Will the BC mountain caribou be extinct in our lifetime?

© By Othmar Vohringer

That might very well be the case if drastic conservation measures are not enacted quickly. The emphasis here is on “quickly”, which is a bit of an oxymoron in politics. The southern mountain caribou populations are in rapid decline despite an extensive provincial recovery plan. Why? The caribou recovery plan is complex and contains important short and long term measures that need to be addressed and implemented if we hope to save the mountain caribou herd.

There are many contributing factors to the steady decline of mountain caribou populations that need to be urgently addressed. Obvious factors are logging of old growth forests, mining and snowmobiling in sensitive caribou habitat. If that wasn’t enough, caribou herds face voracious predation by overpopulation of cougars and particularly wolves. This is a problem that can be fixed right now and with little expense to the taxpayers and would help the caribou enormously to sustain their numbers.

Even more simply and effectively is the government’s own wolf management plan which is essentially culling. Culling however, is controversial to many city people (potential voters) and thusly is not being fully implemented nor promoted.

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Local Anglers And Hunters Meet With NDP Leader Adrian Dix

© By Othmar Vohringer

On Sunday, December 2, 2012, NDP leader Adrian Dix and Fraser-Nicola LMA Harry Lali hosted an election information event at the Tropico Spice restaurant in Merritt. Among the 100 plus people attending was a delegation of the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club (NVF&GC). Harry Lali, who had attended a NVF&GC general meeting in early fall to discuss with us land access and confirming his political support, suggested that meeting Adrian Dix would be helpful to our cause. Rick McCowan, the land access committee chair of the NVF&GC had a chance to meet person to person with Mr. Dix before the event, providing him with the current information and a newly published information leaflet about land access problems here in the valley and across the province.
At the event Adrian Dix spent quite a bit of time at our table talking about the issues we presented to him and he seemed to be as concerned about land access as we are. A good sign!

Since I am not directly involved with the land access committee I must say that I am very impressed with what this small group of dedicated people in our club has achieved so far and all the hard work they put in to creating broad public awareness of the crown land access problem in our province. While the BC Wildlife Federation, the province’s largest hunter and angler organization, is twiddling its thumbs on the issue our club has gathered immense momentum, attracting national media attention and support from many other organizations throughout our nation. The NVF&GC has without a doubt become the driving force of the land access campaign.

While our fathers and grandfathers could enjoy hunting and fishing without any concerns for the future, times have drastically changed since then. Today we have to become politically active in order to secure our heritage for future generations. Our outdoor sport heritage faces many challenges of which our forefathers wouldn’t dream of in their worst nightmares. Loosing access to public land is only one of these problems. Other problems are instigated from the myriad of popular self-proclaimed “animal welfare” organizations using vilification and misinformation targeted against hunters, and their recruitment of largely ignorant city/suburban peoples to their cause; particularly impressionable youth. We need to challenge these problems as a united force in public, on the political stage and even in the courts or we stand to lose it all. I am proud to be a member of a small local organization that doesn’t just complain but is on the forefront of fighting for our future generations so they too can enjoy hunting, fishing and accessing lands, lakes and streams for generations to come. If you’re a concerned outdoor sportsperson and want to do your bit to preserve our heritage, rights and freedoms then you should be thinking about joining the Nicola valley Fish & Game Club.

Late Season Buck Hunting Tactics

© By Othmar Vohringer

It is early December and in most regions, other than in the some Canadian provinces, the rut is winding down to the post rutting stages. With most does breed bucks change their behaviour once again. With the breeding frenzy over and food sources limited bucks concentrate their efforts on gaining back the weight they lost during the rut. Now the buck’s main activity consists of sleeping and feeding to gain the necessary strength to make it through the harsh winter. Many hunters, me included, believe that the post-rut is one of the best times to kill a monster buck. Why?

During the rut bucks chase does day and night and there is no predictable way to determine where they will turn up next. After the rut is over bucks stay in one core area where they can find sufficient cover and food in close proximity. As an additional bonus bucks become more tolerant of each other and it is quite common that several bucks share one core area. But make no mistake late season bucks are no easy pushovers. Even at that time of year bucks are still weary. The bucks that survived the early and rut hunting seasons are skittish and have little tolerance for human intrusion in their core area.

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Orphaned Kermode Bear Makes International Headlines

© By Othmar Vohringer

“Clover”, the orphaned and twice captured Kermode bear, finally found a permanent home at Kamloops Wildlife Park. But is all well? No. The notorious animal-rights activist group Lifeforce immediately started an international media campaign with which they lobby the release of the young bear back into the wild. Peter Hamilton, the leader of Lifeforce and the man who once suggested instituting a hunting season on hunters, wrote in a letter to B.C. Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix, “Give this bear freedom. We don’t need another exploited circus bear pacing back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. We don’t need people profiting off the plight of this bear.”

The truth of the matter is that the bear, which had gotten used to people, would return to humans every time as he has done in the past. In addition bears are notoriously territorial and no matter how far away they are taken they always will return to their original territory and very often need to be shot by Conservation Officers. In addition, given that “Clover” is only 18 months old his survival chances in another male bear’s territory would be slim at best. With all that in mind the best place for this bear is a facility like the Wildlife Park in Kamloops. Of course animal rights activists are not known to care about facts. Theirs is a purely emotional agenda based on wishful thinking and aimed largely at metropolitan populations that are totally removed from the natural world. People who have been spoon-fed a Walt Disney view of nature.

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A Hunting Holiday You Probably Haven’t Heard About

© By Othmar Vohringer

A few days ago I learned that in parts of Canada a special hunter holiday is celebrated of which I am very well aware to be a big deal in many parts of Europe. Each fall, in the first week of November, schools and factories are closed while hunters and tens of thousands of other people gather to hold festivities and attend a special Mass in churches and cathedrals to honour St. Hubertus the patron saint of the hunters.

In parts of Canada, such as Quebec, St. Hubertus Day is celebrated in early September with the Mass of St. Hubertus in the local church. Hunters attend dressed in hunting clothing, bringing their dogs and guns to be blessed by the priest. The procession has the clergy, conservation officers and other guests enter and exit the church by walking under an archway of guns held up high by hunters wearing camouflage and hunter orange clothing.

After Mass the hunters attend trap and skeet shooting events, parades and wild game dinners, inviting the community to share with them the bounty nature has to offer. I am sure not many people here have heard of St. Hubertus, so I’ll provide you with some background.

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Are You Overanalyzing Hunting?

© By Othmar Vohringer

There used to be a period in my hunting career where I would analyze everything down to the smallest detail. While this can be a good thing it also can quickly turn into self-doubt caused by trying to analyze too much. I used to ask myself all kinds of questions before a hunt. Things like.

What stand should I hunt today? Will the wind be right for that stand? Will the deer move by that particular stand or elsewhere? In addition to all this, and more, I was concerned about the wind, weather, moon phase, the gear I had with me and on, and one it went.

I constantly asked myself; “What if?” The questions and analytical process seemed endless. It came to a point were hunting became a chore rather than an enjoyable time in the deer woods. One day a few seasons ago I just had enough of it all and told myself. “Just go hunting.” Ever since that day I enjoy hunting more and appreciate the time in the woods more.

Hunting has become too complicated, when in fact it is simple. If you’re doing your scouting right then what else can you do? With years of hunting experience under by belt I remind myself that I should trust my knowledge and gut feeling more. I’ve been a successful hunter before I started to worry about every little detail and I am still a successful hunter now. But now I enjoy hunting more again.

The lesson learned here is. Don’t over-analyze hunting too much. Just go out and hunt.

Summit Treestands Recalls “Crush Series” Stands

© By Othmar Vohringer

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Summit Treestands, LLC, announced today a voluntary recall of the following consumer product.

Name of Product:
Crush Treestand Series Models: Perch, Stoop and Ledge hang-on model treestands.
Units affected from this recall: About 2,900

Hazard: The treestand’s hanging strap assembly could dislodge from the treestand or fail to restrain or hold properly on the tree, posing a fall hazard. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Description: The recalled treestands have the following names and item numbers:
Crush Series Perch, number 82069.
Crush Series Stoop, number 82070.
Crush Series Ledge number 82071.

The treestands include the main stand platform and seat with a green cinch strap and a tan tree stand hanging strap assembly, which consists of one nylon strap with a hook and an adjustment portion with a metal buckle and a matching nylon tab and a hook. This hanging strap assembly has the recalled item numbers printed on the safety label attached near the buckle.

Sold at: Hunting stores and in catalogs such as Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and others nationwide from July 2012 through August 2012 for between $70 to $100.

WARNING: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled treestands and contact Summit Treestands to receive a free replacement hanging strap assembly.
Consumer Contact: Summit Treestands, LLC, toll free at (855) 373-9808, anytime or website www.summitstands.com click on the Recall icon for more information.
(Image courtesy of Summit Treestands)

Has Hunting Gone Mainstream?

© By Othmar Vohringer

It seems that recently hunting has become the “in thing” to do. Is it possible that people are turning back to the reality of life after years of indoctrination to a Walt Disney world view? It seems so.

Facebook inventor Mark Zuckerberg stated last year he would only eat meat from animals he himself killed and to that end he would take up hunting. This announcement caused quite the stir among the animal rights community but, according to Zuckerberg, the stir was dwarfed by the amount of positive responses. Then, this year, the New York Times ran an article about the positive aspects of hunting.

Before that article in the NY Times the “O Magazine”, owned and published by the formerly fierce anti hunter and anti meat eater Ophra Winfry, published a very positive article about a young women who took up hunting to supply her family with organic wild meat. Later on the TV show Ophra defended the article, and hunting, to her audience and found the response from the animal rights and anti-hunters “laughable and highly ignorant”.

The list of political and show business celebrities, among them the sons of Donald Trump, coming out of the closet admitting publicly that they are hunters, or endorse hunting, is getting longer each year. By comparison the list that supports the animal rights movement is getting shorter.

The current US Republican vice presidential candidate, Paul Ryan is an avid bowhunter and tells everybody who is willing to listen. Who can forget the former governor of Alaska and former outspoken Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. To her, hunting is a long time family tradition upon which a reality TV show was based. In fact it was Mrs. Palin who started the “coming out” trend for high profile folks to admit that they are hunters.

Closer to home celebrities are still somewhat intimidated by the verbal bashing of animal rights directed at everyone that does not conform to their radical political views. I only know of Prime Minister Harper talking publically about that he likes: waterfowl hunting. I am not sure if the Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz is a hunter too. What I do know about him is that he was the driving force behind the abolition of the gun-registry and the founder of the multi-party Canadian Outdoor Caucus, a program working toward the goal of declaring hunting, trapping and fishing a national heritage.

It’s a good thing that celebrities are slowly finding the courage to stand up to the ignorant ridiculing of the animal rights rabble and admit publically that they are hunters and proud of it. Hunting going mainstream may turn out to be a very valuable tool in the preservation of our hunting and conservation heritage, given the fact that celebrities tend to influence their followers to emulate them. One thing is sure, according to the statistics, hunting is on the upswing. In BC alone over 7000 new hunters were registered last year.

95-Year-Old Nova Scotia Woman Bags Her First Moose With 1 Shot

© By Othmar Vohringer

The following news item is the kind of hunting stories that inspire me.

Laura Wood, a 95-year-old woman from Yarmouth Nova Scotia, fulfilled her lifelong dream of going on a moose hunt. It was the last day of her hunt, just when daylight broke when Laura’s dream materialized in form of a 600-pound moose appearing. Laura brought the critter down with a single shot form her rifle. The Sandy Point Lodge, which hosted Laura’s hunting trip, said it’s the first time they can remember a 95-year-old hunter in camp.

Now that Laura Woods has fulfilled her dream she won’t go moose hunting next year, because “I’m getting too old.” She said “but I still plan on deer hunting.” Wood said she has been hunting rabbits and deer since she was 16 years old. And to the one shot kill on the moose she said modestly, “Well I used to be a good shot. Well it must have been pretty good if I got that one…it’s in my freezer now.”

Laura Woods made headlines in the Canadian newspapers but that doesn’t faze her one bit. “Since I’ve been back people have been so good to me. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. I don’t know why they call me. I’m not worth it.” Well Laura you may think you’re not worth the media attention, but as far as I am concerned you are. There are not many hunters around that still hunt at that age let alone planning on continuing hunting.

(Photo courtesy of Sandy Point Lodge)

Tribute To A Loyal Friend

© By Othmar Vohringer

On Tuesday morning (October 2nd, 2012) my loyal friend and companion for over 16 years passed away. Gazu, a Rottweiler/Labrador mix, had not an easy start in life. When I adopted him, then about one year old, from a pet shelter in Montreal, Quebec, he already had two previous owners that abused him badly. I learned that Gazu was destined to be euthanized because of the many behavioural problems he sustained from his abusers. Because of that I was at first denied adoption, however, when the manager at the shelter found out that I am a professional animal trainer and behaviourist he agreed with the adoption. My immediate concern at the time was not about Gazu’s behavioural problems. Having dealt with a fair number of animals with such issues I was sure I could cure him. My concern was what my other “pets”, 16 tigers, would think of this new addition. Training, performing and caring for the tigers took up many hours of my day and Gazu would have to fit into that schedule.

Gazu quickly adapted to his new life and surroundings and within two weeks we had a very close relationship and he slowly started to develop the outgoing and friendly character that would become the hallmark of his entire life. The most difficult part was taking his fear of travel from him. In his past a trip in a car signified yet another drive to the dog shelter but once he realized that this was not the case with me he started to enjoy traveling to new places all around Canada and America with me and the tigers. Later Gazu traveled with us by airplane and ship to China and Brazil. Wherever we traveled in the world Gazu’s outgoing and enthusiastic nature made him friends everywhere, even in China where people are generally afraid of large dogs.

The only time Gazu showed any sign of slight displeasure was when I meet Heidi, my future wife, two years after I got Gazu. My guess is he suffered a brief case of jealousy. However, it only took him a short time to realize that he did not have to “loose out” and instead, he gained another friend and so he quickly adopted Heidi as part of “his family”. Gazu liked making friends; be that tigers, elephants or humans. Throughout his life, even in old age and in the last months where it was apparent he had cancer, Gazu’s loyalty, outgoing nature and unassuming friendship was exemplary and humbling for those that knew him. Gazu will be dearly missed and there always will be a very special place in my heart for him. Heidi and I would like to thank Dr. Anne Flemming at the Merritt Veterinary Hospital for her respectful treatment, marked by dignity, for Gazu and letting us be with him until he took his last breath while resting in our arms. Thank you Gazu for your loyal friendship, unquestioned trust and also for the many things I learned from you, rest in peace until we play together again.