Vermont Wolf Patrol to Oppose Trapping & Hound Hunting Abuses in the Green Mountain State

/ Wolf Patrol
In Winter 2021 a Vermont hound hunter shared this image on Facebook of one of his hounds terrorizing a wounded and bleeding coyote in southern Vermont.

Started in 2014 to oppose Wisconsin’s hound hunt for wolves, Wolf Patrol is now launching a new chapter in Vermont to fight against hound hunting and trapping abuses and for the return of extirpated wildlife such as the gray wolf, Canada lynx and catamount. The organization first gained notoriety for its monitoring of controversial yet legal hunting practices in Wisconsin such as hound hunting of wolves, bear baiting and wildlife killing contests.

Hunting coyotes with hounds is currently being regulated by Vermont’s Fish & Wildlife Board which was ordered to establish rules for the practice by a Senate bill signed into law in June 2022.

Last winter in February 2022, Wolf Patrol began investigating hound hunting for coyotes in Vermont after being contacted by rural residents experiencing conflict with hound hunters. Wolf Patrol has documented and exposed coyote hound hunting abuses for years in other states and are responsible for criminal investigations against hound hunters in Wisconsin. We provided written and video testimony against hound hunting of coyotes and documented illegal and unethical practices occurring in Vermont.

Video evidence of coyote hound hunting abuses, gathered by Vermont Wolf Patrol in 2022.

On June 2, 2022 Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a bill into law limiting coyote hunting with hounds. It is now up to the state’s Fish & Wildlife Board to establish rules for coyote hunting with hounds. Wolf Patrol will continue monitoring coyote hound hunting areas this winter in Vermont which is currently observing a moratorium on coyote hunting with hounds until rules are established.

This fisher was found stumbling along a snowmobile trail near Troy, Vermont in January 2022 with this trap on his face. A contract trapper with the state of Vermont told a warden it was her trap and was cited and fined.

Wolf Patrol will also support a campaign in Vermont against the commercial sale of wildlife, which is allowable under most states trapping rules. We believe the commercial North American fur industry to be culpable for the extirpation and extinction of numerous species across not only New England, but all of North America. Equally, Wolf Patrol believes that animals that have been commercially trapped for the last four centuries like the beaver, deserve recognition and protection for their contributions in our ongoing fight against climate change.

In December 2022, this Shetland sheep dog was caught and killed in an illegally set body-gripping trap in East Corinth, Vermont. Fish & Wildlife officials said it was the 13th such incident of a pet being caught in a trap set for wildlife in Vermont that year.
https://vtdigger.org/2022/12/28/animal-advocates-renew-calls-for-trapping-restrictions-after-dog-dies-in-east-corinth/: Vermont Wolf Patrol to Oppose Trapping & Hound Hunting Abuses in the Green Mountain State

Wolf Patrol will not only focus on opposing practices which abuse and monetize wildlife in Vermont. More importantly, we want to envision and support projects that help return extirpated native wildlife to their rightful place in the Green Mountain State. We support the natural recolonization of wolves from Canada to Vermont. It’s probably already happened. The return of wolves and other native predators would help restore ecological imbalances such as providing natural predation on species like beavers.

Wolf Patrol is a collective of individuals who also support the struggles in Vermont against the abuse of members of the nonbinary/trans gender, refugee and migrant communities. We also believe in creating safe space for all people to exchange ideas and opinions on how to help Vermont wildlife. We recognize all Abenaki claims to this place we call Vermont and support all indigenous struggles for survival and sovereignty.

Wolf Patrol will be meeting the second Wednesday of each month in Montpelier, Vermont at a location and time to be announced. First meeting to be held on January 11, 2023 at 6:00pm Location: TBA

See the documentary:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14906656/

Watch Wolf Patrol’s videos on YouTube:

youtube.com/@wolfpatrol41

wolfpatrol.org

Facebook: Vermont Wolf Patrol

teamwolfpatrol@gmail.com

(802) 365-1446