Ohio Man Who Killed Charging Bear Has Been Charged For Illegal Killing

John Tanksley, the Ohio man who shot and killed a black bear he described as charging him and his girlfriend, has been charged with the illegal shooting of and endangered species. This is reported in the Edmunton Sun.

Tom Remington

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Ohio Man Shoots Black Bear. Faces Possible Charges

What appears at this time as a story not containing enough information to know exactly what’s going on, it seems John Tanksley, who lives near Bakersville, Ohio, shot and killed a black bear the other night while defending his dog, himself and his girlfriend. Tanksley says, in a report from the Columbus Dispatch, that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources hasn’t told the press all the story.

Reached at his home this afternoon, Tanksley said ODNR officers are not telling the whole story. He said he was never able to get his dog away from the animal and that the dog chased the bear away twice, once as far as 100 yards, and both times the bear followed the dog back to his house.

Most newspaper accounts state that Tanksley or his girlfriend heard their dog barking shortly after they let it out around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, July 23. Reports say Tanksley was able to run the bear off and retrieve his dog. It has been reported that he later shot the bear.

In Tanksley’s report to the Dispatch, he says the dog chased the bear away from the house twice only to have the bear return. On the second return, the bear charged.

Tanksley said he shot the bear only after it returned the second time because the animal charged him and his girlfriend as they stood on the porch trying to get their dog back in the house.

He said the bear came at him at a bouncing run and stopped only seven yards away, which was when he made what he called a split-second, life-or-death decision to shoot.

In Ohio, the black bear is protected as an endangered animal, which means Tanksley could face charges for killing the bear. Protection is not granted an endangered animal that is threatening human life.

At this time, we can only assume that the ODNR is conducting an investigation before bringing any charges against Tanksley.

Tom Remington

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Pittman-Robertson Act Provides Funds For Hunter Safety

On Monday of this week I reported that eight states (Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio) were going to request grant monies available through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, also known as Pittman-Robertson, in order to conduct studies on tree stand safety. The article I wrote generated some discussion and comments, one coming from reader MadJack.

Yes the P/R Act was to improve hunting & wildlife habitat, NOT to WASTE in an attempt to control hunters & how they hunt! I believe this would be a direct violation of the Pitman Robertson Act as well as very unlawful.

More Government waste!

While I tend to agree with MadJack, I wasn’t aware that revenues generated through PR were used via the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund programs for hunter safety and education. According to PR Act Title 16, Chapter 5B, section 669h, $8 million will be apportioned back to each state for certain hunter safety programs.

Of the revenues covered into the fund, $7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 and 2002, and $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and each fiscal year thereafter, shall be apportioned among the States in the manner specified in section 669c(c) \1\ of this title by the Secretary of the Interior and used to make grants to the States to be used for–

(A) in the case of a State that has not used all of the funds apportioned to the State under section 669c(c) \1\ of this title for the fiscal year in the manner described in section 669g(b) of this title–
(i) the enhancement of hunter education programs, hunter and sporting firearm safety programs, and hunter development programs;
(ii) the enhancement of interstate coordination and development of hunter education and shooting range programs;
(iii) the enhancement of bow hunter and archery education, safety, and development programs; and
(iv) the enhancement of construction or development of firearm shooting ranges and archery ranges, and the updating of safety features of firearm shooting ranges and archery ranges; and

(B) in the case of a State that has used all of the funds apportioned to the State under section 669c(c) \1\ of this title for the fiscal year in the manner described in section 669g(b) of this title, any use authorized by this chapter (including hunter safety programs and the construction, operation, and maintenance of public target ranges).

An act that was originally designed for the protection of wildlife and habitat, it has been amended many times in order that these funds can be used for other programs not directly related to it original purpose. As I understand the Act, monies are apportioned back to each state for the specific purposes described concerning hunter safety and education programs. If that money has been used up, USFWS grants additional monies collected via PR for further hunter education and safety programs.

Tom Remington

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Young Ohio Hunters Bag Over 10,000 Deer In Two Days

With over 40,000 young Ohioans age 17 and under taking to the woods for deer last weekend, they bettered last seasons total deer harvest considerably. Last year during the youth only weekend, hunters took 8,811 deer. Last weekend the kids reaped a total harvest of 10,515.

Youngsters participating in the deer hunt could use shotguns, muzzleloaders, handguns, and bows. They had to be licensed, wear the property hunter orange safety clothing and be accompanied by a qualifying, non-hunting adult.

What’s great about this program is the kids could take one deer of either sex and still be eligible to participate in the upcoming state-wide deer-gun season that runs from November 26 – December 2.

Congratulations to all those successful hunters and good luck in the upcoming deer hunt.

Tom Remington

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Ohio Bow Hunters Take Record Number Of Deer

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division is reporting that the early fall archery deer season set a new harvest record. The first six weeks showed a harvest of 53,982 deer up from last year’s record setting year of 45,733 deer.

Tom Remington

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Ohio Deer Hunters – Shoot A Wild Pig…..Please!

Ohio wildlife officials are asking deer hunters to shoot wild boar this deer season. Wild pigs are overpopulating some parts of southern Ohio and officials say they are devastating crops and spreading disease.

Wild hogs can grow quite large as one can attest from the accompanied photo.

Tom Remington

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EHD Hasn’t Peaked Yet Evidently

Even though portions of northern New England last night saw some frost and temps below freezing, cold weather has yet to reach areas that are infested with Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EDH), an insect-born virus that is deadly to whitetail deer. This year the outbreak of EHD was quite widespread. Common in many southern states, this year EHD has been detected in northern states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and now New York.

It has been confirmed that EHD was the cause of death for some deer found in Albany County. This is the first ever that EHD has been officially found in the Empire State.

Officials say that once the first freeze arrives it will kill off the tiny insects that carry the disease.

Tom Remington

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Granville, Ohio Approves Archery Hunting On Village Deer Herd

The Granville Village Council has voted to approve a plan that calls for the use of bow hunting within town limits to assist in reducing the overgrown deer population. Yesterday, I brought you a story about the problems there and made reference to an article printed in the Newark Advocate by one resident who offered up a truck load of ideas on what could be done to control the deer population – none of which involved hunting.

There are stipulations with the approved plan, one of them being that hunters must have the permission of the landowner to hunt a specific area, only if the Chief of Police has approved that area. In some cases it shouldn’t be a problem finding willing landowners.

Eleanor Cohen, of East Broadway, for instance, told the council members several deer literally jumped over her as she was kneeling down in her garden.

“It scared the hell out of me,” she said. “I would like somebody to sit on my garage roof and hunt the deer. When you have three deer prancing on East Pearl Street in the middle of the day I think you have a problem.”

Of course not everyone was in agreement with the approval. Janet Worth, the same woman who wrote the article I referred to in yesterday’s post, had this to say.

“My neighbor told me it wouldn’t be safe to go outside because he had been given permission to bowhunt. We didn’t go outside because we feared being hit.

“Now there seems to be a smokescreen,” Worth added, “to open up suburban neighborhoods to recreational hunting. I don’t know anything about bowhunting but it seems pretty scary.”

I think it safe to conclude that Ms. Worth’s neighbor might not think so highly of the anti-hunter’s stance on this issue. At least she admits she knows nothing about bow hunting and as such, we, as humans, always fear the unknown.

The approved plan will have an annual review clause and this year’s hunt will begin in 30 days.

Tom Remington

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No Expense Too Great For “Humane” Treatment Of Deer

Common sense is seen as good judgment. Something that is handled in a manner that is rational or sane is often referred to as common sense. Perhaps it’s lacking in far too many aspects of human life these days.

It is no secret that deer are becoming a problem in thousands of urban areas across the land. And whose fault is that? Well, we have only ourselves to blame and let’s spread that blame around. We do such a marvelous job of managing our wildlife these days that in places it may be too good. With better science and management tools, biologists can restore depleted species in pretty short order, all things considered.

We must also blame the institution of laws banning hunting within certain areas of town. Whether we like it or not, hunting is the one tried and true method of controlling populations of deer and other species. Flat out bans on hunting, including the use of bow and arrow, has had its affect. And let’s not forget about trapping as well. Now this ban is haunting us.

We humans love our big luxurious homes. Our cries over the past decades to keep green space may be coming back to bite us in the backside. Where once, homes were built side by side or on top of each other, it is more commonplace to find them being built on 5, 10, 20 or larger acres of land just on the outskirts of town. As growth continues, these homes that were once outside town are now in town. This makes for prime deer habitat. The deer are well protected and are provided ample food, either directly from deliberate feeding or indirectly from the plants and shrubbery put out by homeowners.

This is really no new material for most people, especially those who deal directly with this problem. If you live in these areas, prepare yourself as this problem will be coming to you sometime soon.

So, here’s the problem. Now, what do we do about it? Some towns have rethought their hunting bans and opened up areas to help reduce populations of deer. Sharpshooters have been hired in some cases and in others, individuals and groups want to try other methods first, methods they deem humane.

This morning I found an article in the Newark Advocate from Newark, Ohio. It appears there is a similar deer problem there in Granville and the locals are trying to revise plans to find ways to deal with this overpopulation of deer. This article is one person’s opinions, not much fact and a grocery list of all the things Granville should do before resorting to the “inhumane” treatment of deer and allowing them to be hunted.

Here’s an abbreviated version of Janet Worth’s list of “humane” methods.

1. A system that monitors and collects all information about deer. This would include surveying the habitat and documenting its condition, counting deer to be accurate in numbers, etc. Worth has a fear that with reports of the outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, in combination with hunting deer in Granville, it will decimate the deer population.

2. Educate the public and promote the value of deer. This would be done by “creating informational brochures that are not only “available” but are distributed to the library, schools, government offices and homeowners’ and farmers’ associations with an additional page to village and township Web sites; providing educational workshops; developing a media plan to provide timely information on deer and defensive driving tips, suited to the season; and developing an exhibit on deer and human-deer conflict issues to rotate around public locations.”

3. Granville should be a test site so researchers can use Granville’s deer to test contraceptive devices. (Of course this is humane treatment of animals)

4. We need to provide better “pedestrian” safe zones FOR THE DEER and use “humane” use of dogs and other scare devices. How? “Besides deer crossing signs, some Strieter Lite Reflectors on high-incident roadways could be installed and monitored for effectiveness; habitat modification is proven effective and some woody plants act as physical barriers; build wildlife underpasses or overpasses with exclusionary fencing and other wildlife-crossing features such as natural waterways for the Ohio 161 project or any other planned roadways through consults with ODOT; and use dogs, repellents, and scare devices humanely.”

5. Towns need to plan better to provide green space area for deer to travel safely to and from eating up your back yard and finding a good place to bed down for the night.

There are obvious things that can and should be undertaken in any community to educate its residents of certain risks and hazards. Most of what this person subscribes to has been tried and proven not to be effective. The one very large question I have is, how much is this going to cost and who’s going to foot the bill?

The costs will run into the millions if you implemented all those things and my crystal ball is telling me a hike in hunting license fees would be next on the agenda. Isn’t that always the way? Non hunters make their demands and hunters pay for it.

Someday, perhaps science will come up with a way to “humanely” keep deer populations in urban areas in check. Until then, use some common sense and good planning and let hunters, who will pay for the privilege, come in and do a good civic duty and take the deer away.

Somewhere in America there has to be a warehouse full of common sense because none is being sold and used. Let’s have a nationwide sale.

Tom Remington

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EHD A Bit “Ho-Hum” In The Deep South

We are at a point where it would be safe to say that this year’s outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is quite widespread. Here’s a list of states that have confirmed cases of the virus that is carried to deer by biting midges or no-see-ums: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Montana, Mississippi and Georgia. In addition, some states are waiting for test results to confirm what they already suspect – South Carolina is one such state.

To confirm the presence of the disease, blood and certain tissue has to be analyzed.

According to both the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Alabama Department of Conservation, dealing with EHD is quite routine. Charles Ruth, Deer/Turkey Project supervisor for the South Carolina DNR says flair-ups in that state seem to run in cycles of 3-5 years and there’s a reasonable explanation.

“This is probably related to the fact that once deer are exposed to the disease they are more resistant to it. Therefore, if you have disease one year the deer become exposed or inoculated to the disease and you do not see much disease activity until there is turnover in the deer population. After several years you are dealing with another cohort of deer and their systems are ‘naïve’ to the disease. The last time there was significant hemorrhagic disease activity in South Carolina was in 2002, therefore, disease activity could be relatively high this year.”

This theory is confirmed by a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“We have some cases every year,” said Keith Guyse, a whitetail specialist with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division in the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “In the Coastal Plain, the virus is there frequently enough that deer have been exposed to it and have some resistance to it.

Both representatives indicate that EHD in their respective states is pretty much routine only because of the build up of a certain degree of immunity. Therefore, these southern states don’t see wide outbreaks of the disease that often. When EHD hits the more northern climes, EHD seems to grab harder. Ruth explains.

Deer likely die in South Carolina each year from hemorrhagic disease, however, there is no indication that a major outbreak has occurred in the state since the mid 1970s. The disease is part of life for deer in the Southeast and fortunately it appears that Southern deer have acquired some immunity to the disease, said Ruth. Northern deer, on the other hand, are not exposed to the disease as frequently since the insect vector is not as common in cooler climates. For this reason, significant outbreaks and mortality from hemorrhagic disease are more likely in northern deer populations.

Guyse from Alabama makes reference to the same theory.

“Typically in North Alabama and above the fall line, they’re not exposed to it as often. So over a period of time you have a population that doesn’t have much resistance. When you have (outbreaks) up there, it tends to be more noticeable.”

This helps us understand why some states may have more severe outbreaks, killing larger numbers of deer, than others but why this year are outbreaks so widespread across the landscape of the country? Some have related it to the summer heat and drought. That may be true, I don’t know. It would be logical to assume that being that the virus is carried and spread by tiny midges or gnats, a larger than normal population of that insect would be directly proportional to the spread of the disease. Of course science isn’t that simplistic and we know that there are probably many more factors to consider or it could be just merely a coincidence.

However, Guyse from Alabama eludes to the theory of increased numbers of midges, somewhat.

“Auburn (researchers) had traps out to catch the flies and they might catch a few every once in a while, and then all of a sudden they catch hundreds,” Guyse said. “Much of that still is a mystery.”

Obviously, they don’t have a good handle on it either.

Hunters and others should be aware of the symptoms they may find on deer suffering from the disease.

Symptoms of hemorrhagic disease include poor physical condition, sloughing hooves, abrasions or sores on the brisket and legs, and ulcerations on the mouth, tongue, and rumen (stomach).

As I said earlier, verification of the disease has to be done in the lab.

If you see sick or dead deer in your travels, please report it to the appropriate authorities. It is highly recommended that nobody eats any of the meat from deer sickened by EHD.

Tom Remington

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EHD Outbreak Widespread And Following Drought

As most hunters are aware, several states are experiencing outbreaks of EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease). To date, states involved are, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey and Montana. In those states, some are experiencing widespread outbreaks while others are sporadic. Either way, it appears that this year’s outbreak is one that could be classified as the most widespread in some years.

J.R. Absher, the Newshound, and I sent a couple emails back and forth this morning about what’s happening with EHD. In one of my emails, I asked J.R. if this was what he would consider a large outbreak from his years of experience in the field. What he told me was that in a previous article he mentioned that he had talked with a friend of his, Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, about this year’s outbreak.

My good friend Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, dropped me an email over the weekend saying it’s as bad as he’s ever seen it in his 20 years with the agency.

Some especially hard-hit areas of the Volunteer State could lose half their deer to EHD this year, Markham speculated.

One other thing that J.R. mentioned was that it seemed that the EHD outbreak was following a similar path as this summer’s drought. I’ll have to do some investigating to see if I can find out if that is a common occurrence.

In the meantime, we all need to be praying for some frost and freezes to kill this thing off.

Tom Remington

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Further Spreading Of EHD And Troubles With Water Contamination In Pennsylvania

We can now add Montana to the growing list of states confirming outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, EHD, or blue tongue. EHD is contracted by the bite of insects called “biting midges.” The virus usually kills the animals within five to 10 days. It is not spread by deer-to-deer contact and is rare in domestic cattle. States already having confirmed cases of EHD are: Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New Jersey.

Montana officials have confirmed the presence of EHD in the southeastern part of the state.

So far “hundreds” of antelope and deer carcasses have been reported.

The heaviest concentration of the disease appears to be in the Melstone area east to Ingomar and Sumatra.

There really is not much that can be done about the disease. We just wait until the first good frost or freeze that will kill the midges that carry the virus.

In the meantime, troubles from dying deer in Pennsylvania are raising concerns about the possible contamination of drinking water supplies. In Beaver, Greene and Washington counties estimates are that over 1,000 deer carcasses are lying about rotting and stinking up the air. For some, there is concern that the decaying carcasses, many of which are lying in water, are contaminating the water supplies.

Russell Morgan is a Greene Township Supervisor and a farmer. He’s concerned about the water problems but is getting no help from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to get the carcasses cleaned up.

Already, Morgan said, he has confirmed 17 dead deer on and around his property. Township secretary Sandy Wright said one resident found 50 dead deer within a short distance of each other. Another resident reported finding 35 dead deer, Wright said.

Morgan said the game commission should at least help remove the remains from water sources. Instead, he was told removal of the deer is the responsibility of the homeowner,

“No one wants to take responsibility for what’s going on,” he said.

One of the side effects of the disease in deer causes the body temperature to rise, thus sending the deer to water to cool off. This is often where they expire.

Game Commission Supervisor Barry Zaffuto says it isn’t the responsibility of the PGC to take care of the dead animals and that the rotting deer are not contaminating the water.

“A deer is 100 percent natural,” he said. “This virus is not transferable, so it would be just like a deer that dies in the water naturally, because it does happen.”

The commission, he said, does not have the resources to search across a three-county area for deer and then remove them, especially when nature is taking care of that for them.

“That would just be totally impossible. What would we do with them?’ he said. “Deer decompose naturally and rapidly.”

Morgan isn’t buying Zaffuto’s explanation about deer being all natural and wouldn’t ruin the water. As a farmer, he is required by law to remove any of his livestock if it should dye in or near water. Under the watchful eye of the Department of Environmental Protection, he is made to clean up the carcass immediately because it will contaminate the water. Morgan wants to know what the difference is between a cow and a deer?

Morgan isn’t the only one concerned about the dying deer and how to clean up the mess. According to the PGC, it’s the landowners’ responsibility but this is angering citizens because of the double standards being exemplified in this video.

Tom Remington

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EHD Or Blue Tongue Showing Up In More States

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease or blue tongue is affecting whitetail deer herds in several states now. On the list are Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and now New Jersey. There may be more.

Fred J. Aun of the Star-Ledger, in reporting about the discovery of the disease in New Jersey, describes EHD this way.

EHD is not uncommon and it’s not dangerous to humans. It is caused by the bite of certain midges and results in high fevers and hemorrhages in the mouths, noses and eyes of deer prior to death. Fish and Wildlife said deer usually expire within 10 days of getting EHD.

Vice President of Global Operations for Skinny Moose Media and U.S. Hunting Today, John Stabley, called Dr. Colleen O’Keefe, IDOA division manager of Food Safety and Animal Protection, in Illinois to ask her specific questions about the disease, its affect on deer and other animals as well as humans. You can read the entire interview at Stabley’s blog, Stabley Outdoors.

J.R. Absher, the Newshound, has been keeping his readers abreast of the locations and severity of the disease.

In the meantime, as we hunters head into the woods to do our scouting or for the start of any of hunting seasons, keep an eye open for the possibility of EHD being present in deer. If you encounter any cases you are encouraged to contact your fish and game department with the information.

Tom Remington

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Woman Says Dog Saved Her From Coyote Attack

An Ohio woman, Kate Mayer, who was in her fenced pasture with her Alpacas, was attacked by two coyotes she saw jumping the fence to get in. She screamed when the coyotes attacked her and that’s when her dog, an Anatolian Shepard, fought off the two coyotes.

The dog suffered some torn muscles, broken teeth and some cuts but was able to chase the two coyotes away.

Now that’s one loyal and tough dog.

Tom Remington

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Ohio Newspaper Publishes List Of Weapons Permit Holders

The Sandusky Register took it upon themselves to illegally publish the names and other personal information about those who legally hold a concealed weapons permit. Approximately 2,700 permit holders within the circulation area of the newspaper were revealed once again stirring the pot of controversy.

Last year, Christian Trejbal and the Roanoke Times decided to do the same thing. After a few days the Times removed the list from the website but not until after the damage was done. To prove a point, Trejbal printed the list. As a result there were people who had been working diligently to remain undetected by stalkers and abusive spouses.

Cybercast News Service reports more of the controversy and what is being done about it.

Tom Remington

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