Sealed Air Corp., maker of the cushioned plastic Bubble Wrap since 1957, says the gunfire from a police department's firing range near its New Jersey headquarters is "disruptive, disquieting and unsettling" to its employees. Read about it in the Bergen Record.
Longtime Outdoor Pressroom fans know how much we love our dog stories. A 26-year-old Bremerton, Wash. man insisted his dog remain in the bathroom while he showered with his girlfriend, but she didn't care for the idea. She punched him in the face several times and dislocated his shoulder as the naked couple grappled. No word on whether the dog was a pointer or a setter. Reported in The Kitsap Sun.
A nuisance wildlife technician used a live quail as bait to entice the immature Cooper's hawk to fly into a string of nooses. The raptor was subdued and subsequently released after two days inside the Delaware County furniture store in Woodlyn. As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If there was any doubt that hunting and the outdoors are important to Mississippians, here's further proof: the most popular specialty license plate among residents is the wildlife vehicle tag featuring the image of a 10-point whitetail buck, greenhead mallard or wild turkey. More than 45,000 wildlife plates were sold in 2006, followed in popularity by university tags. In the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
The fine Alaskan outdoor writer Craig Medred observes that the animal lovers at PETA and the Humane Society of the US are quick to condemn the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race when a dog unfortunately dies, but he wonders why they remain deafeningly silent as wolves increasingly prey on dogs on the outskirts of Fairbanks and Anchorage. Read it in Sunday's Anchorage Daily News.
When Hunter, Don Raisanen's 6-year-old AKC titled Master Hunter golden retriever went missing on a foggy goose hunt Dec. 22, the Arlington Heights, Ill. man spent the next two days searching unsuccessfully for his hunting companion. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, Raisanen received a phone call from a woman who had seen one of his posted "missing dog" fliers and believed Hunter was at her home. Raisanen said he asked the woman to say, "Hunter sit!" She did, and Hunter sat. Read it in the Herald News.
NYPD Transportation Chief Michael Scagnelli, an avid big game hunter, has been told his taxidermy trophies--including deer, elk, bear and fowl--may not be displayed in his new office at Police Headquarters. According to a report in the New York Daily News, some at NYPD Headquarters called Scagnelli's mounts "offensive," and "over the top." Others believe Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who gave the order, is micro-managing his department.
Released in September, The Mars Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis test breaks down the genetic makeup of a dog to determine what breeds may be present in its heritage. Using about 19 million DNA markers from more than 13,000 dogs, the test can narrow down 134 breeds that might be in a mixed-breed dog's genetics. Reported in the Loveland (CO) Daily Reporter-Herald
Authorities fielded 776 bear-related calls specifically about problem bruins getting in garbage or homes during 2007, with hundreds of additional calls reporting black bear sightings in town or on property. In The Aspen Times.
The TPWD reported that game wardens uncovered 606 possible criminal charges ranging from Class C misdemeanors to felonies, but by late November, wardens narrowed them down to the 247 charges filed against the suspects, who range in age from 16 to 25. Seen in the Montgomery County Courier.
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On Dec. 4, experienced park volunteers reported a black canine emerged from the trees at Moraine Park, lifted its leg to urinate and then ran away when it spotted the humans, said biologist Jeff Conner, a natural resource specialist for Rocky Mountain National Park. In the Ft. Collins Coloradoan.
In the past two months sharpshooters from the Cincinnati Police Department have killed around 125 deer in the Mount Airy Forest in an effort to help reduce deer-caused auto accidents. The Ohio DNR says the 1,471-acre forest holds around 1,000 deer. The culling is expected to continue. As reported in the Cinci Enquirer.
Following the lead of a growing number of urban and suburban municipalities, on Dec. 17 the Fort Thomas City Council passed an ordinance allowing bowhunting on private property inside the city limits to help reduce a growing whitetail population. Citing "safety" issues, two individuals have filed a lawsuit to block the ordinance. One of the litigants said: "I'm not anti-hunting. I just don't think we need to kill them in the city." Yeah, right. In the Cincinnati Post and the Courier-Journal.
Adrian Wydeven, Wisconsin's wolf management coordinator says only one wolf was shot during this fall's deer hunt, a dramatic drop from the nine wolves killed in 2006. AP via WJFW.
When first asked about the practice of possessing and licking Colorado River toads to get high, York County (PA) drug czar Bill Graff replied, "You can lick all the toads you want. I don't think it's a crime." But, since consulting with the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab, Graff stands corrected. Reported in The Evening Sun.
