Staff/Valley Press
TROUT CREEK – The organizers of a wolf trapping event may not have been aware but they were being monitored over the weekend as approximately ten animal rights activists descended upon the area in an attempt to keep an eye on the proceedings.
Arriving from as far away as Michigan, Idaho and Wyoming, the group calling itself Wolf Patrol came to the trapping event not to interfere in any way or even make their presence too obvious but merely to monitor and observe according to the coordinator Rod Coronado. Coronado said the primary goal of the group’s patrols was too identify trapping sites and document what happened during the weekend.
Coronado said the group’s main concern was that a successful trapping event may encourage more people to engage in the practice. He said, according to his information, there were approximately 80 attendees to the trapping event near Trout Creek. Coronado, who has been an animal rights advocate and activist for over three decades, said the group was afraid more events would sprout up if the trappers were successful.
“We’re afraid that it’s going to start to be a pattern because people are responding to it,” Coronado said. “We didn’t come here to interfere or have any confrontations. We just wanted to see what was going on. This was the first one we’ve approached. Our goal is to stop killing contests and also get the authority to manage wolves taken away from Montana and returned to the federal government.”
On Saturday, the group attempted to locate sites where traps were located for the purpose of documentation according to Coronado. On Sunday, the group did more patrols and also attempted to observe trappers returning to the private ranch where the event was coordinated. Coronado said, at no time, did the activists violate any laws or trespass on private land.
“We were able to not just be upset that these things are happening but develop a strategy as to what we can do and educate the public about what’s being done on public land to wildlife,” Coronado said. “I do feel like we were successful. We were able to observe this event and I feel like we did accomplish something. It’s the first one we’ve been to so there was a learning curve. These are going to become more popular around here and now we know a little more about them.”
Coronado, who has in the past been affiliated with organizations considered radical and violent by authorities, said he has changed his tactics and no longer interferes or breaks the law when conducting animal rights activities.
The organizers of the event, a non-profit group known as Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said the event was a way to preserve, protect and enhance the rights of residents of Montana to fish, hunt and trap and to maintain the state’s “heritage.” MTSFW Secretary Stacy Philbrick said the group decided to step in after the original organizer pulled out of the event when death threats and other threats of violence were made against him and his family.
“It was a group effort and we decided we weren’t backing down,” Philbrick said. “This is a legal event. This follows our mission. FWP’s (Fish, Wildlife and Parks) goal is to reduce wolf populations in Montana so this is in line with their goals. We’re not anti-wolf or anti-predator. We are for predator control. This is science based. FWP has not been able to reduce wolf populations in Montana. They keep increasing so anything we can do, legally, to promote and help that cause we will support.”
It was not immediately known whether any animals were successfully trapped during the event.