Wolf foe blames poisonings on feds
An anti-wolf activist is blaming the federal wolf reintroduction program for a recent rash of pet poisonings across Idaho and Wyoming.
Since February, six dogs have died and another nine have been sickened by a highly toxic pesticide, which investigators believe was put out to poison wolves. Ron Gillet, chairman of the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition, backed that theory in a letter published April 8 in an Idaho newspaper, the Challis Messenger.
In his letter, Gillet blames the poisonings on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which transplanted wolves from Canada to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996.
ýIt is most unfortunate that these pets were the victims,ý Gillet wrote. ýHowever, it would seem obvious that the poison was not put out for pets but for Canadian wolves which are devastating our wildlife and also mutilating our pets.ý
Gillet suggests the poisonings would not be happening if not for the reintroduction program. He also calls government officials ýcriminals.ý
ýThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal agency that dumped these Canadian wolves on us [in] 1995 and 1996, using deception and blatant lawlessness in the process,ý he wrote.
Federal Agent Dominic Domenici said Gilletýs rhetoric and other evidence suggests the poisonings are more about hating the government than hating wolves.
ýThis is an anti-government-type movement,ý Domenici said. ýI think theyýve used the wolf as their rallying point.ý
Wolf supporters, meanwhile, argue that such attitudes show why wolves were killed off in the 1900s and why the species remains vulnerable and in need of protection today.
Gillet also attacked the Fish and Wildlife Service and Idaho Department of Fish and Game for investigating the poisonings of three dogs on the Salmon Challis National Forest. In Wyoming, dogs have been poisoned in Buffalo Valley, on the Greys River Road and possibly near Daniel. Authorities are investigating possible links between the two states.
On March 20, authorities searched the home of Salmon, Idaho, resident Tim Sundles, who had posted an article titled ýHow to Successfully Poison Wolvesý on his Web site. Officers seized a computer, a plastic bottle containing what was described as ýa gray granular substance,ý elk parts, blood samples and boots.
The advice on Sundlesý Web site matches the method of poisoning that sickened the dogs in the two states. Sundles also has admitted publicly to shooting a wolf in Idaho. He said he shot it in self-defense because the wolf tried to attack his horses and then turned on him and his wife.
In his letter, Gillet defends Sundles and calls the search of his home a ýGestapo style raid.ý
ýThese agency people should not be allowed on anybodyýs private property without a third party there to watch them because they are not above planting bogus evidence,ý Gillet wrote.
Authorities, meanwhile, are warning the public to stay away from any suspicious-looking food items because the poison-laced baits could be fatal to humans. So far, the baits have been found in the form of meatballs and hot dogs plugged with cheese. The investigation is ongoing, with the last poisonings reported in early April.