Spokane7
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November 28, 2010 in City
North Idaho sheriff denies raffle targets wolves
GRANGEVILLE, Idaho – A northern Idaho sheriff said he is not advocating the illegal shooting of federally protected wolves by offering a hunting rifle and a shovel as the prize in a raffle called “.308 SSS Wolf Pack Raffle” in a region where SSS commonly stands for “shoot, shovel and shut up.”
Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said the SSS in the raffle stands for “safety, security and survival.”
“We knew that this would stir up some interest,” Giddings told the Lewiston Tribune.
The newspaper reported that the SSS in the wolf-shooting context often appears in the area on bumper stickers.
Raffle tickets went on sale Friday for $1 each, or 11 for $10. The prize is a Winchester .308-caliber Model 70 Featherweight rifle and a shovel. The drawing is planned for March 8.
Giddings said money from the raffle will go to a food bank, alcohol and drug awareness programs, and local school equipment fundraisers.
“No, we’re not advocating shooting wolves,” Giddings said. “Safety, security and survival, that’s kind of an Idaho County thing. That’s who we are. It’s to get people’s attention. It means something to us up here.”
Dave Cadwallader, Clearwater Region manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the raffle is an indication of how frustrated people are over wolves and the loss of state management of the animals.
A federal judge in Montana in August ruled it was improper of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to retain federal wolf management in Wyoming while turning wolf management over to state governments in Idaho and Montana. In response, the agency took back authority over wolf management in Idaho and Montana, angering state officials and blocking wolf hunts that had been scheduled for this fall.
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter pushed for an agreement with Fish and Wildlife to allow a wolf hunting season. When that failed, Otter in October ordered Idaho wildlife managers to relinquish their duty to arrest poachers or to even investigate when wolves are killed illegally.
The move means Idaho Department of Fish and Game managers no longer perform statewide monitoring for wolves, conduct investigations into illegal killings, provide law enforcement when wolves are poached or participate in a program that responds to livestock depredations.
Cadwallader said that evidence of wolf poaching in the region is turned over to federal authorities.
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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RCL500atMSNdotcom on November 29 at 8:05 a.m.
All the wolf huggers use the notion that the land where the wolves were released used to be their habitat so those who live in their habitat need to live with them. I then suggest that the wolves also be introduced into large metropolitan cities because they also used to be the wolf’s habitat. I wonder how many wolf huggers we’d have then. The wolves were eradicated years ago when Americans still had common sense and had to live off the land. The wolves were a problem then and they are now and they should be kept only in zoos or in parks where their numbers can be easily maintained. Idaho is one of the few states where common sense still exists. I live in the People’s Republic of Washington where I can smell the free air of Idaho but I can’t even buy decent dishwasher soap. So shoot, shovel and shut up and then the problem will go away.
nowolves on November 29 at 2:56 p.m.
The local people are ready to start dumping the tea back into the sea…… I do not advocate SSS, but do not condemn anyone who does. This is more about how anti-hunting groups are forcing their will on others and using bias judge to do it!
LibertyOverSafety on December 01 at 4:25 a.m.
Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said the SSS in the raffle stands for “safety, security and survival.” If thats true why is there a shovel included in the prize?
“No, we’re not advocating shooting wolves,” Giddings said
Sure your not….