Earth First! Activists banned in Northern Arizona : AZ IMC

Contact: Rod Coronado, Chuk’shon Earth First! — (520) 240-2490
6/17/05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EARTH FIRST! ACTIVISTS BANNED IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

On the opening day of Arizona’s Gunnison’s prairie dog hunt, five members of a Chuk’shon Earth First! and Phoenix Earth First! film crew were banned from the hunt area, after the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) discovered that the environmentalists were documenting the recreational shooting of three-month-old Gunnison’s prairie dogs. Each year, sport hunters shoot 45,000 Gunnison’s prairie dogs, sometimes from lawn chairs, despite efforts to reintroduce the endangered black-footed
ferret into the region. Gunnison’s prairie dogs are the primary prey for Arizona’s reintroduced black-footed ferrets. The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Project has as its goal the successful reintroduction of 10 separate
populations of black-footed ferret by 2010. Gunnison’s prairie dogs are also the subjects of a petition for Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection.

“Black-footed ferrets need large, healthy populations of prairie dogs in order to survive. By allowing prairie dog hunting, Game and Fish is endangering the federal ferret reintroduction program,” said Rod Coronado of Earth First!

On the morning of June 16, an Earth First! film crew began interviewing Gunnison’ s prairie dog hunters as part of an investigation for a documentary critical of AZGFD’s nine-
month Gunnison’s prairie dog hunting season. After interviewing an AZGFD official and a prairie dog hunter on camera, the film crew was notified by AZGFD agents that they were being permanently banned from the Navajo Nation’s 750,000-acre Boquillas Ranch
by the lessee. When the film crew asked if it had violated any laws, AZGFD stated that no one was being accused of any illegal activity.
“Game and Fish’s policy on Gunnison’s prairie dogs serves only those who enjoy killing them, not the majority of Arizona’s citizens, who want to see wildlife preserved from recreational shooting. It’s ironic that the only people being banned from the Boquillas
Ranch are the ones who aren’t killing any animals,” said Coronado.

Earth First! is calling for a moratorium on Gunnison’s prairie dog hunting until a ruling can be made on the species’ ESA listing, and until the USFWS Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Team’s mission has been met.

Video documentation available on request.

I was under the impression that nobody from PHX was able to make it.That sucks, I wanted to go.

Prariedog hunting is a vital management tool used by hunters. The many ranchers of Arizona hate the prairiedogs because their holes cause injury to their cattle and horses. The animals fall into the holes and break their legs causeing the ranchers to put them down. I am so very happy that the AZGFD banned these idiots from filming because they have no right. If the hunters wanted to be filmed and thrashed for doing a good thing then they would do it themselves.

My cousin has worked on ranch with these damn dog holes and he has had to put a number of cattle down with shattered legs, stuck in these holes.

According to "Our Prairie Dog Neighbors," a brochure produced by the Arizona Game and Fish Department:

"The danger of cows and horses breaking their legs by tripping in prairie dog burrows has been overstated. Documented cases of this are extremely rare."

AND:

"Historically, some hunters believed they were doing the world a favor by killing prairie dogs. This attitude is losing acceptance as we gain new insights into the diversity of plants and animals that depend on prairie dog towns."

Animals like horses and cows are not usually stupid enough to walk without looking where they're going. And even if some rancher out there has bred his cows to be so stupid that they do hurt themselves, so what?

Prairie dogs are native animals that are essential to the well-being of the entire prairie. They provide food and habitat for everything from the plants around their burrows to owls, ferrets and pronghorn antelope. Cows are an invasive species that is incapable of surviving in the desert without intensive human "management" (read: habitat disruption). If it really came down to taking sides, the prairie dog emerges as the clear winner.

Here, here. Well said. Keep invasive cows off public lands!

so, why doesn't somebody eat the prarie dogs? If anybody want to collect up the "dloon" and give them to Black Mesa Indigenous Support we'll be glad to distribute them to our elders, who ate a lot of prarie dogs before they were annihilated by BIA poisons on Black Mesa in the 50's. I have a good friend who's name is hostiin dloon in Navajo cause he used to eat so many prarie dogs. Or Bring some living ones up to BM and re-introduce it there.
-owen, a volunteer w/ black mesa indigenous support
http://www.blackmesais.org

why do these green peace earth first pricks care about a damn rodent? yall would rather save a rodent then feed a starving american child. what a bunch of pathetic excuses for human beings

I once used my friends high powered rifle (.338Laupa) for target practice on the prarie dogs. There wasn't anything left but flying fur. The only thing I wanted to know was why didn't the camera crew dress up like 'dogs? I'd love to take a crack at those tree hugging, prarie dog protecting, lame ass, environmentalist!!!