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Tuesday, October 30, 2001.
Hunting policy called 'revenge on Kentucky'
The Associated Press.
ST. PAUL, Va. — Some government officials and the Virginia Mining Association are asking Virginia's wildlife department to prohibit hunting of elk that migrate into the state from a Kentucky restocking program.
Kentucky began returning the animals to its eastern counties in 1998, including those that border Virginia.
Virginia game officials, however, want to discourage elk from migrating to the state and have allowed elk to be hunted like deer. At least two elk have been killed in Wise County by hunters just three weeks into the season, said Tim Hayes, the county game warden.
“The Virginia Game Commission is exacting revenge on Kentucky for basically not asking for and receiving Virginia's permission to stock elk in their own state,” said Frank Kilgore, a St. Paul lawyer and conservationist.
The Virginia Mining Association has asked Virginia's wildlife department to stop elk hunting until the herds are established.
Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, asked the department to “rethink the policy regarding the killing of these animals” in a June letter to department Director William Woodfin. Kilgore said Kentucky's restocking program has been successful and the program would be an opportunity for the two states to work together.
Mike Howard, of Florence, a retired Boone County police lieutenant, an avid elk hunter and an active participant in the Kentucky effort to rebuild a “healthy elk herd in the Daniel Boone National Forest,” said “My feeling is they should be allowed to establish a herd there.”
Allowing the elk to be shot in Virginia without the kind of limited hunt protection that is established in Kentucky could have a “substantial” impact on the annual increase of the 1,500-head elk herd recently reintroduced into Kentucky, Mr. Howard said.
A herd of 1,500 head has an annual increase of about 200 to 300, Mr. Howard said. So, the two elk shot in Virginia in the last three weeks represent 1 percent of the total annual increase of the herd.
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Tue, Oct 30, 2001.
Policy that allows hunting of elk in Virginia should be reconsidered, officials say.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PAUL, Va.
Some government officials are asking Virginia's wildlife department to reconsider a policy allowing the hunting of elk that migrate into the state from a Kentucky restocking program.
Kentucky began returning the massive animals to its eastern counties in 1998, including those that border Virginia. Virginia game officials, however, want to discourage elk from migrating to the state and have allowed elk to be hunted like deer.
At least two elk have been killed in Wise County by hunters just three weeks into the season.
Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, asked the department to "rethink the policy regarding the killing of these animals" in a June letter to William Woodfin, director of the game department. Kilgore said that Kentucky's restocking program has been successful and that the program would be a great opportunity for the two states to work together.
The Virginia Mining Association has asked the game department to stop elk hunting until the herds are established. The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors also signed a resolution against elk hunting.
Bob Duncan, the director of Virginia's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said that the policy on elk is best for the state. Some elk in Colorado are suffering from the equivalent of mad-cow disease, Duncan said, and Virginia's deer herds are at risk if any of Kentucky's elk are diseased as well.
"Wildlife diseases in general and diseases of captive elk are a very real thing," Duncan said. "We don't want to play biological roulette with what we have been charged by law to manage and conserve in Virginia."
Duncan said that the state's elk policy is evolving and could change. But for now, the department doesn't want to bring elk back to the region.
Hunting policy called 'revenge on Kentucky'
The Associated Press.
ST. PAUL, Va. — Some government officials and the Virginia Mining Association are asking Virginia's wildlife department to prohibit hunting of elk that migrate into the state from a Kentucky restocking program.
Kentucky began returning the animals to its eastern counties in 1998, including those that border Virginia.
Virginia game officials, however, want to discourage elk from migrating to the state and have allowed elk to be hunted like deer. At least two elk have been killed in Wise County by hunters just three weeks into the season, said Tim Hayes, the county game warden.
“The Virginia Game Commission is exacting revenge on Kentucky for basically not asking for and receiving Virginia's permission to stock elk in their own state,” said Frank Kilgore, a St. Paul lawyer and conservationist.
The Virginia Mining Association has asked Virginia's wildlife department to stop elk hunting until the herds are established.
Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, asked the department to “rethink the policy regarding the killing of these animals” in a June letter to department Director William Woodfin. Kilgore said Kentucky's restocking program has been successful and the program would be an opportunity for the two states to work together.
Mike Howard, of Florence, a retired Boone County police lieutenant, an avid elk hunter and an active participant in the Kentucky effort to rebuild a “healthy elk herd in the Daniel Boone National Forest,” said “My feeling is they should be allowed to establish a herd there.”
Allowing the elk to be shot in Virginia without the kind of limited hunt protection that is established in Kentucky could have a “substantial” impact on the annual increase of the 1,500-head elk herd recently reintroduced into Kentucky, Mr. Howard said.
A herd of 1,500 head has an annual increase of about 200 to 300, Mr. Howard said. So, the two elk shot in Virginia in the last three weeks represent 1 percent of the total annual increase of the herd.
===========================================================
Tue, Oct 30, 2001.
Policy that allows hunting of elk in Virginia should be reconsidered, officials say.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PAUL, Va.
Some government officials are asking Virginia's wildlife department to reconsider a policy allowing the hunting of elk that migrate into the state from a Kentucky restocking program.
Kentucky began returning the massive animals to its eastern counties in 1998, including those that border Virginia. Virginia game officials, however, want to discourage elk from migrating to the state and have allowed elk to be hunted like deer.
At least two elk have been killed in Wise County by hunters just three weeks into the season.
Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, asked the department to "rethink the policy regarding the killing of these animals" in a June letter to William Woodfin, director of the game department. Kilgore said that Kentucky's restocking program has been successful and that the program would be a great opportunity for the two states to work together.
The Virginia Mining Association has asked the game department to stop elk hunting until the herds are established. The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors also signed a resolution against elk hunting.
Bob Duncan, the director of Virginia's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said that the policy on elk is best for the state. Some elk in Colorado are suffering from the equivalent of mad-cow disease, Duncan said, and Virginia's deer herds are at risk if any of Kentucky's elk are diseased as well.
"Wildlife diseases in general and diseases of captive elk are a very real thing," Duncan said. "We don't want to play biological roulette with what we have been charged by law to manage and conserve in Virginia."
Duncan said that the state's elk policy is evolving and could change. But for now, the department doesn't want to bring elk back to the region.
