Dear Editor,
Many cruel and unethical practices occur in Vermont’s fields and forests during hunting and trapping seasons, but you’ll never hear about them from Vermont Fish & Wildlife. Thankfully, watchdog groups like Protect Our Wildlife shed light on the most egregious, cruel and wanton acts of violence against wild animals in Vermont. One such act occurred in New Haven, Vermont this past March when two men went on a killing spree, dispatching over 41 muskrats for fun.
Thanks to a tip from a citizen, wardens were able to investigate suspicious activity that resulted in two men being charged for the gratuitous killing under the wanton waste law that went into effect in 2022. The wardens found that the two hunters had no intent to use the animals in any way. A Facebook post depicted the lifeless bodies of the muskrats lined up in rows with the caption, “Good day muskrat hunting 41!”
The men reported seeing the muskrats sunning themselves on their huts due to the warm temperatures, likely making them easier targets.
Prior to the wanton waste law, the wardens would not have been able to charge these hunters. Protect Our Wildlife began working on efforts to prohibit wanton waste in 2018 after learning of a retired game warden who petitioned the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board for a ban on wanton waste. Over the game warden’s career, he saw bears, deer, and wild turkeys harvested, hung and left to rot as well as muskrats and countless fish killed and discarded.
Despite fierce opposition from special interests using fear-mongering arguments that a wanton waste ban would be a “slippery slope” towards a ban on hunting and trapping, Vermont legislators listened to their constituents and passed the law. Other states (including Alaska) and Canadian provinces also have wanton waste laws that ban the wasteful taking of wildlife for no purpose other than recreation.
Hunters and non-hunters alike should be happy that our state’s cherished wildlife is now protected from wasteful and gratuitous killing such as that described above. The success of this law will be up to Good Samaritans to be the eyes and ears for wildlife and report any activity that seems suspicious to the wardens. And don’t forget it’s an election year! Contact political candidates running for office in your area and encourage them to make wildlife protection a priority and restrict other abusive practices such as the open season on coyotes, leghold traps and bear hounding. Please visit protectourwildlifevt.org for more information on how you can help protect wildlife from cruelty and abuse in Vermont.
Lucy Goodrum, Reading
