Saw this posted on the Daily Herald this evening. Yikes! Why didn't the Wheaton City Council do some research?

http://andrewsantella.com/wild.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wildphoto,

I was wondering why I haven't seen any in the last couple of weeks...I was afraid this was the case. Very sad-not the proper way to handle the situation. Typical though-if the people of Glen Ellyn or Wheaton want something, it gets dones...be it coyotes or turf.

Here is the original, complete article as it appeared in GQ. Unedited. Always good to read the whole thing instead of snippets. Guy seems creepy. But he makes some valid points...as well as says the wrong things throughout the article. Definitely a braggart. Probably his own worst P.R. enemy.

As far as being stunned that he actually appears to like killing "sh*t" that eventually ends up in the back of his battered Ford...is this really a surprise given his vocation? The guy is an animal trapper. The very nature of the job means death to whatever he catches. Do you think these guys just take their prey and move it to a coyote retirement village? I would assume that the Village Managers in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn both understood that when they hired this...uh...interesting character. And since I believe the vast majority of Glen Ellyn's citizens (including those in the 4th grade) are far more insightful and intelligent than our own Village Manager, I'm certain this "new" revelation will not astonish them.

I have always wondered what becomes of the carcasses after they depart that creepy old Ford. Sounds like he uses the parts to attract other animals. Does the rest just end up in a landfill?

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Especially when you're the money. It has a finality to it, unless you specify otherwise, which in this economy, must be clearer than "I'm bothered by this".

Whatchu mean, NC?

You know what I mean 2002.

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

"Especially when you're the money."

"It has a finality to it, unless you specify otherwise, which in this economy, must be clearer than "I'm bothered by this"."

All three of these lines remind me of the Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries that I used to listen to when I was kid. They played on the Wally Phillips show on WGN. Never could get the answers...but I was only 10 or so at the time.

I figured all the coyotes he caught were dead when I read this line in a local rag a couple weeks ago,

"The trapper found dog food remnants in the stomachs of the coyotes he had trapped."

Pretty much only one way to know that. I'll give you a hint, the coyote ain't breathing at the time.

OK - I like animals; I respect animals, but what exactly is all the hoopla about? Is it that the coyotes are being trapped, is it that the coyotes are being killed, is it how the coyotes are being trapped or is it how the coyotes are being killed?

I for one, welcome a lack of coyotes in my neighborhood. I suppose I would prefer that the trapper catch and release a very far distance from my house, but if that's not practical, then why trap if you are not going to euthanize? If it's the manner of the euthanasia, then I agree - it's not hard to follow the rules.

Well, there are people who don't want to cause unnecessary fear and pain for any creature - and those who think it's ok because, hey, it saves money, time and/or is fun (yep, looking at you, Bill Brady and Mr. Trapper!).Foothold traps? Mass gassing? Sorry, I don't approve and support.

BTW, hope Wheaton/GE are fining, heavily, people who put trash and other materials out that attract and feed wild animals - bad enough we're encroaching on territory, but to feed and then painfully kill? If nothing else, think about karma.

I have never heard of the Village recently fining anyone for improper trash disposal. When did this happen?

And really....relocation? Do you think that's what Mr. E is doing with those coyotes? What a quaint thought. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

I wish GE/Wheaton would fine people who furnish, in their trash, free buffets for wildlife and then wonder why there are coyotes on their block.

Sure, animals that actively endanger humans do need to be relocated or, as a last resort, humanely killed - but what are the responsibilities of the human population who not only build on the animals' territories, but then entice them with the foods found in the trash.

I've started putting my trash out in the morning, as I found racoons, etc., were a heck of a lot too interested in my trash when put out the night before - probably the bits of old kitty kibble were just too enticing. Not the racoons' fault, but mine for wanting to save a few minutes in the morning.

quote:

...fining anyone for improper trash disposal...

Not exactly an answer or related example, but some 35-40 years ago we had a family friend here in G.E. — retired widow lady — who had a grandfathered-in kitchen sink disposal, who composted, who recycled (before curb-side pick-up) and who had a trash compactor for what (very) little trash remained.

Bottom line: she had virtually no garbage to take to the curb each week, so she attempted to opt-out of the weekly trash pickup and refused to pay the bill. (I forget what she did with the occasional bag of compacted trash, but I do recall that she dealt with it legally and properly.)

Anyway, she finally won... but not until she ran the full range of law suit threats and other harassment from the village. Made all the papers including the Trib — and from there got picked up by the A.P.

She since passed away. Had herself cremated and her ashes sprinkled over her gardens.

If you are a trapper....say a trapper who enjoys shooting skunks from a moving cart, or a trapper who bats coyotes into submission prior to gettin' 'em from behind and snapping their necks....are you going to take the time to pack these babies up and drive them somewhere where they won't be a menace? Say, halfway from here to Galena? Or will you just relocate them in another community where you can make even more money trapping the same animal that once resided in GE? Or kill it? Either way, the economics of releasing them locally in someone else's backyard or killing them and using their parts to lure others must really help the bottom line.

Illinois loses and the rest of us have to pay for it. Fan is so mean.

(She was killed by a Coyote.)

Any fool can write.

To edit, you need a blue pencil.

I have a blue pencil.

Clam - Billy The Exterminator relocates his captured critters, even gators

Wheaton shoulda hired VexCon.

Karma? Not being Indian, I don't beleive in it. So is something bad going to happen to those who had the coyotes trapped? Or the coyotes are going to rise up against man because we built on THEIR territories??? Come on. This is not a Disney movie, they are not cute and cuddly and the ones people are seeing during the day are not behaving normally. What's next?

That article was written 10 years ago and appeared in a fairly popular national magazine. If the DNR didn't do anything to Mr. Erickson way back then, what makes you believe that they will now?

Plus, even though he admitted doing those things, without any new proof or admissions that he continues to do them...my guess is that the statute of limitations expired long ago.

quote:

(She was killed by a Coyote.)

HA!!!