid to boost the population across the state.

Numbers were depleted after a big harvest last year and an extreme winter.

Although the season is over for much of the state, the DNR says the late…

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They’re considered as rare as a “gold nugget in a stream”, but earlier this month an albino deer was captured on camera in a Minnesota park.

The deer was spotted by an amateur photographer walking with a herd in Father Hennepin State Park on the southeast corner of Mille Lacs Lake, the Mail Online reports.

Realizing how unlikely a sighting it was, he quickly took video footage he uploaded to viral video website Jukin Media.

According to Buckmasters, as few as 1 in 100,000 deer is born with the genetic defect that turns them albino, with the website saying anyone who sees on is “very lucky.”

Although they have plenty to camouflage them in the winter, AOL.com reports that the deer rarely live to adulthood because they can be spotted so easily by predators, and also have very poor eyesight.

Another albino deer was spotted in Michigan…

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