Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    It made the news on sunday. Can't remember where I heard it but it
    doesn't surprise me much any more since there seems to be more and more
    of them showing up at the oddest places in the last couple of months,
    Manchester (jumping off a roof on the west side), accident in Auburn on
    rte. 101, and of course the usual places up north, incuding a town of
    Bartlett Police Cruiser. I think in the last couple of months there
    have been at least 3 deaths of people attributed to Moose in the State
    of N.H. I am glad to see the lottery permits have increased to 100 and
    possibly a longer season which is in the works right now in the state
    legislature. Maybe next year it may rise to 150 permits.
    							Bret

    Last summer a friend of a friend saw a cow moose on the shore of the
    Concord River in Concord, MA.  They do get around.

    
    
         Someone in the cycles file reported comeing back from Laconia
    and seeing one dead and bloody mess of a moose and asociated vehicle
    on side of 495 southbound lane.  What a waste.
    
     Kevin

    Dead deer on Rt 2 westbound, Leominster side of the Jackson Rd exit...
    looked to be good size for what was left of it...  not sure if it was a
    buck or doe... :^(  poor thing looked like it got creamed.
    
    Fra

    
    I heard this moose was killed by a car in Billrica on Saturday.
    
    What a shame!
    
    Rick
    

    Two weeks ago, a moose was struck and killed on Rt2 eastbound not far
    from DEC...at least three have been sighted in that area for the past
    several months

    Where on Rt 2, theres a lot of plants along Rt 2.
    
    fra

    
    I was at "The Outdoorsman" in West Boylston,MA this past friday and
    a guy came in and asked if we were talking about the moose that was
    seen Thursday. Apparently this guy had seen it on route 12 in West
    Boylston, he said it was a cow and then the owner of the store said a 
    bull moose had been seen two days prior to that in the same general
    area . Looks like some moose may have taken up residence in or near 
    Wachusett Res. 
    
                                               Walt

    I saw on CNN this morning that a moose had wandered into Boston
    where it was shot. Apparently the police shot it because they felt
    that it was ill and disorientated. It was a small moose with very
    small antlers. They guy that shot it was only obout 10 yards from it
    and it dropped in it's tracks. The bystanders were yelling at the cops
    not to shoot it and calling the cops names.
    
    IMHO it should have been tranquilized (sp?) tested to see if it was
    ill, if it wasn't, ship it to Wachusett Res or out to the Quabbin.
    Maybe it would be an exspensive venture but there aren't many moose
    in MA and I can't see killing them if we don't have to. A few years
    ago one was shot by the police in Dedham,MA cause it was a traffic
    hazard. Sounds like they don't want to spend the money.
    
                      Walt
                          

    Unfortunately, moose and deer do not co-exist well. (Deer have
    a worm which infects and destroys the brains of moose.) And 
    putting it in Quabbin, which already has a deer population problem, 
    is definitely not practical. 

    The problem is how to handle the moose.  If a Natick PD officer asked
    for a tranqillizer gun and someone to use it, and the right stuff to
    tranquilise a moose, where and how fast could he get it?  Probably only
    available from some university animal studies group in northern Maine.
    Then, what do you do with a tranquillized moose without hurting it? You
    would have to rustle up a body sling, a crane, and an open-top stake
    bodied ten-wheeler to move it anywhere.  
    They are as big as a horse, stronger, and you can't load them on a
    trailer or anything.  If it had brainworm, it is effectively insane to
    boot.  
    Until the state has a plan to respond to these large-animal problems, I
    reluctantly have to agree that they will have to be shot, as someone
    could be hurt or killed by accident by them, particularly children. 
    My disgust is at the disposal of the carcass, just buried in a garbage
    dump.  There's nothing wrong with the meat.

	I have to agree with why the moose in Natick had to be destroyed,
	but I have a few problems with doing it in front of a crowd, then
	taking the carcass to the dump!

	Apparently, the police did try and convince people to move on.
	I don't think they made it clear enough to everyone there what
	was about to take place.  And why was the carcass just dumped ?
	Vermont gives road kill away to needy families.  Generally, the
	police take good care of the meat from roadkills there and it
	goes to a good cause.  What a waste...

	Where would the fingers be pointing if they had tried to
	disable the moose and it ran out on the Mass Pike and killed
	a family out for a Sunday drive?  Tranquilizers take 20 minutes
	to have effect (if they get enough into the moose to begin with!)
	Do deliver an effective dose, they need to dart it 3 or 4 times.
	Thats a long time for a wounded animal of that size to be running
	around (the dart DOES hurt!).

	Anyway...my 2 cents, Mike

    
    re last couple.
    
    Don't know about how to get the moose relocated and all, but...
    
    When I went to U. Lowell (Lowell MA), there was a small moose
    wandering about. They did tranqualize it, seems when it did finally 
    fall, it was on a bridge over a small river, fell through the
    handrail and into the water about 6 feet below. They had a heck
    of a time keeping the moose from drowing.
    
    --Bob
    

    re last couple
    
    	David Ropeck (sp) is the environmental reporter for WCVB (ch 5) in
    Boston.  He talked to experts from 3 NE states about this situation.
    The responses were generally the same.  Three things are considered
    when making a decision to kill or tranquilize.
    	
    	1. What is the *immediate* environment?  Can the animal be dangerous
    if the tranquilizing does not go perfectly?  All agreed that with all
    the spectators and no easy escape route for the moose, putting the
    animal to sleep would have been risky.
    
    	2. What is the weight of the animal?  My quess would be to
    determine what drug or dosage to use.
    
    	3. What was the state/attitude of the animal?  Now I'm not an
    expert and I did agree with all the *tree-huggers* who said the animal
    was just eatting and staring.  It turns out that these acts indeed
    are signs of irritation and confusion.  
    
    
    	While the tranquilizing equipment was not on site, it was readily
    available.  My original conclusion was that the individuals involved
    did not have the expertese to *beddy-bye* the *beast*.  After listen-
    ing to what the pros think, I'd have to say the action taken was
    correct.
    
    Andy

    
    
    A friend of mine told me that he heard on WAAF this morning that MASS
    gave out 75 permits for moose. Does anyone know if this is true? I
    think maybe they were joking and he misunderstood.
    
                                                      WB

    
    He mis-understood, they may have been talking about NH season which
    opens today. They increased the permits from 75 to 100
    
    --Bob
    

    
    Thanks Bob,
         that's probably it, I just couldn't see MA having a moose
    season and it not being on the news.
    
                               Walt

    oh god no, multiple public hearings, each loaded with anti-hunters
    declaiming that man has no right to be cruel the the bambi-wambis
    and ducki-wuckies. Moose? You wanna shoot *Bullwinkle* with your
    bad old guns?! Shame on you!