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Agent: Poison targets wolves
Law officers suspect pesticide that is killing dogs may have been meant for wolves.
By Rebecca Huntington and Bill Curran
Federal agents are investigating whether wolves were the intended target of poison-filled frankfurters that killed dogs last week in Buffalo Valley and whether the case has links to similar poisonings in Idaho.
"It is certainly possible, and certainly suspected, that they were put out to poison wolves instead of dogs," said Dominic Domenici, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Casper. The same highly lethal pesticide that killed the Buffalo Valley dogs sickened three dogs in Idaho and may be responsible for the deaths of two other dogs last month in Daniel.
The golden retriever and border collie-Australian shepherd mix that died last week and a sick dog, another collie mix, live within a quarter mile of each other in Buffalo Valley. Another collie mix died last month in the same area.
The dead collies, named Shadow and Sugar, belonged to Bob Eckhardt while Malcolm McFarland owns Salix, the sick collie.
John Eckhardt, who runs the Turpin Meadow Ranch with his son, Bob, said Monday he doesn't believe any of his neighbors are rabidly anti-wolf. "I know of no such anti-wolf sentiment up here at all," he said.
Eckhardt described Shadow's "wretched" death, which was preceded by total loss of control. The dog threw itself into a glass door, shattering the glass. It was dead soon after first showing symptoms.
As he told of Shadow's death, Eckhardt said he was looking upon an evening silhouette of the Tetons. "It's too pretty to have something like that going on," he said.
The poisonings come as the federal government is preparing to transfer authority to manage wolves to states, and Wyoming is preparing to go to court to challenge Fish and Wildlife over how wolves will be protected. Gov. Dave Freudenthal said Tuesday the spate of poisonings should have no bearing on that case, but conservationists say the incidents show Wyoming is not ready to manage wolves.
Whatever the intent of the pesticide-laced baits, the poisonings in both states have distressed dog owners and outraged residents, who called the practice "disgusting." The poison can be fatal to humans and has killed coyotes, foxes and magpies in addition to pets, Domenici said.
The method of poisoning matches advice given in an article titled, "How to Successfully Poison Wolves," that has been available on the Internet. On March 20, authorities searched the home of Salmon, Idaho, resident Tim Sundles, who maintains a Web site where that article is posted.
Officers seized Sundles' computer, a plastic bottle containing what was described as "a gray granular substance," elk parts, blood samples and boots. Distribution of poisoned bait is a felony under Idaho law.
Sundles' said Monday that he could not comment on the case. But Sundles anti-wolf views are widely published on the Internet. Sundles has admitted publicly shooting one wolf in Idaho and claimed it was in self defense after the wolf nearly attacked his wife. A sportsman, Sundles has warned that wolves will destroy Idaho's big game herds and hunting heritage.
On his Web site, Sundles puts a disclaimer on the poisoning article, which he says someone from Canada sent him anonymously. Sundles prefaces the article by saying he is "in no way soliciting anyone to poison wolves."
However, he goes on to write: "If a sufficient number of wolf killings took place, [federal agents] would be overloaded in very short order ... The investigators can only catch people who talk."
Four days after authorities searched Sundles' home, the article from his Web site appeared in a Riverton-based shopper, The Advertiser.
"At this time we don't know whether there's a connection or a coincidence," Fish and Wildlife agent Domenici said. "But it certainly raised our suspicions."
While officers are following several leads, there are no suspects yet in the Wyoming case, Domenici said.
The Advertiser Publisher Mike Rinehart declined to comment Tuesday.
Domenici acknowledged that simply publishing the article is not a crime. Authorities are worried individuals may act on the article, scattering a dangerous poison around communities, tourist destinations and popular backcountry trails.
In Idaho, Waggonhammer Springs in the Salmon Challis National Forest is a popular spot for antler hunting, horseback riding, hiking and picnicking. Last month, authorities discovered pesticide-tainted meat balls scattered along trails there after a dog owner reported rushing a sick canine to a veterinary clinic. Idaho Fish and Game officers combed the area and removed numerous poisoned baits and promptly warned the public. Despite those efforts, two more dogs got sick.
Dogs are not the only worry. "What if some family goes up there and picnics and some little kid gets into it?" asked Vicky Runnoe of Idaho Fish and Game.
A similar scenario is playing out in Buffalo Valley, a patchwork of cattle ranches and dude ranches bordered by the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The wide valley is a gateway to Grand Teton National Park and offers sweeping views of the Tetons. Thousands of park visitors, many drawn to the Grand Teton to view wildlife such as elk and wolves, pass through the valley each summer.
Presumably, Buffalo Valley residents also live in the area because of the wildlife, which includes predators, said McFarland, whose dog Salix is recovering from the poison she ingested last week.
Though McFarland said some Buffalo Valley residents opposed wolf reintroduction he doesn't think a neighbor is to blame.
"The folks that don't really support the wolf reintroduction [are] ... not going to do something in their own neighborhood where they know that they have dogs and their neighbors have dogs," McFarland said.
McFarland said the only reason Salix survived is because he was able to rush her to a veterinarian almost immediately after she ate a hot dog filled with the black, granular poison.
Salix threw up the hot dog piece shortly after eating it and within 10 minutes was completely paralyzed and convulsing.
Salix ate the meat about 15 feet north of the Buffalo Valley Road. McFarland said he found a similar half hot dog near where Salix ate the first piece. The poison was inside the hot dogs hollow center and was plugged at the end with cheese, he said.
It took four days to flush the toxins from the body of Salix, who is expected to make a full recovery, said Michael Dennis, veterinarian at Teton Veterinary Clinic.
Wolves are a federally protected species and poisoning one would be a federal crime. Since no wolves have been found to be poisoned yet, Teton County Sheriff's Office, not federal agents, is leading the investigation, Domenici said. But the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating.
Darren Rudd, a Teton County Sheriff's deputy and animal control officer, said the poisonings constitute a federal misdemeanor as a misuse of a pesticide. They also could be considered animal cruelty, Rudd said.
Two acts of animal cruelty amount to aggravated animal cruelty, a felony punishable by one year in a jail and a $5,000 fine.
It's unclear how many counts of animal cruelty may have been committed. Rudd said Tuesday that two dogs in Daniel died three weeks ago with symptoms matching those caused by the pesticide. Those symptoms are unique, so he believes the same poison killed those dogs as well.
The poison, which has many brand names but is most commonly sold as Temik in the United States, is used by farmers to protect potato and sugar beat crops from insects. Only individuals with a pesticide application permit are allowed to purchase it.
The article, published on the Web and in The Advertiser, advises wolf opponents to ask farmers for the poison. Domenici is compiling a list of individuals who would have access to the poison and plans to send out letters next week warning them not to distribute the substance.
It is illegal for a farmer to give the poison to an individual not permitted to use it, he said.
"It's even illegal to store it in anything other than the original container," he said. The letter also will "put them on alert to make sure they secure any supply they have so it couldn't be stolen."
Domenici also is sending letters to county sheriff's departments to warn officers to be careful when handling the granular substance, which runs from dark brown to black.
The poison does not have to be ingested to be fatal, it can be absorbed through the skin, eyes or by breathing dust.
"There are even instructions in the safety data sheet put out by the manufacturer that if a human ingests it that you are not to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Domenici said.
The poison interferes with neurotransmitters. Common symptoms are a sudden on-set of vomiting, diarrhea, muscular trembling, excessive salivation and constricted pupils. Dogs often die from respiratory failure after their muscles give out, Dennis said.
"It's a dreadful thing," he said.
Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife of Wyoming Executive Director Bob Wharff said the poisonings could have been a reaction to the Fish and Wildlife Service's rejection of Wyoming's wolf plan.
"I can see the frustration starting to boil, and I'm hopeful that our members will not get into that," Wharff said. "I just can't condone breaking the wildlife laws. I think that goes against everything we stand for."
Rinehart is a member of Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife. Wharff said he was not aware of the article published in The Advertiser.
The service rejected Wyoming's plan because it classifies wolves as predators across much of the state. As predators, wolves could be killed by any means, including poison. However, poisons are strictly regulated, and Temik can not be legally used to kill predators.
Trying to poison wolves could weaken efforts to get the service to accept Wyoming's plan, Wharff said.
"What it does is it furthers the perception that sportsmen are a bunch of bloodthirsty Neanderthal type of people, and we're not," Wharff said.
Indeed, Mac Blewer of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, said the poisonings will make it harder for the federal government to trust Wyoming to manage wolves.
"This is a perfect example of why the federal government is feeling leery about Wyoming managing its own wolves," Blewer said. "We're not ready to manage our own wolves with this sort of lunacy."
But Gov. Freudenthal disagreed that the incident could weaken Wyoming's standing.
"The opportunity to break the law always exists," Freudenthal said. "The real question is whether or not you're going to pursue people who break the law."
Freudenthal has expressed exasperation with the federal government over wolves on several occasions, but said Tuesday "Wolves are part of the state's future and will be."
He added: "I don't encourage people to violate the law."
Respond to this article by e-mailing [email protected]
Law officers suspect pesticide that is killing dogs may have been meant for wolves.
By Rebecca Huntington and Bill Curran
Federal agents are investigating whether wolves were the intended target of poison-filled frankfurters that killed dogs last week in Buffalo Valley and whether the case has links to similar poisonings in Idaho.
"It is certainly possible, and certainly suspected, that they were put out to poison wolves instead of dogs," said Dominic Domenici, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Casper. The same highly lethal pesticide that killed the Buffalo Valley dogs sickened three dogs in Idaho and may be responsible for the deaths of two other dogs last month in Daniel.
The golden retriever and border collie-Australian shepherd mix that died last week and a sick dog, another collie mix, live within a quarter mile of each other in Buffalo Valley. Another collie mix died last month in the same area.
The dead collies, named Shadow and Sugar, belonged to Bob Eckhardt while Malcolm McFarland owns Salix, the sick collie.
John Eckhardt, who runs the Turpin Meadow Ranch with his son, Bob, said Monday he doesn't believe any of his neighbors are rabidly anti-wolf. "I know of no such anti-wolf sentiment up here at all," he said.
Eckhardt described Shadow's "wretched" death, which was preceded by total loss of control. The dog threw itself into a glass door, shattering the glass. It was dead soon after first showing symptoms.
As he told of Shadow's death, Eckhardt said he was looking upon an evening silhouette of the Tetons. "It's too pretty to have something like that going on," he said.
The poisonings come as the federal government is preparing to transfer authority to manage wolves to states, and Wyoming is preparing to go to court to challenge Fish and Wildlife over how wolves will be protected. Gov. Dave Freudenthal said Tuesday the spate of poisonings should have no bearing on that case, but conservationists say the incidents show Wyoming is not ready to manage wolves.
Whatever the intent of the pesticide-laced baits, the poisonings in both states have distressed dog owners and outraged residents, who called the practice "disgusting." The poison can be fatal to humans and has killed coyotes, foxes and magpies in addition to pets, Domenici said.
The method of poisoning matches advice given in an article titled, "How to Successfully Poison Wolves," that has been available on the Internet. On March 20, authorities searched the home of Salmon, Idaho, resident Tim Sundles, who maintains a Web site where that article is posted.
Officers seized Sundles' computer, a plastic bottle containing what was described as "a gray granular substance," elk parts, blood samples and boots. Distribution of poisoned bait is a felony under Idaho law.
Sundles' said Monday that he could not comment on the case. But Sundles anti-wolf views are widely published on the Internet. Sundles has admitted publicly shooting one wolf in Idaho and claimed it was in self defense after the wolf nearly attacked his wife. A sportsman, Sundles has warned that wolves will destroy Idaho's big game herds and hunting heritage.
On his Web site, Sundles puts a disclaimer on the poisoning article, which he says someone from Canada sent him anonymously. Sundles prefaces the article by saying he is "in no way soliciting anyone to poison wolves."
However, he goes on to write: "If a sufficient number of wolf killings took place, [federal agents] would be overloaded in very short order ... The investigators can only catch people who talk."
Four days after authorities searched Sundles' home, the article from his Web site appeared in a Riverton-based shopper, The Advertiser.
"At this time we don't know whether there's a connection or a coincidence," Fish and Wildlife agent Domenici said. "But it certainly raised our suspicions."
While officers are following several leads, there are no suspects yet in the Wyoming case, Domenici said.
The Advertiser Publisher Mike Rinehart declined to comment Tuesday.
Domenici acknowledged that simply publishing the article is not a crime. Authorities are worried individuals may act on the article, scattering a dangerous poison around communities, tourist destinations and popular backcountry trails.
In Idaho, Waggonhammer Springs in the Salmon Challis National Forest is a popular spot for antler hunting, horseback riding, hiking and picnicking. Last month, authorities discovered pesticide-tainted meat balls scattered along trails there after a dog owner reported rushing a sick canine to a veterinary clinic. Idaho Fish and Game officers combed the area and removed numerous poisoned baits and promptly warned the public. Despite those efforts, two more dogs got sick.
Dogs are not the only worry. "What if some family goes up there and picnics and some little kid gets into it?" asked Vicky Runnoe of Idaho Fish and Game.
A similar scenario is playing out in Buffalo Valley, a patchwork of cattle ranches and dude ranches bordered by the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The wide valley is a gateway to Grand Teton National Park and offers sweeping views of the Tetons. Thousands of park visitors, many drawn to the Grand Teton to view wildlife such as elk and wolves, pass through the valley each summer.
Presumably, Buffalo Valley residents also live in the area because of the wildlife, which includes predators, said McFarland, whose dog Salix is recovering from the poison she ingested last week.
Though McFarland said some Buffalo Valley residents opposed wolf reintroduction he doesn't think a neighbor is to blame.
"The folks that don't really support the wolf reintroduction [are] ... not going to do something in their own neighborhood where they know that they have dogs and their neighbors have dogs," McFarland said.
McFarland said the only reason Salix survived is because he was able to rush her to a veterinarian almost immediately after she ate a hot dog filled with the black, granular poison.
Salix threw up the hot dog piece shortly after eating it and within 10 minutes was completely paralyzed and convulsing.
Salix ate the meat about 15 feet north of the Buffalo Valley Road. McFarland said he found a similar half hot dog near where Salix ate the first piece. The poison was inside the hot dogs hollow center and was plugged at the end with cheese, he said.
It took four days to flush the toxins from the body of Salix, who is expected to make a full recovery, said Michael Dennis, veterinarian at Teton Veterinary Clinic.
Wolves are a federally protected species and poisoning one would be a federal crime. Since no wolves have been found to be poisoned yet, Teton County Sheriff's Office, not federal agents, is leading the investigation, Domenici said. But the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating.
Darren Rudd, a Teton County Sheriff's deputy and animal control officer, said the poisonings constitute a federal misdemeanor as a misuse of a pesticide. They also could be considered animal cruelty, Rudd said.
Two acts of animal cruelty amount to aggravated animal cruelty, a felony punishable by one year in a jail and a $5,000 fine.
It's unclear how many counts of animal cruelty may have been committed. Rudd said Tuesday that two dogs in Daniel died three weeks ago with symptoms matching those caused by the pesticide. Those symptoms are unique, so he believes the same poison killed those dogs as well.
The poison, which has many brand names but is most commonly sold as Temik in the United States, is used by farmers to protect potato and sugar beat crops from insects. Only individuals with a pesticide application permit are allowed to purchase it.
The article, published on the Web and in The Advertiser, advises wolf opponents to ask farmers for the poison. Domenici is compiling a list of individuals who would have access to the poison and plans to send out letters next week warning them not to distribute the substance.
It is illegal for a farmer to give the poison to an individual not permitted to use it, he said.
"It's even illegal to store it in anything other than the original container," he said. The letter also will "put them on alert to make sure they secure any supply they have so it couldn't be stolen."
Domenici also is sending letters to county sheriff's departments to warn officers to be careful when handling the granular substance, which runs from dark brown to black.
The poison does not have to be ingested to be fatal, it can be absorbed through the skin, eyes or by breathing dust.
"There are even instructions in the safety data sheet put out by the manufacturer that if a human ingests it that you are not to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Domenici said.
The poison interferes with neurotransmitters. Common symptoms are a sudden on-set of vomiting, diarrhea, muscular trembling, excessive salivation and constricted pupils. Dogs often die from respiratory failure after their muscles give out, Dennis said.
"It's a dreadful thing," he said.
Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife of Wyoming Executive Director Bob Wharff said the poisonings could have been a reaction to the Fish and Wildlife Service's rejection of Wyoming's wolf plan.
"I can see the frustration starting to boil, and I'm hopeful that our members will not get into that," Wharff said. "I just can't condone breaking the wildlife laws. I think that goes against everything we stand for."
Rinehart is a member of Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife. Wharff said he was not aware of the article published in The Advertiser.
The service rejected Wyoming's plan because it classifies wolves as predators across much of the state. As predators, wolves could be killed by any means, including poison. However, poisons are strictly regulated, and Temik can not be legally used to kill predators.
Trying to poison wolves could weaken efforts to get the service to accept Wyoming's plan, Wharff said.
"What it does is it furthers the perception that sportsmen are a bunch of bloodthirsty Neanderthal type of people, and we're not," Wharff said.
Indeed, Mac Blewer of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, said the poisonings will make it harder for the federal government to trust Wyoming to manage wolves.
"This is a perfect example of why the federal government is feeling leery about Wyoming managing its own wolves," Blewer said. "We're not ready to manage our own wolves with this sort of lunacy."
But Gov. Freudenthal disagreed that the incident could weaken Wyoming's standing.
"The opportunity to break the law always exists," Freudenthal said. "The real question is whether or not you're going to pursue people who break the law."
Freudenthal has expressed exasperation with the federal government over wolves on several occasions, but said Tuesday "Wolves are part of the state's future and will be."
He added: "I don't encourage people to violate the law."
Respond to this article by e-mailing [email protected]
