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Hunting Sandhill cranes in America22/06/2010 17:34:34
Sandhill cranes are amongst the largest birds in North America June 2010. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has called for applications to hunt sandhill cranes. The Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is a large crane found in North America and Siberia. They are numerous, and can be seen in flocks containing tens of thousands of birds during their migration. These large, striking birds have a wingspan of up to 8 feet and can grow up to 4 feet tall. Wildlife Extra has no understanding of why anyone would want to shoot such a gorgeous bird. And as is usual in America, the local ‘wildlife' authority is actively encouraging the hunting of the wildlife. It seems that in USA a Wildlife Division or Authority is principally in charge of hunting and killing it.
Those who obtain a sandhill crane permit you can expect a good hunt. "About 60 percent of the hunters who draw a permit and go afield to hunt cranes usually take one," says Tom Aldrich, migratory game bird coordinator for the DWR. Aldrich says scouting before the hunt is the key to success. "I'd encourage hunters to watch sandhill cranes in the mornings and the evenings, when they fly between their roosting and feeding areas," he says. "Find the fields they're feeding in. Then get written permission from the landowner to set up in that field." Aldrich says you can also find success shooting birds as they fly between roosting and feeding areas. "Hunting success is pretty consistent from year-to-year," Aldrich says. "Weather and other factors don't affect the success rate much."
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Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment
this kind of takes me back to when i lived in bedfordshire. i regularly used to sabotarge wood pigeon murderers' vehicles by spiking tyres. farmers in the area of henlow will varify this.
Posted by: robert piller | 14 Nov 2010 12:24:24
As a wildlife student, many of us visited the Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico where sandhill cranes are hunted. There also exists an "experimental flock" of whooping cranes using that area, which stem from whooper eggs placed in with sandhill crane nests.
In any event, hunters needed to go through a rigorous testing procedure. Split second decisions of whether or not to shoot are electronically recorded as part of the test. I have no worries about hunters accidentally shooting a whooper at Bosque Del Apache. It is a good program, and well managed. Hunters, moreso than anyone else, fund wildlife conservation efforts in the U.S. Well regulated science-based hunting does not endanger wildlife populations. Additionally, waterfowl are not hunted with "bullets". Certainly, hunting traditions vary in different locations around the globe. Outsiders need to be respectful and not jump too easily to criticism of hunting traditions, especially when state and federal biologists manage and regulate this hunting. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with well-regulated and managed hunting.
Posted by: outdoorct | 25 Jun 2010 22:42:35
No doubt some critically endagered Whoopers will be shot by mistake or misidentification as always happens with any bird hunt. This proposal may undo decades of work for Whooper recovery - the mentality behind this is typical of the US approach to wildlife "management". Those birds that escape the Gulf oil spill will risk a bullet further afield.
Posted by: Phil | 23 Jun 2010 01:27:47