*Note* The link to this story was provided by North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance (NCRAOA)

Residents of Upland South Carolina are having concerns about wild coyote populations. As one resident asked in a news report, “They appear to be getting larger,” Powell said. “They’re wild — their behavior patterns are unpredictable. What risk are they to young kids? Is there a plan to control the population?”

The same report tells us that in 2009, a 9-year-old Pacolet girl was attacked and bitten by a rabid coyote and had to undergo rabies treatment.

Unfortunately for South Carolina residents, their concerns are addressed much the same way as they are everywhere in American today. It’s all about protecting the predator. Don’t be dismayed, your friendly Department of Natural Resources spokesman made sure to tell the people that it is rare for a coyote to attack a human and then continued on to spout off things about coyotes that aren’t true and cannot be scientifically proven and supported.

For example, we read this semi denial, semi predator protection statement: “Since 2002, the state’s deer population has declined by more than 30 percent, according to DNR numbers. As evidenced in other states with long-established coyote populations, expanding coyote populations are likely partly to blame.”

The only thing that has changed during this time is the increase in coyote populations and the best the DNR can muster is to admit it’s “likely partly to blame”.

Here’s a good one; “Due to the coyote’s territorial nature, domestic pets can also become prey.”

True but incomplete. Due to ignorance or deliberate avoidance, what fails to get mentioned is that territorial nature has little to do with coyotes invading your property and eating your cats and dogs. It’s about hunger. With an uncontrolled population of coyotes, they often run out of prey and resort to your cats and dogs. Again, it’s not about territory.

But here’s the best statement of all and one that is the root cause of all of the problems every state fish and game department is having with predators; “But DNR officials say that over time, coyote populations are expected to stabilize allowing deer, turkey and small game to still exist in healthy numbers in South Carolina.”

Coyote populations don’t “stabilize”. They take over a territory and remain there until they have depleted their food sources. Once that happens a host of events can occur – move out, cannibalism, and starvation to name three. When our institutions began teaching our future wildlife biologists that our ecosystems are “naturally regulated” or they will self-achieve a “balance”, relationships between predators and prey have become skewed and as a result we are hearing about more human/coyote encounters, etc.

This problem will not take care of itself. Wildlife management is a proven science and the notion nature balances itself is pure myth.

Tom Remington

MISSOULA, Mont. – Voters in four states – Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina and Tennessee – will have an opportunity on Election Day to protect hunting and other sporting pursuits as constitutional rights. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supports these amendments as a way to protect outdoor traditions and the revenue they generate for conservation.

Here’s a roundup of the proposed measures:

Arizona – The Arizona Hunting and Fishing Amendment, also known as Proposition 109, or HCR 2008, is on the Nov. 2 ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The proposal would give constitutional protection to the right to hunt in Arizona, and prohibit citizens from using ballot initiatives to make laws regarding hunting and fishing by giving that exclusive authority to the legislature.

Arkansas – The Arkansas Hunting Rights Constitutional Amendment is on the Nov. 2 ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. If approved by voters, the measure would allow residents the right to hunt, fish, trap and harvest wildlife in the state.

South Carolina – The South Carolina Hunting and Fishing Amendment, also known as Amendment 1, is on the Nov. 2 ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. If enacted, the measure would allow residents the right to hunt and fish. Although South Carolina residents already have this privilege, the measure is proposed in order to solidify the privilege as a right.

Tennessee – The Tennessee Hunting Rights Amendment is on the Nov. 2 ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The proposed measure calls for the personal right to hunt and fish within state laws and existing property rights. Additionally, the amendment allows for hunting and fishing of non-threatened species.

“Every citizen of these states who appreciates wildlife and wild places should vote in favor of these amendments, because hunters and anglers have always been the premier leaders and stewards of the outdoors. Without them, our country’s system of wildlife conservation would not exist,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

The amendments will help preempt anti-hunting, anti-fishing and animal rights activists, said Allen.

Ten states have previously adopted similar amendments: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

MISSOULA, Mont. – On Nov. 2, voters in South Carolina and Tennessee can pass amendments to their state constitutions that would protect hunting and fishing as constitutional rights. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supports these amendments as a way to protect sporting traditions and the revenue they generate for conservation.

“Every citizen of South Carolina and Tennessee who appreciates wildlife and wild places should vote in favor of these amendments, because hunters and anglers pay for most of the conservation efforts in this country,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

Allen added, “Hunters, and the freedom to hunt, are the core reasons why America?s system of wildlife conservation is envied by countries all over the world.”

The amendments would protect hunting, fishing and their funding mechanisms – as well as their vital influence in fish, wildlife and habitat management – by preempting surreptitious efforts by anti-hunting, anti-fishing and animal rights activists. Hunters and anglers would still be required to carry proper licenses, follow harvest restrictions and other normal regulations. Public and private property rights would not be affected.

Ten states have previously adopted similar amendments: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Ohio now lists among several other states to introduce their own version of Montana’s “Firearms Freedom Act”. Montana’s act, which has been signed by the governor and took effect on October 1st, states that any guns or gun products manufactured in Montana and remain in Montana are not subject to federal regulations.

Ohio’s bill, HB315 states:

To enact section 2923.26 of the Revised Code to provide that ammunition, firearms, and firearm accessories that are manufactured and remain in Ohio are not subject to federal laws and regulations derived under Congress’ authority to regulate interstate commerce and to require the words “Made in Ohio” be stamped on a central metallic part of any firearm manufactured and sold in Ohio.

According to Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, Ohio now joins with eight other states who have either passed or introduced a cloned version of Montana’s bill – Texas, which has passed a bill, Alaska, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Other states are working on them.

Marbut says that with more states passing and introducing similar legislation, this should help Montana in their litigation efforts in validating the Montana Firearms Freedom Act bill. A court hearing has been scheduled for later this year in which the state of Montana hopes to get a ruling that states have this right as stated in the Constitution.

Tom Remington

Yesterday I reported that Montana’s “Montana-Made Gun Bill” has gone viral and that states are jumping on the opportunity to follow suit. Montana’s bill states that any gun, gun accessory or ammunition manufactured in Montana and stays in Montana cannot be regulated by the Federal Government. Not only is this a bold attempt at protecting the Second Amendment rights of Montanans it all sends a message to the U.S. Government that Montana is a sovereign state and will not be controlled by the feds.

Yesterday, South Carolina introduced a similar bill and it now appears that Minnesota has done the same – HF2376.

Here’s a list of other states with similar bills.

Montana HB 246
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/billhtml/HB0246.htm

Alaska HB 186
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0186D&session=26

Texas HB 1863
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HB01863I.htm

Tennessee
HB 1796
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB1796
SB 1610
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/SB1610.pdf

South Carolina S. 794
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/794.htm

Tom Remington

What some are calling an ambiguous loophole in an Indiana state law, trappers who are taking wild coyotes outside of the prescribed coyote trapping season, are keeping them alive and selling them to dog trainers and using them to collect urine for use by trappers. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that practice has to stop.

Coyotes are being sold to states that allow hound trainers to use live wild animals for training purposes. Indiana does not allow this so trappers are selling the coyotes to states like South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia where the use of live animals is allowed for dog training.

Animal rights groups are pressuring the IDNR saying the practice is cruel and inhumane but some legislators who sit on the Natural Resources Study Committee don’t see it that way at all.

State Sen. Greg Walker, who is on the committee, said he did not see a problem with selling the animals to dog-training facilities because the care is often better than their lives in the wild.
“For the kennels which do the training of hunting dogs, they prefer to keep the animals in good condition,” said Walker, R-Columbus.
Generally, trainers do not allow the bait animals to be caught, Crider said.
“It’s really nothing that runs counter to what these animals experience in the wild anyway,” Walker said. “It’s part of their natural makeup, it’s part of their DNA, and so if it’s cruel, I guess sometimes you’d say nature is cruel.”

While the DNR is suggesting a change to the rules, the Study Committee could propose legislation that would override any DNR recommendation.

Tom Remington

We are at a point where it would be safe to say that this year’s outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is quite widespread. Here’s a list of states that have confirmed cases of the virus that is carried to deer by biting midges or no-see-ums: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Montana, Mississippi and Georgia. In addition, some states are waiting for test results to confirm what they already suspect – South Carolina is one such state.

To confirm the presence of the disease, blood and certain tissue has to be analyzed.

According to both the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Alabama Department of Conservation, dealing with EHD is quite routine. Charles Ruth, Deer/Turkey Project supervisor for the South Carolina DNR says flair-ups in that state seem to run in cycles of 3-5 years and there’s a reasonable explanation.

“This is probably related to the fact that once deer are exposed to the disease they are more resistant to it. Therefore, if you have disease one year the deer become exposed or inoculated to the disease and you do not see much disease activity until there is turnover in the deer population. After several years you are dealing with another cohort of deer and their systems are ‘naïve’ to the disease. The last time there was significant hemorrhagic disease activity in South Carolina was in 2002, therefore, disease activity could be relatively high this year.”

This theory is confirmed by a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“We have some cases every year,” said Keith Guyse, a whitetail specialist with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division in the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “In the Coastal Plain, the virus is there frequently enough that deer have been exposed to it and have some resistance to it.

Both representatives indicate that EHD in their respective states is pretty much routine only because of the build up of a certain degree of immunity. Therefore, these southern states don’t see wide outbreaks of the disease that often. When EHD hits the more northern climes, EHD seems to grab harder. Ruth explains.

Deer likely die in South Carolina each year from hemorrhagic disease, however, there is no indication that a major outbreak has occurred in the state since the mid 1970s. The disease is part of life for deer in the Southeast and fortunately it appears that Southern deer have acquired some immunity to the disease, said Ruth. Northern deer, on the other hand, are not exposed to the disease as frequently since the insect vector is not as common in cooler climates. For this reason, significant outbreaks and mortality from hemorrhagic disease are more likely in northern deer populations.

Guyse from Alabama makes reference to the same theory.

“Typically in North Alabama and above the fall line, they’re not exposed to it as often. So over a period of time you have a population that doesn’t have much resistance. When you have (outbreaks) up there, it tends to be more noticeable.”

This helps us understand why some states may have more severe outbreaks, killing larger numbers of deer, than others but why this year are outbreaks so widespread across the landscape of the country? Some have related it to the summer heat and drought. That may be true, I don’t know. It would be logical to assume that being that the virus is carried and spread by tiny midges or gnats, a larger than normal population of that insect would be directly proportional to the spread of the disease. Of course science isn’t that simplistic and we know that there are probably many more factors to consider or it could be just merely a coincidence.

However, Guyse from Alabama eludes to the theory of increased numbers of midges, somewhat.

“Auburn (researchers) had traps out to catch the flies and they might catch a few every once in a while, and then all of a sudden they catch hundreds,” Guyse said. “Much of that still is a mystery.”

Obviously, they don’t have a good handle on it either.

Hunters and others should be aware of the symptoms they may find on deer suffering from the disease.

Symptoms of hemorrhagic disease include poor physical condition, sloughing hooves, abrasions or sores on the brisket and legs, and ulcerations on the mouth, tongue, and rumen (stomach).

As I said earlier, verification of the disease has to be done in the lab.

If you see sick or dead deer in your travels, please report it to the appropriate authorities. It is highly recommended that nobody eats any of the meat from deer sickened by EHD.

Tom Remington

A new mentoring program signed into law in Oklahoma by Gov. Brad Henry provides for young hunters under the age of 16 to hunt small game without first taking the required hunter safety class, providing that hunter is with a licensed hunter over the age of 21.

The same law allows hunters 16 – 35 to hunt all game without first taking a hunter safety course and they must be accompanied by a licensed hunter over 21.

South Carolina also has a newly signed bill with a similar mentoring program. The National Wild Turkey Federation has more on both stories.

Tom Remington

There’s an enthusiastic group that has formed a brand new organization called the Appalachian Houndsmen Association. Even though they aspire to eventually become a nationwide entity, their focus right now is on Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. The club’s motto pretty much tells what’s on their mind.

Preserving the Houndsmen’s Heritage for the Next Generation in Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

If a lot of you are like me, when you read or hear the word hound, a whole array of mental images crop up in your head. I spent some time browsing around their new website in order to get a better idea of what the Houndsmen were all about. I found out it isn’t just coon dogs nor is it rabbit dogs or bear hunting dogs. It’s all about every kind of dog you can imagine that’s used in the varied hunting and outdoor sports including breeding of sporting dogs as well. Read what the website says about what they are all about.

The Appalachian Houndsmen Association is an association that was started on the basis of joining together all of our clubs from all the different hunting areas to be able to unite(sic) as one large voice to stand up and fight to protect our hunting and breeding rights. We want members from all types of dog hunting, coon hunters, big game hunters, beaglers, fox hunters and bird hunters. We need everyone to be able to make our voice heard. As our motto states “Preserving Our Hunting Heritage for the next Generation”, is a large and bold undertaking and this cannot be accomplished by one person or one club or one group of hunters. Together as a united group we can fight and be heard.

The reason for a united front comes because of the increased pressure from anti-hunting and animal rights groups. I see the AHA is taking action to speak up in support of what they do and the long time heritage associated with it. More and more people are learning as have the AHA that the only ones that are going to fight for what you believe in is you, so they are banding together.

One of the issues that AHA is involved in is support of a bill in South Carolina that would permit the use of dogs in hunting and training for bears. That bill is H3258. There has been opposition to this bill by some anti-hunting and animal rights groups and leaders of the AHA are encouraging its members to contact all the South Carolina representatives and Senate Wildlife Committee members.

There’s more to the Appalachian Houndsmen Association than just getting people together to fight for rights. Their website is soliciting much needed membership to help the cause. There’s also a busy schedule of events including a lot of shows and qualifying competitions and they have plans to start a youth moment within the organization called “PUPS“.

It is clear to me that this new group has a firm grasp and understanding of the importance of hunting as part of our American heritage. They want to work hard to guarantee that heritage to the next generation and they need your help. I would suggest that first you visit their website and learn more about them. There you will find contact information and how you can become a member and get involved. Don’t wait until it’s too late and above all else, don’t wait and let someone else do all the work. Get involved.

Tom Remington

Chris Cobbett is part of Northwoods Adventure TV. He and his partner, Nate Fenderson travel to many places filming their hunting adventures. Cobbett has his own blog as part of the U.S. Hunting Today network and is also an active member of the Maine Hunting Forums.

His son is seven years old and has fallen in love with hunting – no surprise there.

Recently, Chris and son, Dylan, went on a turkey hunting trip to South Carolina. Chris shares the stories at his blog and has posted some film footage of the successful turkey hunt at the Maine Hunting Forums. It is an absolute must that you watch these two videos. If you have high speed Internet access, you can stream the video right at the site. If not, it’s worth downloading it to watch. Seriously.

Tom Remington