This commentary is by Brenna Galdenzi of Stowe, president of Protect Our Wildlife.
It is difficult sometimes to comprehend how polarized our country has become. We no longer have differences of opinion or philosophy, but open warfare.
Each day, we seem to take another step closer to political — and existential — oblivion. Even our “Brave Little State” of Vermont has fallen victim to the times. We no longer seem to be able to discuss anything, whether it’s mask mandates, presidential elections, school mascots, or even preserving our planet and its imperiled wildlife.
I am president of Protect Our Wildlife, an all-volunteer wildlife advocacy organization that is challenging some of Vermont’s outdated and exceptionally cruel “traditions,” such as the use of leghold traps and hounding. For the last six years, POWVT has worked to educate people and change hearts and minds concerning some of the “recreational” activities impacting wildlife.
Our rapidly growing constituency of wildlife advocates has had enough of cruelty to wildlife that is perpetrated under the guise of conservation and tradition.
As difficult as it is, it’s important to remember that cruelty does not arise out of a vacuum. When I talk with trappers and hounders who engage in activities that many view as exceptionally cruel, I always try to understand why they do what they do. It’s often hard to separate the person from the activity, but we must.
Humans are complex, with good and bad in all of us. We’ve all heard of people who will pull a gun on someone who cuts them off in traffic, but that same person will pull a stranger’s car out of a ditch. Yet to wildlife, this is all immaterial. Every day their lives are snuffed out merely for recreation, not for food or other legitimate reasons, and there are no adequate laws to protect them.
Wildlife needs someone to represent them and expose the cruelties that they suffer. That is the role of wildlife advocates. When the public sees images of a lone coyote or bear being mauled by a pack of hounds or a terrified gray fox suffering in a leghold trap, there’s an overwhelming urge to want to do something.
Unfortunately for wildlife advocates, the options are limited, and there’s a lot of frustration that comes with that. We can post our land, but the hunters’ out-of-control hounds still violate our property rights. Many of us seek solace in the woods, but we have to worry about our dogs stepping into a baited leghold trap. In the absence of a bipartisan and diverse Fish & Wildlife Board, we try to achieve positive changes through the Legislature — and we have, as witnessed in 2018 when we banned coyote killing contests despite Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s lack of support.
There are lawful ways that we can make progress on abusive practices that are enjoyed by more than a few here in Vermont. But progress is often slow. We have been successful by being credible, factual, law-abiding and focusing on the end result.
I won’t lie. Wildlife advocacy can be very discouraging. As president of POWVT, I’ve been the target of threats and harassing behavior by some Vermont sportsmen. Never did I think I’d become a gun owner, but I now am. I’ve contacted law enforcement with concerns, and they’ve been attentive and helpful, but there’s only so much they can do.
I’ve had someone, a suspected Vermont trapper, create a Facebook account pretending to be me posting inappropriate comments on a Vermont legislator’s Facebook page. Fortunately, Facebook removed the account quickly.
Yet, despite the challenges, our rapidly growing membership attests to the fact that more people care than don’t. When Vermonters learn what goes on in our woods, they are horrified and outraged. And this strengthens our resolve.
We may not be able to rewire those who find pleasure in torturing and harassing wildlife for “sport,” but we will never stop speaking out for the innocent lives they take. Wildlife only has us.
