Fur and Wool Ban Not Popular

November 30, 2011

A Cool Reception to a Ban on Fur

By IAN LOVETT - NYTimes.com

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.

FUR is everywhere on the high fashion row of Melrose Avenue. It lines jackets on the mannequins in John Varvatos, dangles from scarves in the windows of Kitson, and drapes from hangers at Maxfield. Even on a 75-degree day in November, fur remains very much in season here.

And in the last week, these swanky window displays have become something of a political statement, a symbol of resistance to an ordinance that was passed Nov. 21 making this city the first in the country to ban the sale of fur apparel.

While boutiques here prepare for the ban to take effect in September 2013, Melrose Avenue may offer an early reading on the future of fur in the fashion industry: Even as animal rights activists declare victory, designers and storeowners have reiterated their commitment to fur’s place in high fashion, warning that shoppers will simply take their business outside of West Hollywood.

At the boutiques along Melrose Avenue, sales clerks scoffed at the idea that fur was falling out of fashion. One called the ban “ridiculous,” another said it was “super annoying.” Far from beginning to clear fur from their shelves, store owners are instead talking about clearing out of the city.     Read More

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone that believes West Hollywood, CA would represent the views of mainstream America.  This ban on fur and wool has gone so far though that even many of the people that live and work there feel that it's ridiculous.  Livestock and even wild animals provide us with many significant resources.  When it comes to the fur from wild animals, it's necessary for us to manage their populations appropriately anyhow so we might as well utilize the resources they provide us rather than waste them.  

Interestingly enough, these people even banned the sale of wool in this ordinance.  Giving a sheep a haircut once a year hardly matches the cruelty that PETA, HSUS and other anti-agriculture group would like you to believe.  -Troy

Ruby Pipeline Update

Environmental Groups Push For Halt Of Ruby Gas Pipeline Construction


David Nogueras
September 14, 2010
Bend, OR

Three environmental groups have asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline that’s being built in Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

The latest challenge to the 680-mile Ruby Pipeline project comes from three environmental groups: the Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter and the Great Basin Resource Watch.

The lawsuit, filed late last week, alleges federal agencies conducted incomplete and inadequate environmental reviews during the permitting phase of the project.

David Von Segern is with the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter.

David Von Segern: “They’ve chosen a route that should pretty much shoot it though pristine northern Nevada, a high desert steppe that is supporting wildlife especially the sage grouse and we’re very concerned about fragmentation of habitat.”

As spokesman for the El Paso Corporation, the company behind the project defended the permitting process, arguing it adequately protects wildlife along the route.

The 9th Circuit is still reviewing a separate request by the Center For Biological Diversity to halt the project.

Link

Here is an update on the Ruby Pipeline.  You may remember that El Paso Corp. tried to buy off the opposition by giving the Western Watersheds Project and Oregon Natural Desert Association $20 million dollars.  But when the rest of these environmental groups saw what was happening, they came to the trough hoping for a handout as well.  El Paso has found out what happens when you make deals with the devil.

MT Looks To Reduce Wolf Numbers

Mont. aims to reduce wolf numbers for first time
By MATT VOLZ (AP) – 16 hours ago

HELENA, Mont. — Montana wildlife commissioners approved a plan Thursday that aims to reduce the gray wolf population for the first time since the once-endangered animal was reintroduced to the region 15 years ago.

The proposal approved by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission calls for at least doubling the number of wolves that hunters can kill and introducing an archery season to go with the rifle season.

The population of wolves in the northern Rockies has increased every year since they were reintroduced to the region in 1995 after being nearly wiped out in the last century due to conflicts with humans and loss of habitat.

There were at least 524 wolves in Montana at the end of last year, and 1,706 wolves in the combined northern Rockies region of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of Washington and Oregon, wildlife officials estimate.

Ranchers and hunters say the wolf population has now grown too high, which has led to more attacks on livestock and game. Read More

Wildlife management is essential for the health of the wildlife involved. I’ve shared with you before about what happens if humans don’t manage these populations. When those numbers get too high, Mother Nature causes them to starve to death or unleashes devastating diseases that wipe out significant portions of them. That certainly doesn’t appear to be the humane option to me. Along with that, human safety and that of our domesticated animals needs to always be a priority in this equation. No wolf is worth a human life. Keeping a viable controlled population needs to be the goal.

I Am Angus Rounds Up 100K Views

Angus YouTube Channel Views Hit 100,000
Growing online video channel advocates Angus and agriculture

The American Angus Association®’s YouTube.com channel achieved a significant milestone this week, charting 108,000-plus video views since the page was introduced 17 months ago. More than 75 percent of those views have taken place during the last six months.

“This is a significant milestone in terms of online viewership,” says Crystal Young, Association assistant director of public relations. “This many video views in such a relatively short period of time is something we’re really excited to see. Today, we are averaging about 500 views per day – and our viewership continues to grow each month.”

Currently, the video channel contains 120 videos – all of which were produced in-house by Association staff.Young attributes the site’s growing popularity to an eager audience, strategic placement and — most importantly — fresh, positive content about agriculture. Many of these videos can be viewed by visiting www.angus.org and clicking on the “videos” button on the site’s navigation bar. In addition, these videos or links may be posted by outside parties directly to their own web sites.

“Association members and our viewers are telling us the videos hit home in an environment dominated by anti-agriculture messages,” she says. “Whether you’re an Angus producer or a consumer, there’s something here for everyone.”

“Online media is the fastest, cheapest way to communicate a message in today’s fast-paced market,” says Young. “Our YouTube channel and increasing online presence allow us to better serve our members and their customers as well as advance a positive message about agriculture to the mainstream public.”

Here's a link to their latest YouTube video that highlights two ranching families in Oregon.

It’s great to see agriculture having an ever-increasing presence online. Congratulations to the members of the American Angus Association for achieving a great milestone with their videos. They have done a great job of focusing on the people and families that raise cattle in their videos. The link provided will take you to one video that shows how a ranching family has helped restore wildlife in their area through careful land management. That is what we need to continue doing. As I mentioned yesterday, one of the biggest issues we have to overcome is the fact that millions of people in this country don’t know a farmer or rancher. Introducing ourselves and breaking the myth that food somehow magically appears is the goal we need to keep striving for.

Wolf Hunt Successful

Official: Wolf hunt was effective
MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 11:45 pm

An examination of Montana’s first public gray-wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.

Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and stopping increasing attacks on livestock and big-game herds.

However, the hunt in Montana and a wolf season in neighboring Idaho must first pass muster with a federal judge in Missoula. About 1,350 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies were removed from the endangered list in the spring. About 300 wolves in Wyoming remain on the list.

At least nine of the 72 wolves killed were in the Big Hole Valley — site of frequent wolf attacks on livestock. Just two breeding female wolves were killed among an estimated 34 statewide.

There were about 500 wolves in Montana last year. Even with the 72 killed by hunters — and another 127 killed by wildlife control agents, poachers, ranchers and other causes — that figure was projected to grow during the last year. If that happens, it could defuse arguments that hunting is harming the broader population. Read More

While the hunt may have created quite a bit of controversy, it’s clear that the intended results were achieved. In order to have a healthy population of wolves, and to keep the livestock and human interactions to a minimum, a hunt was necessary. There seems to be too many people that think the best way to manage wildlife is to no manage them. They would rather see disease and starvation cause unnecessary suffering for these animals. It doesn’t matter if it’s wolves, mountain lions, feral horses or anything else, population management needs to occur.

How Wolves Are Affecting a Family Ranch

October 5, 2009
Dealing with wolves on an Oregon ranch
Curt Jacobs

On Good Friday morning three generations of Jacobs got to experience firsthand the havoc two wolves could wreak.

Just a two-minute jaunt from our sleeping households, four of the five documented wolf attacks occurred on what we call the "Home Ranch," a 640-acre chunk of farm and pastureland, just a part of what we make a living on in this high desert country.

From that day in April until today, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Animal Damage Control confirmed 29 lambs, a pet goat and one calf killed on two ranches. This act stirred and spread the hotbed of debate in our small ranching community of Keating Valley to the Legislature in Salem and beyond.

We not only suffered the loss of these confirmed cases, but that of five more non-confirmed kills on both the Moore Ranch north of us and our own ranch. Our livestock has been harassed and chased through fences, and now our dogs display behavior that signifies "Beware, 'they' are out there!" We have tracked the wolves coming right down the road by our corrals behind my mom and dad's house. The feeling of being watched for a weak spot in the line is not a pleasant one.

Read More

It’s easy to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and support the current rules that don’t allow ranchers to protect their livestock or themselves from wolf attacks. But until you are in the position of going to bed every night wondering if your livelihood will still be there when you wake up, you probably can’t understand what that’s like. So even though these wolf advocates don’t seem to care about these affected families, they should at least read this account of the fear and agony this is causing.

Coalition For Conservation Through Ranching

Unique partnership promotes conservation
By Drovers news source Monday, September 14, 2009

A group of respected ranching and conservation organizations have come together to form a unique broad based coalition to enhance ranching practices that consider important conservation issues throughout the West. The Coalition for Conservation through Ranching is a new multi-stakeholder partnership between national conservation-minded groups that share an interest in promoting open space for ranching and healthy landscapes. The recently signed agreement marks the beginning of the unique relationship. Steering committee members of the coalition include the Public Lands Council (PLC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Family Farm Alliance (FFA) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Other organizations that have joined the coalition at this time are the American Farmland Trust, the American Forage and Grassland Council, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Society for Rangeland Management, the Wild Sheep Foundation, and the Wilderness Society. The Bureau of Land Management serves as an advisor to the group.

“Cherished iconic western landscapes depend upon productive partnerships between ranchers and conservationists. The Coalition for Conservation through Ranching will promote solutions that will keep western landscapes healthy and in the process benefit working ranches, wildlife and other natural resources,” says Dan Grossman, Rocky Mountain Regional Director, EDF.

Read More

No matter what the anti-agriculture people say, farmers and ranchers make taking care of their land a top priority. No matter if they are growing crops or livestock they depend on their land as the foundation of everything they do. This new partnership is bringing together many different groups that all realize the importance of healthy land and I look forward to seeing the great work that they can no doubt accomplish.