Madeline Woodbury’s Follow-up from F&W

Janet,

I’m comforted knowing you are there fighting for wildlife as I am.

F & W called me this morning; they will go over and call these neighbors.

On the other hand I realized The Sergeant’s own dilemma: she is just one of two F & W police. This is a problem in itself: we need more enforcement and responsibility of humans. I asked her calmly where does one begin to speak out, shift laws currently in place….

We both uttered Snohomish County Council. I will begin here; I must speak out for the lunacy in which humans can get away with murder and the wildlife will lose every time. Safeguarding your own animals is one place to begin.

I’ll find the next County Council meeting.

But she has the address of the responsible neighbor. I asked for follow up; she said I will not get a return call but to call later for an update.

I didn’t see blood [on the dead coyote] even when I turned it over, so it probably was not shot; it was in such a state of decomposition with the heat and blow flies and their larvae. I wore a mask, gloves and brought a Native American smudge stick already lit and smoking. If ever one needs aid for masking the smell of decomposition, bring this with you in a safe carrier, glass, metal, etc. it can help but nothing will mask the smell of death unless wearing a gas mask.

The wildlife officer stated exactly what you did about it’s being too late for a necropsy: the coyote was already too decomposed to perform this.

I would like you to post about this.

Thank you as always,

Madeline

Janet,

I had another follow-up with F & W; she did go and visit the coyote killer’s residence. Before she visited them, she visited my site; we walked the property, saw where the woods meet boundary lines. The residents who live there are treating my land as a park or woods that is public or as if it isn’t owned, or walked by other humans and pets, or perhaps other neighbors; they just don’t care.

Postings such as: Keep Out, Private Property, No Shooting, etc. are what the F&W Officer recommends right now and cameras that send instantaneously to my phone or computer. Do you have a camera that sends data to your computer or phone straight away? And you like? No red-eye, she recommended.

Would you believe the F&W suggested I fence the back woods?! I was in dismay with her. First, the wildlife should have free access coming and going. Placing 6′ fences really sucks to me. She could tell by my response fencing the woods was not going to happen. So much for keeping it wild! Damn, if we walled, fenced, wired all land – where would the wildlife go? See, it’s this type of insensitivities that bother me. Fence out the illegal activity. But what about the wildlife that depend on roaming. She could see I was very irritated at the suggestion of fencing this in.

Instead of reprimanding gun-nuts and poisoning wildlife, she wants me to install fencing to keep the illegals out from shooting and killing wildlife?! It more than stinks as suggestion!

Yes, please post this. We can’t wait for someone else to do the thing that needs to be done, if something is egregious and we can take part in changing the egregious act – we need to be involved. Change will not happen on its own. We need to be involved. I believe the more eyes and minds that read your site will see and learn too they can be the change against egregious acts.

For wildlife – thank you!

Madeline