Introduction Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease occurring in farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, caribou, and moose. The disease was first recognized in 1967 as a clinical ‘wasting’ syndrome of unknown cause in captive mule deer in Colorado. CWD belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies …
Summary Properly managed wildlife habitat is essential for supporting sustainable and healthy wildlife populations. Well-managed lands containvarious successional stages that provide a diversity of habitats capable of supporting a diversity of wildlife. On federal lands, however, young forests and other early seral habitats are often underrepresented. The most efficient method to improve wildlife habitat is …
Summary Poaching stands as one of the greatest threats to both the social acceptance of hunting and professional wildlife management. By definition, poaching runs afoul of laws governing the harvesting of wildlife, thus upending the scientifically-developed regulations put in place by state wildlife managers. Further, anti-hunting communities have aimed to equate poaching with hunting in …
Summary During the 1990s, 13 countries, including the United States, developed and agreed upon implementation of two International Organization for Standardization standards regarding humane mammal traps. As a result of this process, best management practices were developed for 17 mammalian species and have been recommended to trappers, state wildlife agencies, and trap manufacturing companies. Introduction …
Summary Revenue from sporting licenses is a crucial element for funding state fish and wildlife agencies’ conservation efforts across the nation. However, well-intentioned programs to offer free and discounted licenses to certain qualified individuals/groups have the potential to reap deteriorative effects on the agencies’ budgets. To prevent the loss of sportsmen-generated dollars for conservation funding, …
Reimbursement to Fish and Wildlife Agencies for Free and Discounted Licenses Read More »
Summary Classified as a nuisance species in many states and not native to the Americas, feral swine cause significant damage to our natural resources and negatively impact agricultural production across the country. Recent research highlights the growing negative impacts feral swine can have to our water, plants, wildlife communities (both game and non-game) and their …
Summary The vast majority of states in the nation now have a system in place (whether state-run or administered by a nonprofit organization) to provide hunters the option of donating game meat to those in need. However, processors’ ability to participate in donation programs may be limited by state contract or license agreements that require …
Summary Knife industry and advocacy groups have successfully worked with the U.S. Congress to amend the Federal Switchblade Act so that one-hand opening and assisted-opening knives with a “bias toward closure,” like those used for hunting, are not classified as switchblades. Passing laws at the state level that are similar to the federal exemption to …
Summary In recent years many local governments have enacted vague, outdated laws banning the sale, possession, use, and manufacture of certain types of knives. These ordinances include knives that the average person would consider to be common pocket knives. Vague jurisdictional knife definitions can lead to highly subjective law enforcement scenarios. Upon an arrest, the …
Summary As with many Constitutional protections, the court system has created carve-outs and exceptions to the Fourth Amendment, one being the Open Fields Doctrine. This doctrine holds that the expectation of privacy provided by the Fourth Amendment does not extend to “open fields” or other wooded properties, regardless of whether a property is posted with …
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