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The C.A.S.H. Courier NewsletterSelected Articles from our Summer 2011 IssueCeAnn spent her final days fighting to Ban Wildlife Penning In Indiana
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has decided to waive state permit requirements for a Greene County “penning” facility. In penning operations, wild foxes and coyotes are trapped so that packs of hunting dogs can be set loose upon them. The captive wildlife, unable to escape the caged enclosures, frequently suffers horrific deaths while being ripped to shreds during these “field trials.” After activists complained that Linton, Indiana’s WCI Foxhound Training Preserve lacks a permit to “possess”—i.e., physically contain—wildlife outside of hunting season, as mandated by state law, the DNR asserted that the coyotes and foxes trapped in these cage enclosures are not technically “possessed” by the facility because there are small, unintentional perforations in their poorly-maintained wire fences. A lawsuit filed against the DNR and its director Robert Carter Jr., alleges that, if the Department’s grievous misinterpretation of the law were allowed to stand, anyone in the state of Indiana could skirt the wildlife possession permit requirement simply by failing to maintain the fencing within which they have enclosed an animal. Uncle Joe asks:Please send a letter to Robert Carter Jr., Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and respectfully demand that the DNR move to ban wildlife penning operations on the grounds that they are excessively cruel operations that serve no ethical conservation purpose. SAMPLE LETTER: Robert Carter Jr., DNR Director Dear Mr. Carter: As you’re aware, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is the subject of a lawsuit that addresses the issue of wildlife penning operations. As someone who is concerned about the humane treatment of wildlife, I strongly urge you to initiate a motion to ban such operations within the state. Recently, Florida permanently banned coyote and fox penning state-wide, and just last year, the Indiana DNR recommended that the Indiana Natural Resources Council outlaw the practice. Meanwhile, wildlife experts contend that the practice of penning results in ethically indefensible animal cruelty, is ecologically reckless, and is counter to sound scientific wildlife management. Pitting domestic canines against their contained wild cousins is ethically indefensible. This practice parallels dog- and cockfighting activities that have been made illegal in all U.S. states in the last twenty years, largely on ethical grounds. Most of these penned wild canids suffer and die after being literally torn apart by the dog pack. On behalf of all concerned citizens, I urge you to please set in motion a plan of action to result in banning wildlife penning operations state-wide. Your response to my concerns will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely,. Go on to Next Article |
