RARE 2 Documents 1802- Signed John Avery Sons Liberty Caleb Strong Massachusetts

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dalebooks ✉️ (8,802) 100%, Location: Rochester, New York, US, Ships to: WORLDWIDE & many other countries, Item: 304363372851 RARE 2 Documents 1802- Signed John Avery Sons Liberty Caleb Strong Massachusetts. RARE Early American Documents Pair of Documents Wolf Bounty & Letter Signed by Mass. Governor Caleb Strong John Avery Jr. (sons of liberty - 1st Secr. of Mass.) Peleg Coffin Thomas Starret Jr. Benjamin Webb Edward Killerman To Jonathan Jackson, Treasurer, State of Mass. 1802

For offer, nice old pieces of ephemera! Fresh from a prominent estate. Never offered on the market until now. Vintage, Old, Original, Antique, NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !!

These two documents came together, and are a set. One signed by various officials including governor Caleb Strong and John Avery - "to the Treasurer of the Town of Warren ... the sum of Fort dollars for the bounty on 3 grown wolves slaid by that town / killed near thereto since the 7th of February, 1799."Other is a letter to treasury directing payment to be made. In very good condition. Fold marks. Please see photos. If you collect 19th century Americana history, American documents, United States of America, etc. this is a treasure you will not see again! Add this to your image or paper / ephemera collection. Important genealogy research importance too. Combine shipping on multiple bid wins! 2743

Caleb Strong (January 9, 1745 – November 7, 1819) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the sixth and tenth Governor of Massachusetts between 1800 and 1807, and again from 1812 until 1816. He assisted in drafting the Massachusetts State Constitution in 1779 and served as a state senator and on the Massachusetts Governor's Council before being elected to the inaugural United States Senate. A leading member of the Massachusetts Federalist Party, his political success delayed the decline of the Federalists in Massachusetts. A successful Northampton lawyer prior to 1774, Strong was politically active in the rebel cause during the American Revolutionary War. He played an influential role in the development of the United States Constitution at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, and, as a US Senator, in the passage of its 11th Amendment. He also played a leading role in the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system. Adept at moderating the sometimes harsh political conflict between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans and popular in Massachusetts, he navigated the state in a Federalist direction through the early years of the 19th century as the rest of the country became progressively more Republican. Although he sought to retire from politics after losing the 1807 governor's race, the advent of the War of 1812 brought him back to the governor's office as a committed opponent of the war. He refused United States Army requests that state militia be placed under army command, and in 1814 sought to engage Nova Scotia Governor John Coape Sherbrooke in peace talks. The state and federal government's weak defense of Massachusetts' northern frontier during Strong's tenure contributed to the successful drive for Maine's statehood, which was granted in 1820. Early years Caleb Strong was born on January 9, 1745, in Northampton, one of the principal towns of Hampshire County on the Connecticut River in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. His parents were Phebe Lyman Strong and Caleb Strong, the latter a descendant of early Massachusetts settlers such as John Strong, a 1630 immigrant to Massachusetts who was one of the founders of Northampton and the lead elder of the church for many years.[1][2] Caleb was their only son. He received his early education from Rev. Samuel Moody, and entered Harvard College in 1760, graduating four years later with high honors. He was shortly thereafter afflicted with smallpox, which temporarily blinded him and prevented him from engaging in the study of law for several years. He studied law with Joseph Hawley, was admitted to the bar in 1772, and began the practice of law in Northampton.[1] Hawley was also a political mentor, shaping Strong's views on relations between the colonies and Great Britain.[3] American Revolution Strong and Hawley were both elected to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Strong was unable to serve in the military because of his damaged sight, but he was otherwise active in the Patriot cause. He served on the Northampton Committee of Safety and in other local offices, but refused service in the Continental Congress.[4][5] He was a delegate to the 1779 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and was elected to the committee that drafted the state constitution, ratified in 1780.[5] He then served on the first governor's council and in the state senate from 1780 to 1789.[6] Strong's legal practice thrived during the tumultuous war years, and was one of the most successful in Hampshire County. He became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1775, and was appointed county attorney of Hampshire County the following year, a post he held until 1800. On more than one occasion he was offered a seat on the state's supreme court, but rejected the position on account of its inadequate salary.[7] Strong was described by a contemporary as meticulously detailed in his preparation of legal paperwork and a persuasive advocate when speaking to a jury.[8] In 1781 Strong was one of the lawyers (another was Worcester lawyer and future United States Attorney General Levi Lincoln Sr.) who worked on a series of legal cases surrounding Quock Walker, a former slave seeking to claim his freedom. One of the cases, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennison, firmly established that slavery was incompatible with the new state constitution.[9] Philadelphia Convention and United States Senator Strong was elected as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the 1787 Constitution.[10] A committed Federalist, Strong opposed the idea of the Electoral College as a means of electing the president, instead supporting the idea that the legislature should choose him.[11] Although he initially opposed proposals that the number of senators should be equal for all states, he eventually changed his mind, enabling passage of the Connecticut Compromise.[12] To temper the power of the states, he introduced language requiring tax legislation to originate in the House of Representatives.[13] Illness of his wife forced him to return to Massachusetts before the work was completed, so he did not sign the document.[11][14] He was a vocal supporter of its adoption by the state's ratifying convention.[11] When the Constitution came into force in 1789, Strong was chosen by the state legislature to serve in the United States Senate.[15] As what is now known as a Class 2 Senator he came up for reelection in 1792, when he was again chosen.[16] He was one of the principal drafters of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal courts. He was also instrumental in 1793 and 1794 in the development and passage by Congress of the 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution.[17] This measure was enacted in response to Chisholm v. Georgia, a Supreme Court decision in which a private individual sued the state of Georgia. The amendment expanded the sovereign immunity of states to limit suits against them by private individuals from other states.[18] Strong was also one of a small group of senators who convinced President George Washington in 1794 that a special envoy should be sent to Britain in order to avert war, and who convinced John Jay to accept that role.[19] Jay ended up negotiating what became known as the Jay Treaty, which resolved a number of issues between the two nations, but also angered the leadership of Revolutionary France and was widely disliked, criticized, and opposed by Republicans.[20] Strong resigned his seat in 1796 and returned to private life in Northampton.[21] First term as governor In the election of 1800 Strong was nominated by the Federalists as their candidate for governor; his principal opponent was Elbridge Gerry, nominated by the Democratic-Republicans. Strong was criticized by his opponents for his lack of military service and for the fact that he was a lawyer; he countered by asserting his patriotism through his association with Joseph Hawley. His popularity in the western part of the state was decisive: the wide margin by which he won there overcame the smaller advantage by which Gerry carried the east.[22] Acting Governor Moses Gill died ten days before Strong took office at the end of May.[23] Bust of Elbridge Gerry, Strong's frequent gubernatorial opponent (Herbert Adams, 1892) Strong won annual reelection to the governor's seat until 1807. During this tenure the state introduced a new penitentiary system and reformed the judiciary, reducing the number of judges.[24] Strong's time as governor was also marked by virulent political debate in the state, principally over foreign policy related to British interference with Massachusetts maritime trade. That interference was a consequence of the ongoing Napoleonic Wars engulfing Europe. Over the years of Strong's tenure the Republicans gradually gained in power both nationally and in Massachusetts.[25] In the 1806 election the Republicans secured a majority in the Massachusetts assembly, and the gubernatorial election was notably close. Running mainly against James Sullivan, Strong barely received a majority of the votes cast. With fewer than 200 votes in the balance, the Republican-controlled legislature scrutinized the returns in a partisan manner, discarding ballots that had misspelled Strong's name while retaining those that misspelled Sullivan's and performing tallies in ways that favored their candidate. This process concluded with a finding that Strong in fact lacked a majority of votes, which was what was then required to carry the election, as opposed to the modern plurality requirement. Strong's Federalist allies in the legislature were able to publicize the partisan nature of the analysis, resulting in a hostile public backlash. He was proclaimed the winner after further, less biased, analysis corrected the count in his favor.[26] However, in the 1807 election the rising tide of Republicanism swept Strong (along with other New England Federalists) out of office.[27] Federalists asked him to run in 1808, but he refused, noting that he had "done his part" and that his home base in Hampshire County was strongly Federalist.[28] Second term and War of 1812 Further information: War of 1812 In 1812 Strong was convinced by Massachusetts Federalist leaders to come out of retirement to run once again for governor. War with Britain was imminent, and the Federalists sought a strong candidate to oppose Elbridge Gerry, who had been victorious against Christopher Gore in the previous two elections.[29] Gerry, who had originally been somewhat moderate, became increasingly partisan during his tenure, and Federalists viewed Strong's earlier success in office and relatively modest demeanor as assets. Strong's victory in the election, which saw the Federalists also regain control of the legislature, was attributed to several factors: Federalists capitalized on the partisanship of the recent redistricting of the state that resulted in the coining of the term "gerrymander", and there was strong antiwar sentiment in the state.[30] Strong was reelected by wide margins in the following war years.[31] Fort Adams, the principal defense of Boston Harbor, in 1789. It was later rededicated Fort Independence.[32] Strong took a principled stand against the War of 1812, generally refusing to assist federal government efforts to prosecute the war. Strong was part of a chorus of Massachusetts (and more broadly New England) Federalists who complained that in "Mr. Madison's War" the federal government was trampling state and individual rights.[33] He adhered to the view that state militia could not be required to serve under regular army command.[34] When the first such requests were made by U. S. Army General Henry Dearborn, Strong, with the backing of not just the Governor's Council but also the Supreme Judicial Court, refused, arguing that there was no need to call out the militia because invasion was not imminent.[35] Because of his stance against regular army command, the state was denied a shipment of arms that was instead diverted to frontier areas and the war theater.[36] Strong also took no particular actions to prevent widespread smuggling along the state's frontiers with the neighboring British provinces.[37] Strong's opposition to regular army control was more nuanced than that of neighboring Connecticut Governor John Cotton Smith, who ensured that his militia always remained under state command.[38] Strong was more concerned that the state militia not be used except in defense of the state's borders, and compromised on the issue of command. In 1812, not long after refusing General Dearborn's request, he authorized the dispatch of militia companies to the state's eastern district (now Maine) under United States Army command.[39] With the British naval blockade tightening and threatening the state's coastal communities in early 1814, Strong authorized U. S. Brigadier General Thomas H. Cushing to command militia forces in the defenses of Boston Harbor, subject to reasonable limitations. Cushing was transferred to Connecticut, and General Dearborn again commanded the regular army forces in Massachusetts. Dearborn interpreted the agreement Strong had made with Cushing to apply statewide, and began reorganizing militia companies to conform to regular army practices.[40] This engendered ill will among the militia, and Strong refused to place additional levies under Dearborn's command.[41] British General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and leader of the expedition that in 1814 occupied Castine[42] The defense of Maine, however, proved problematic. Strong's aide William H. Sumner negotiated an agreement with the Army command for the defense of Portland, but the ironically Republican-dominated district militia objected, first to the idea of serving under any regular army leadership, and then to serving under a relatively low-ranked officer (a lieutenant colonel) who was given command of Portland after the agreement was signed. Several units of local militia refused the perform their assigned duties.[43] One consequence of the dispute was that most militia in the state remained under state control, and were thus paid for from state coffers at a cost that ran to $200,000 per month.[44] This further strained the state economy, which was already suffering due to the British blockade.[45] Following the British seizure of Castine in September 1814, Strong called the legislature into session early in October to respond to the occupation.[46] Given that the federal government was unwilling to fund militia not under its control, the legislature authorized Strong to borrow money to fund a major expansion of the militia, but most of the funds acquired were spent improving Boston's defenses.[47] Another result of the special session was a call for a meeting of states opposed to the war, which became known as the Hartford Convention.[46] Around the time of the convention, which was held in Hartford, Connecticut beginning in December 1814, Strong secretly wrote to Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, essentially offering a separate peace in exchange for the return of the seized territory.[48] He also refused to authorize temporary Massachusetts funding for a federally led expedition to recover Castine, leading to further cries of indignation from Maine's Republicans.[49] The Treaty of Ghent ended the war before the Nova Scotia negotiations went anywhere.[48] Strong's policies during the war are credited as one of the reasons for Maine's drive for statehood, which came to a successful conclusion in 1820.[50] In 1816, with the war at an end, Strong elected once again to retire from politics.[51] Strong died in Northampton on November 7, 1819, and was buried in its Bridge Street Cemetery.[52] Family, charity, and legacy In 1777 Strong married Sarah Hooker, the daughter of a local pastor and great-great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Hooker, founder and first governor of Connecticut. They had nine children, four of whom survived the couple.[51] Strong was active in his church and was a leading member of local missionary and Bible societies.[53] He was a founding member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society.[54] In 1813, Strong was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[55] In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Caleb Strong was named in his honor. The town of Strong, Maine, incorporated in 1801, was named for Strong[56] and Windham Township, Portage County, Ohio was originally named Strongsburg in his honor.[57] The Strongsburg land had been allocated to Strong as part of his ownership share in the Ohio Company, and was sold by him and several minority partners in 1810.[58] John Avery Jr. (September 2, 1739 – June 7, 1806) was an American politician who served as the 1st Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. Family Avery's was a direct descendant of Dr. William Avery from Barkham, Berkshire, England. Dr. William Avery immigrated to Dedham, Massachusetts in 1650.[5] Early life Avery was born to John and Mary (Deming) Avery on September 2, 1739.[3] Family life Avery married Mary (Polly) Cushing in April 1769,[3] they had ten children.[4] Sons of Liberty Avery was a member of the Sons of Liberty.[6] Massachusetts Secretary Avery had served as Deputy Secretary of the Province of Massachusetts Bay under Samuel Adams.[1] Avery defeated Adams at the polls to be the first Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.[1] Death Avery died on June 7, 1806.[4] Peleg Coffin Jr. (November 3, 1756 – March 6, 1805) was an American financier, insurer, and politician from Nantucket and Boston, Massachusetts. Early life Coffin was born in Nantucket in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to a whaling family; his parents were Peleg and Elizabeth (Hussey) Coffin. Coffin's father was lost at sea a month after he was born. This early background led him to found and head the New England Marine Insurance Company. Public service Coffin served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1783–1784, and in 1789, and in the Massachusetts Senate from 1785 to 1787, 1789 to 1792, and 1795 to 1796.[1] He was elected to represent Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives in the 3rd United States Congress from March 4, 1793, to March 3, 1795. Coffin was the Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts from 1797 to 1801. Jonathan Jackson (June 4, 1743 – March 5, 1810) was an American merchant from Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts in the Continental Congress. Private life Jonathan Jackson was born in 1743 in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was the son of Edward Jackson (1708–1757) and Dorothy Quincy Jackson. He graduated from Harvard in 1761 and then moved to Newburyport to take up a mercantile career. Jackson first served as an apprentice to another merchant, Patrick Tracy. By 1765 he had entered business on his own as a shipper and importer. He became prosperous and in 1772 he married his mentor's daughter, Hannah Tracy. Shortly after he went into a partnership with his wife's brothers, John and Nathaniel Tracy. The firm of Jackson, Tracy, & Tracy failed during the revolution. So, after 1782, Jonathan took a series of salaried jobs. In 1780 Jackson joined John Hancock and other community leaders in the founding of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1] Revolutionary years Despite his dependence on foreign trade, Jackson became a supporter of the American Revolution. He converted some of his merchant ships to privateers. In 1775 he was elected to the revolutionary Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He became a member of the state's Committee of Correspondence and headed the Essex County Committee of Safety. Jackson was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1777. He attended the state's Constitutional Convention in 1779. Then in 1782, Massachusetts sent him as one of their delegates to the Continental Congress. But, by this time his financial reverses made him take a job, although he did serve one term in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1789. Later career Eventually Jackson was able to combine his need for employment with his desire for public service. In this period, elected positions generally had no pay. He served as the first U.S. Marshal for the district of Massachusetts (1789–1791), then as a federal Supervisor of Revenue from 1792 until 1801. Jackson served as Treasurer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1802 to 1806, and as treasurer of Harvard University. He was president of the Boston Bank, which later became the First National Bank of Boston. When he died in Boston in 1810, he was buried in the Old Granary Burying Ground there. Family Jonathan Jackson and Hannah Tracy had nine children. Their daughter, Hannah, married the manufacturer Francis Cabot Lowell, who went into business with their son, Patrick Tracy Jackson. Their son Charles Jackson went on to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Their son James Jackson became a physician and co-founded Massachusetts General Hospital, becoming its first physician.[2] Jonathan Jackson's great-grandsons included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who served on the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 2004 elections, both George W. Bush and John Kerry published a genealogy in which they claimed Jackson as an ancestor, though neither appear to be actually related. The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized clandestine political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765.[1] The group disbanded after the Stamp Act was repealed. However, the name was applied to other local separatist groups during the years preceding the American Revolution.[2] In popular thought, the Sons of Liberty was a formal underground organization with recognized members and leaders. More likely, the name was an underground term for any men resisting new Crown taxes and laws.[3] The well-known label allowed organizers to make or create anonymous summons to a Liberty Tree, "Liberty Pole", or other public meeting-place. Furthermore, a unifying name helped to promote inter-Colonial efforts against Parliament and the Crown's actions. Their motto became "No taxation without representation."[4] History The Bostonian Paying the Excise-Man, 1774 British propaganda print, referring to the tarring and feathering, of Boston Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm four weeks after the Boston Tea Party. The men also poured hot tea down Malcolm's throat; note the noose hanging on the Liberty Tree and the Stamp Act posted upside-down In 1765, the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers living in the colonies, and intended that the colonists living there should contribute.[5] The British passed a series of taxes aimed at the colonists, and many of the colonists refused to pay certain taxes; they argued that they should not be held accountable for taxes which were decided upon without any form of their consent through a representative. This became commonly known as "No Taxation without Representation." Parliament insisted on its right to rule the colonies despite the fact that the colonists had no representative in Parliament.[6] The most incendiary tax was the Stamp Act of 1765, which caused a firestorm of opposition through legislative resolutions (starting in the colony of Virginia), public demonstrations,[7] threats, and occasional hurtful losses.[8] The name is presumed to have been inspired by the phrase's use in a pro-American, anti-taxation speech in the House of Commons on February 6, 1765, by Irish MP Isaac Barré.[9][10] The organization spread hour by hour, after independent starts in several different colonies. In August 1765, the group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts.[11] A precursor of this group was the Loyal Nine. By November 6, a committee was set up in New York to correspond with other colonies. In December, an alliance was formed between groups in New York and Connecticut. January bore witness to a correspondence link between Boston and New York City, and by March, Providence had initiated connections with New York, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode Island. March also marked the emergence of Sons of Liberty organizations in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. In Boston, another example of violence could be found in their treatment of local stamp distributor Andrew Oliver. They burned his effigy in the streets. When he did not resign, they escalated to burning down his office building. Even after he resigned, they almost destroyed the whole house of his close associate Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson. It is believed that the Sons of Liberty did this to excite the lower classes and get them actively involved in rebelling against the authorities. Their actions made many of the stamp distributors resign in fear. To celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the Sons of Liberty in Dedham, Massachusetts erected the Pillar of Liberty.[12] The Sons of Liberty popularized the use of tar and feathering to punish and humiliate offending government officials starting in 1767. This method was also used against British Loyalists during the American Revolution. This punishment had long been used by sailors to punish their mates.[13] The Bostonian branch of the Sons of Liberty were responsible for organizing and executing the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773 in response to the Tea Act. Early in the American Revolution, the former Sons of Liberty generally joined more formal groups, such as the Committee of Safety. New York In December 1773, a new group calling itself the Sons of Liberty issued and distributed a declaration in New York City called the Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York, which formally stated that they were opposed to the Tea Act and that anyone who assisted in the execution of the act was "an enemy to the liberties of America" and that "whoever shall transgress any of these resolutions, we will not deal with, or employ, or have any connection with him."[14] After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Isaac Sears, Marinus Willet, and John Lamb revived in New York City the Sons of Liberty. In March 1784, they rallied an enormous crowd that called for the expulsion of any remaining Loyalists from the state starting May 1. The Sons of Liberty were able to gain enough seats in the New York assembly elections of December 1784 to have passed a set of punitive laws against Loyalists. In violation of the Treaty of Paris (1783), they called for the confiscation of the property of Loyalists.[15] Alexander Hamilton defended the Loyalists, citing the supremacy of the treaty. Flags In 1767, the Sons of Liberty adopted a flag called the rebellious stripes flag with nine vertical stripes, four white and five red. A flag having 13 horizontal red and white stripes was used by Commodore Esek Hopkins (Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy) and by American merchant ships during the war. This flag was also associated with the Sons of Liberty. Red and white were common colors of the flags, although other color combinations were used, such as green and white or yellow and white.[16][17][18] Famous Sons of Liberty 1st row: Samuel Adams • Benedict Arnold • John Hancock • Patrick Henry • James Otis, Jr. 2nd row: Paul Revere • James Swan • Alexander McDougall • Benjamin Rush • Charles Thomson 3rd row: Joseph Warren • Marinus Willett • Oliver Wolcott • Christopher Gadsden • Haym Salomon Not pictured: Hercules Mulligan, Thomas Melvill, Isaac Sears Boston Samuel Adams – political writer, tax collector, cousin of John Adams, fire warden. Founded the Sons Of Liberty Benjamin Church – first Surgeon-General of the United States Army and known traitor. Banished from Massachusetts in 1778. Benjamin Edes – journalist/publisher Boston Gazette Benjamin Kent – Attorney General John Hancock – merchant, smuggler, fire warden[19] James Otis – lawyer, Massachusetts Paul Revere – silversmith, fire warden[20] James Swan – financier Isaiah Thomas – printer, Boston then Worcester, first to read Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts[21] Joseph Warren – doctor, soldier Thomas Young – doctor New York Joseph Allicocke – One of the leaders of the Sons, and possibly of African ancestry.[22] John Lamb – trader Alexander McDougall – captain of privateers Hercules Mulligan – haberdasher, spy under George Washington for the Continental Army, friend of Alexander Hamilton Isaac Sears – captain of privateers Haym Salomon – financial broker, New York and Philadelphia Marinus Willett - militia officer, cabinet maker, student[23] Other Benedict Arnold – businessman, later General in the Continental Army and then the British Army[24] Timothy Bigelow – blacksmith, Worcester, Massachusetts John Brown – business leader of Providence, Rhode Island Samuel Chase – signer of the Declaration of Independence John Crane – carpenter, colonel in command of the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment, Braintree, Massachusetts William Ellery – signer of the Declaration of Independence Christopher Gadsden – merchant, Charleston, South Carolina Patrick Henry – lawyer, Virginia Jedediah Huntington - General in the Continental Army William Paca – signer of the Declaration of Independence Charles Willson Peale – portrait painter and saddle maker, Annapolis, Maryland Matthew Phripp – merchant, chairman of the Norfolk committee of safety, prominent Freemason, and colonel of the militia. Norfolk, Virginia[25] Benjamin Rush – physician, Philadelphia Charles Thomson – tutor, secretary, Philadelphia[26] William Williams – signer of the Declaration of Independence Later societies At various times, small secret organizations took the name "Sons of Liberty.” They generally left very few records. Bennington, Vermont had an organization named the Sons of Liberty in the early 1800s that included local notables such as military officer Martin Scott and Hiram Harwood.[27] The Improved Order of Red Men (estab. 1834) claimed to be descendants of the original Sons of Liberty, noting that the Sons participated in the Boston Tea Party dressed as their idea of "Indians". The name was also used during the American Civil War.[28] By 1864, the Copperhead group the Knights of the Golden Circle set up an offshoot called Order of the Sons of Liberty. They both came under federal prosecution in 1864 for treason, especially in Indiana.[29] A radical wing of the Zionist movement launched a boycott in the U.S. against British films in 1948, in response to British policies in Palestine. It called itself the "Sons of Liberty".[30] See also Loyal Nine, precursor to the Sons of Liberty Daughters of Liberty Stamp Act Congress Patriot (American Revolution) Sons of Liberty (miniseries) Liberty Tree (Charleston) Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves (Canis lupus) or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans.[1] Wolves have been actively hunted since 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, when they first began to pose a threat to livestock vital for the survival of Neolithic human communities.[2] Historically, the hunting of wolves was a huge capital- and manpower-intensive operation. The threat wolves posed to both livestock and people was considered significant enough to warrant the conscription of whole villages under threat of punishment, despite the disruption of economic activities and reduced taxes.[1] The hunting of gray wolves, while originally actively endorsed in many countries, has become a controversial issue in some nations. Opponents see it as cruel, unnecessary and based on misconceptions, while proponents argue that it is vital for the conservation of game herds and as pest control.[3] History The European grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) was a popular quarry in Europe of the Middle Ages Farmer Ilmari Takkala and "the last wolf in Central Finland" he killed in Karstula Europe and Russia In the sixth century BC, the first wolf bounty was reportedly opened when Solon of Athens offered five silver drachmas to any hunter for killing any male wolf, and one for every female.[2][4] In Ancient Rome, the treatment given to wolves differed from the treatment meted out to other large predators. The Romans generally seem to have refrained from intentionally harming wolves. For instance, they were not hunted for pleasure (but only in order to protect herds that were out at pasture), and not displayed in the venationes, either. The special status of the wolf was not based on national ideology, but rather was connected to the religious importance of the wolf to the Romans.[5] British isles In England of 950, King Athelstan imposed an annual tribute of 300 wolf skins on Welsh king Hywel Dda, an imposition which was maintained until the Norman conquest of England.[6] At the time, several criminals, rather than being put to death, would be ordered to provide a certain number of wolf tongues annually.[7] The Norman kings (reigning from 1066 to 1154) employed servants as wolf hunters and many held lands granted on condition they fulfilled this duty. William the Conqueror granted the lordship of Riddesdale in Northumberland to Robert de Umfraville on condition that he defend that land from enemies and wolves.[7] There were no restrictions or penalties in the hunting of wolves, except in royal game reserves, under the reasoning that the temptation for a commoner to shoot a deer there was too great.[8] King John gave a premium of 10 shillings for the capture of two wolves.[7] King Edward VI who reigned from 1272 to 1307 ordered the total extermination of all wolves in his kingdom and personally employed one Peter Corbet, with instructions to destroy wolves in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, areas near the Welsh Marches where wolves were more common than in the southern areas of England.[9] James I of Scotland passed a law in 1427 requiring three wolf hunts a year between April 25 to August 1, coinciding with the wolf's cubbing season.[6] The wolf became extinct in England during the reign of Henry VII (1485–1509).[9] Wolf Hunt by Gerard Rijsbrack, depicting a wolf hunt by the French king's hounds, 3rd quarter of 18th century It is known that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century.[9] Mary, Queen of Scots, is known to have hunted wolves in the forest of Atholl in 1563.[6] Stories on the killing of the alleged last wolf of Scotland vary. Official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewan Cameron in 1680.[10] Popular folklore on the other hand tells of how an old man named MacQueen of Pall à Chrocain in the Findhorn Valley of Morayshire killed the last wolf in 1743.[9] Ireland throughout most of the first half of the 17th century had a substantial wolf population of not less than 400 and may be as high as 1000 wolves at any one time. Although the Irish hunted wolves, it is evident from documentary data that they did not see the same need as the English to exterminate the wolves. Although wolves were perceived as threats, they were nonetheless seen as natural parts of the Irish landscapes. The level of rewards and bounties established by Oliver Cromwell's regime after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) attracted a few professional wolf hunters to Ireland, mostly from England. Politically, the prospect of numbers of armed Irish roaming around the country hunting wolves was not acceptable, given the ongoing conflict between the Irish and the new English settlers, so it was seen as much safer for the English authorities to encourage men from their own country to deal with the wolf problem. Wolves were exterminated from Ireland in the late 18th century, most likely 1786.[11] Coat of arms of The Marquis of Flamarens as Grand Wolfcatcher. The Grand Wolfcatcher placed his arms between two wolf heads as a symbol of the office. Western and central Europe In 9th century France, Charlemagne founded an elite corps of crown funded officials called luparii, whose purpose was to control wolf populations in France during the Middle Ages.[12] Luparii were responsible for the initial reduction of wolf populations in France, which would become decimated in later centuries. The office of luparius is today known as the Wolfcatcher Royal.[13] On 9 August 1787 the office of luparii was dissolved because of financing issues during the French Revolution but was reinstated twelve years later by Napoleon.[12] After the Revolution ended, wolf hunting was no longer an activity reserved for the aristocracy. Wolves could be killed for monetary rewards equivalent to a month's pay. From 1818 to 1829, 1400 wolves were killed each year. This high kill rate coincided with the increased distribution of flintlocks. At the dawn of the 19th century, there were up to 5000 wolves in France, a number which was reduced to half that amount by 1850. By 1890, the wolf population had been reduced to 1000 animals, and further fell to 500 in 1900 because of increased usage of strychnine. Wolves temporarily increased during the First World War, though by the time it ended, the population was estimated to be between 150 and 200 animals. The last confirmed French wolf kill occurred in 1937.[12] With the extinction of the wolf in metropolitan France, the office of Wolfcatcher Royal was modified in 1971 and now serves an administrative function regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations.[13] Wolf bounties were regularly paid in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries and as recently as the 1950s.[2] Gian Galeazzo Visconti himself offered ten Imperial marks for every wolf killed.[14] 600 wolves are recorded to have been bountied between the 14th and 19th centuries. Presentation of the killed wolf to the authorities was obligatory. The authorities had to give an accurate testimony with a description of the presented animal (gender, weight, measurements, color, estimated age, etc.) and the symptomatic ascertainment of any rabies infection. The wolf's paw was then amputated and/or its ears were sealed in wax in order to avoid the spoils being represented elsewhere. Only one case of fraud occurred, in 1834, which was punished by arrest.[15] Italian wolf hunters lacked the organisation or determination of their French counterparts, having not formed any special hunting teams. Wolves were exterminated from the Alps in the 19th century, though they were never fully exterminated in the peninsula.[2] In Switzerland, conflicts between humans and wolves reached a peak in the 16th century, amid large-scale deforestation. Wolves became extinct in Zürich in 1684. They were later exterminated from Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1695, and Schaffhausen in 1712. The last known traces of wolves in central Switzerland date back to 1707 in Zug, 1753 in Uri, and 1793 in Glarus. Wolves became extinct in Engadin in 1821. Between 1762 and 1842, 80 wolves were recorded to have been bountied in Vaud. Wolves were further exterminated in Valais in 1870, Ticino in 1872 and Solothurn in 1874. Wolves occasionally migrated to Switzerland in small numbers in the early 20th century. In 1908, a wolf was shot in Ticino, and a further two were killed in 1914 in Lignerolle.[16] In 19th century Spain, the Principality of Asturias passed an act between March and December 1816 paying out bounties for the death of 76 adult and 414 young wolves at 160 reales for an adult wolf and 32 for a wolf cub. The hunting of wolves represented a considerable source of wealth for local populations, with the lobero or wolf-hunter being a respected county figure.[17] In an 1856 brochure, the Hungarian nationalist exile István Türr noted, among many other grievances against Habsburg rule in his country, that "Since the restriction of the liberty of hunting and the seizure of all arms in Hungary, wild beasts have so multiplied, that, besides an enormous damage done to the crops, the flocks, and the poultry, the wolves venture, not only into villages, but into the very towns, and besides doing fearful depredations, attack even people. The number of "Kreisjäger" (district huntsmen appointed by the government) is not sufficient to destroy them; arid in consequence of the universal dislike to public functionaries, increased still more by the circumstance that they are not Hungarians, the landed proprietors do not allow them to hunt on their grounds. One of these huntsmen told me that a nobleman, being requested to allow him to kill some wolves which were in his forest, refused by saying, "No, sir! the wolves belong to me, not to the government."[18] In Croatia, between 1986 and 2004, 115 wolf deaths were recorded, of which 54% were due to shooting. During that period, the number of dead wolves found ranged from 0 to 15 annually. The lowest kill rates occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with the start of the Croatian War of Independence.[19] Northern and eastern Europe The Swedish kings Magnus Eriksson and Christopher of Bavaria decreed wolf hunting a civic duty, with only priests, parish clerks and landless women exempted. Sweden's first wolf bounty was opened in 1647. The bounties remained in force in the new laws of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1734.[20] Hundreds of Sami killed wolves in order to protect their reindeer herds. In the 1960s, wolf numbers rapidly declined with the onset of snow mobiles used for hunting. Sweden's last wolf was killed in 1966, after which, the species was declared legally protected and eventually recolonized the area.[2] Norway followed a similar pattern as Sweden, with its last wolf being killed in 1976, before becoming being protected and eventually recolonizing the area.[2] In the Lithuanian SSR, the hunting of wolves was formally permitted all year long with killing cubs in their dens and payment of monetary rewards. The number of wolves in those times in Lithuania fell to about 20–40 individuals.[21] In Communist Romania, up to 2,800 wolves were killed between 1955 and 1965.[2] During the reign of Nicolae Ceauşescu, a reward equal to a quarter of a month's pay was offered to rangers killing wolf cubs. Full-grown wolves killed by any method at all resulted in as much as a half-month's pay.[22] A Russian wolf hunt, as portrayed on The wolf hunting by Nikolai Sverchkov, 1862 In Czarist Russia, before the emancipation reform of 1861, wolf hunting was done solely by authorized firearm holders, usually police, soldiers, rich landowners or nobles. Upon learning of the frequency of attacks on livestock and humans, the Ministry of the Interior sent agents to Western Europe in order to learn how the people there dealt with wolf problems. Upon returning, the Ministry of the Interior developed a plan in 1846 to deal with wolves involving the opening of wolf bounties and appointment of government hunters. Each hunter was given jurisdiction to hunt in one district, with more than one for large areas. Hunters were given 3 rubles for each male wolf killed and 1.5 for each cub, with a tail presented as proof. Each hunter would receive an annual salary of 60 rubles a year, provided he killed 15 adults and 30 cubs a year. Peasant hunters, however, were rarely rewarded, because of corrupt bureaucrats stealing the money. In 1858, after paying the equivalent of $1,250,000 for over a million wolves in Central Russia, officials became suspicious, and discovered that some hunters bought wolf pelts for low prices, cut them up and handed them to magistrates as wolf tails. In the later years of the 19th century, Russian hunting societies began an energetic campaign against wolves. In 1897, members of the Moscow Hunting Society killed their first 1000 wolves, though the number of professional wolf hunters at the time was rather low. Former serfs began hunting wolves after their emancipation in 1861, though rarely with success, as civilian firearms were highly expensive, and the cheaper ones were usually primitive and unable to bear the heavy ammunition necessary to kill wolves.[23] After the October Revolution in 1917, the newly formed Soviet government worked heavily to eradicate wolves and other predators during an extensive land reclamation program.[24] During World War II, wolf populations increased, though after Nazi Germany's defeat, wolf hunts resumed. With the end of the war and the onset of aerial hunting, the USSR destroyed 42,300 wolves in 1945, 62,700 wolves in 1946, 58,700 wolves in 1947, 57,600 in 1948, and 55,300 in 1949. From 1950 to 1954, an average of 50,000 wolves were killed annually. In 1966, wolves had been successfully exterminated in 30 oblasts of the RSFSR. During this time, wolf predation on humans and livestock had dropped by a factor of ten. However, with the publishing of a Russian translation of Farley Mowatt's book Never Cry Wolf, wolf hunts decreased in popularity. Amid public outcry, Czarist and Soviet records of wolf attacks on both livestock and people were ignored and wolf hunts decreased in number, allowing wolves to multiply. 15,900 wolves were reportedly culled from the RSFSR in 1978, compared to 7,900 two years prior. With an increase in population, twice as many wolves were culled in the 1980s than in the prior decade.[23] Wolves became extinct in Wrangel Island in the early 1980s.[25] In 1984, the RSFSR had over 2,000 wolf hunting brigades consisting of 15,000 hunters who killed 16,400 wolves.[23] Overall, the Soviet Union culled over 1,500,000 wolves for a cost of 150,000,000 rubles on bounties alone. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many wolf bounties were lowered or dropped altogether.[23] Wolf hunting continues in Russia, at the expense of individual hunters rather than the government.[26] Asia A Tibetan wolf, hunted in Tibet in 1938 In India, Hindus traditionally considered the hunting of wolves, even dangerous ones, as taboo, for fear of causing a bad harvest. The Santals, however, considered them fair game, as with every other forest dwelling animal.[27] In 1876, in the North-West Provinces and Bihar State of British India, 2,825 wolves were killed in response to 721 fatal attacks on humans.[28] Two years later, 2,600 wolves were killed in response to attacks leaving 624 humans dead.[29] Wolf exterminations remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh through to the 1920s, because wolves were reportedly killing more people than any other predator in the region. Female cubs were bountied for 12 Indian annas, while males for 8. Higher rewards of 5 rupees for each adult and one for each cub were favored in Jaunpur. In Gorakhpur, where human fatalities were highest in summer, the reward for an adult wolf was 4 rupees, with 3 for a cub. Acts of fraud were quite common, with some bounty hunters presenting golden jackals or simply exhuming the bodies of bountied wolves and presenting them to unsuspecting magistrates for rewards. Overall, it is thought that up to 100,000 wolves were killed in British India between 1871 and 1916.[28] Before the onset of the Meiji restoration period in 1868, wolves had a benign rather than noxious place in Japanese culture and folklore. Wolves were, however, occasionally hunted. Wolf bounties (shōkin) first appeared in Morioka where horse predation by wolves was frequent. Domain lords would pay 700 mon for males, and 900 for females, though peasants received much less.[30] Wolves in Japan became extinct during the Meiji restoration period, an extermination known as ōkami no kujo. The wolf was deemed a threat to ranching which the Meiji government promoted at the time, and targeted via a bounty system and a direct chemical extermination campaign inspired by the similar contemporary American campaign. Starting August 1875, the Iwate Prefecture government offered bounties (shōreikin) of 7¥ for male wolves and 8 for females. In 1878 in Sapporo, it was decided to set higher bounties for wolves than bears in order to further motivate the ethnic Ainu people into killing wolves, which were once considered sacred to them.[30] Hokkaido experienced significant development during this period and the Hokkaido wolf also suffered from resulting environmental disruption.[31] The last Japanese wolf was a male killed on 23 January 1905 near Washikaguchi (now called Higashi Yoshiro). The carcass was bought by a man working for the Duke of Bedford, and was subsequently put on display in the British Museum of Natural History.[30] In the Mongolian People's Republic, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party organized two national wolf hunting weeks, one in March and another in December. Anyone who killed a wolf and presented a pair of ears as proof was rewarded with a sheep and some felt. Each May, the government commanded the populace to scour the countryside for wolf lairs in an effort to exterminate wolf pups. When the inhabitants of a district believed it had destroyed its last wolf, the local government would proclaim a public holiday. Records show that up to 5,000 wolves were taken annually in the early 1930s.[32] 4,000–4,500 wolves were killed annually in Mongolia in 1976.[23] In the Kazakh SSR, some 1,000 professional hunters killed thousands of the wolves yearly to collect government bounties. In 1988, just before the Soviet economy collapsed, the hunters killed 16,000 wolves.[33] North America In the majority of Native American hunter-gatherer societies, wolves were usually killed for body parts used in rituals, or to stop them raiding food caches,[34] though some tribes would raid wolf dens to kill pups when wolf populations became too great for the Natives to live with. This also served as a method of acquiring food, as wolf pups were considered a delicacy. Native Americans were aware of the dangers of habituated wolves, and would quickly dispatch wolves following them too closely.[1] Active hunting of wolves was rare because many tribes believed that such an act would cause game animals to disappear or bring retribution from other wolves.[34] The Cherokee feared that the unjust killing of a wolf would bring about the vengeance of its pack mates, and that the weapon used for the deed would be useless in future unless exorcised by a medicine man. However, they would kill wolves with impunity if they knew the proper rites of atonement, and if the wolves themselves happened to raid their fish nets.[35] When the Kwakiutl killed a wolf, the animal would be laid out on a blanket and have portions of its flesh eaten by the perpetrators, who would express regret at the act before burying it. The Ahtna would take the dead wolf to a hut, where it would be propped in a sitting position with a banquet made by a shaman set before it. When men from certain Inuit tribes killed a wolf, they would walk around their houses four times, expressing regret and abstaining from sexual relations with their wives for four days.[34] Young Apaches would kill wolves, cougars or bears as a rite of passage.[36] Although some of the first European colonists traveling to North America would report back that wolves were more populous in the New World than in Europe,[34] writings from the Lewis and Clark Expedition indicate that wolves were seldom seen except in aboriginal buffer zones.[37] A wolfer with wolfhounds near Amedon, North Dakota, 1904 Clyde F. Briggs stands over Three Toes of Harding County After the European colonization of the Americas, the first American wolf bounty was passed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony on November 9, 1630. Further wolf bounties opened in Jamestown, Virginia on September 4, 1632, and in other colonies. Payments to white settlers included cash, tobacco, wine and corn, while Native Americans were given blankets and trinkets. A New Jersey law started in 1697 stated that any Christian who brought a wolf carcass to a magistrate would have been paid 20 shillings, while a Native American or black would have been paid half that much. It later became customary for Native Americans to provide two wolf pelts a year without payment. In 1688, a Virginia law abolished the requirement of tribute in wolves to be paid in accordance to the number of hunters in each tribe, demanding 725 hunters to kill 145 wolves a year.[34] In the 19th century, as the settlers began increasingly moving west in pursuit of more land for ranching, wolves were becoming increasingly more hunted as threats to livestock. In 1818, a "War of Extermination" against wolves and bears was declared in Ohio. Iowa began its own wolf bounty in 1858, with Wisconsin and Colorado following suit in 1865 and 1869. Wolf pelts soon began to increase in demand as beavers began to become scarce from over-trapping. In the 1830s, a wolf pelt was worth only $1, doubling in the 1850s.[34] Records of the upper Missouri outfit of the American Fur Trading Company indicate that 20 wolf pelts were shipped down-river in 1850, with 3,000 being shipped three years later.[34] Civilians turned bounty hunters known as "wolfers" began killing ungulates in large numbers as bait, poisoning the meat in hopes of attracting unsuspecting wolves. It is estimated that between 1871 and 1875, this method killed thirty-four thousand wolves in Montana and Alberta alone.[38] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wolf hunting could become a cultural event as large numbers of people advanced through wolf territory in hopes of flushing any animals from hiding. In these types of hunts, firearms and dogs were forbidden, and the wolves were killed with clubs or otherwise by hand.[39] Between 1916 and 1926 the National Park Service predator control program resulted in the extermination of sustainable packs of wolves in Yellowstone National Park by 1926.[40] American wolf hunts peaked in the 1920s-1930s, when up to 21,000 were killed annually.[2] After World War II, wolves were seen less as vermin and more as big game trophy animals.[34] The first Canadian wolf bounty was offered in 1793 in Ontario and Quebec. Wolves became rare in Eastern Canada by the 1870s, becoming extinct in New Brunswick by 1880, in Nova Scotia by 1900 and had disappeared from Newfoundland by 1913. Full-scale eradication programs did not peak in western and northern Canada until the 1950s, when resource development brought more people into originally sparsely populated wilderness.[41] A government-backed wolf extermination program was initiated in 1948 after serious declines in caribou herds in the Northern Territories and a rabies concern due to wolves migrating south near populated areas. 39,960 cyanide guns, 106,100 cyanide cartridges and 628,000 strychnine pellets were distributed. Up to 17,500 wolves were poisoned in Canada between 1955 and 1961. In the mid-1950s, wolf bounties were dropped in the western provinces in favor of hiring provincial hunters. Quebec's wolf bounties ended in 1971 and Ontario in 1972. Overall, 20,000 wolves were bountied between 1935 and 1955 in British Columbia, 12,000 between 1942 and 1955 in Alberta and 33,000 between 1947 and 1971 in Ontario.[34] Unlike wolf populations in the lower 48 states, which declined steadily as settlers moved west, the Canadian wolf population fluctuated between growth and decline, largely because the human population in Canada never reached the same level as in the lower 48, thus leaving large areas of land free for the wolves.[42] Unlike European wolf hunts which were usually reserved for the nobility, North American wolf hunts were partaken by ordinary citizens, nearly all of them possessing firearms, thus the extermination of wolves in the lower 48 states was carried out in far less time than in Europe.[43] Current situation Europe and Russia In Norway, in 2001, the government authorized a controversial wolf cull on the grounds that the animals were overpopulating and were responsible for the killing of more than 600 sheep in 2000. The Norwegian authorities' original plans to kill 20 wolves were scaled down amid public outcry.[44] However, sheep farmers generally welcome wolf hunting, as the wolves are a great threat to sheep and dogs. In 2005, the Norwegian government proposed another cull, with the intent of exterminating 25% of Norway's wolf population. As of 2015, there were an estimated 460 wolves in the Scandinavian population, with the large majority located in Sweden.[45] Wolf hunting is controversial in Sweden, where decisions by public authorities to authorize hunting seasons each year since 2010 have resulted in legal challenges by the European Commission and by NGOs. In Spain, wolves were hunted north of the Duero river under strict conditions to control damage over livestock, but strictly protected at the South margin. The recent Wolf expansion even to the mountains of Madrid, has generated a great controversy in Autonomous Community of Castile-León over whether to allow hunting also south of the Duero river. As of 2021 the wolf hunt has been banned in all of Spain.[46] The European Union has exceptionally permitted Estonia, which has the highest wolf density in the EU, to continue wolf hunting as long as the overall numbers remain stable. In 2010, 173 wolves were permitted to be culled, but only 130 were actually caught.[47] In 2011, 149 wolves were culled of the permitted 150.[48] Under the Berne Convention wolves in France are listed as an endangered species, and killing them is illegal, though official culls are permitted to protect farm animals as long as there is no threat to the species in its entirety.[49] Though wolf populations have increased in Ukraine, wolves remain unprotected there and can be hunted year-round by permit-holders.[33] Bulgaria considers the wolf a pest animal and there is a bounty equivalent to two weeks average wages on their heads.[50] With the exception of specimens in nature reserves, wolves in Belarus are largely unprotected. They are designated a game species, and bounties ranging between 60 and 70 Euros are paid to hunters for each wolf killed. This is a considerable sum in a country where the average monthly wage is 230 Euros.[51] In Russia, government-backed wolf exterminations have been largely discontinued since the fall of the Soviet Union. As a result, their numbers have stabilized and are increasing, though they are still hunted legally.[2] According to Alexander Tikhonov, head of the Department of Hunting Resources "the more wolves you have, the more problems there are". His department currently licenses a national bag limit of up to 14,000 wolves annually, with permits given to hunt even within nature reserves.[25] Currently, Russia is the only nation where poison is legally used to kill wolves. The government licensed a fluorine-acetate-barium compound and distributed it through hunting associations.[25] Asia Since the fall of the Soviet Union, wolf hunting in Kazakhstan has decreased in profit. About 2,000 are killed yearly for a $40 bounty, though the animal's numbers have risen sharply.[33] Wolf hunting has become a fashionable pastime for Mongolia's new capitalist rich, particularly around Ulaanbaatar. It is currently illegal to shoot animals from helicopters or jeeps, though many rich hunters do not pay attention to this, including the lawmakers. For Mongolian nomads, hunting wolves is more than a rich man's hobby because of evocations to the wolf's role in their mythology. Most post-Soviet Mongols have reverted to the traditional belief that to kill a wolf in January, or even to see one, brings good fortune for the whole year.[32] In 2006, the government of the People's Republic of China began plans to auction licenses for foreigners to hunt wild animals, including wolves which are the only carnivores on the list of animals that can be hunted. The license to shoot a wolf can apparently be acquired for $200.[52] North America In Alaska, it is illegal to shoot a wolf with a rimfire rifle because wolves are classified as big game.[53] The state predator control program includes aerial shooting. In 2007 state biologists' goal was to have volunteer hunters kill 407 to 680 wolves by the time the predator-control season ended April 30, but high fuel prices and poor flying conditions kept hunters from meeting that goal. A subsidy of $150 per wolf offered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was overturned by a judge on the grounds that only the Board of Game had the power to offer bounties.[54] Despite relatively heavy hunting and trapping over the last century in Alaska, wolves occur on nearly all of their traditional habitat throughout mainland Alaska.[55] Alaska currently has five wolf control programs that comprise about 9.4% of the state's land area. A closely controlled permit system is used in allowing aerial or airborne methods to remove wolves in designated areas. Wolf numbers are temporarily reduced in these areas, but are not permanently eliminated from any area.[56] Wolf populations in North America commonly sustain annual harvests or natural mortality rates of 20–40% without experiencing a year-to-year decline in numbers.[55] Sarah Palin of Alaska in 2007 approved the use of this provision in the law to shoot wolves and bears while flying for the purpose of protection of property.[57] Many scientists believe that this artificial inflation of game populations is actually detrimental to both caribou and moose populations as well as the ecosystem as a whole; artificially boosted populations "could result in habitat destruction by moose and caribou, and ultimately, a crash in these populations".[58] This is why large numbers of people support the Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act which was proposed to Congress by George Miller, the state representative of California in July 2009. This legislation has already received official support from nine former members of the Alaska Board of Game and Wildlife and conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife. According to Miller, "The state of Alaska has been operating an airborne hunting program that has blatantly ignored federal law, ignored Alaskans' opposition, ignored the science, and ignored even their own wildlife experts. It's time to ground this air assault on wolves. The PAW Act is urgently needed to close the loophole in federal law and protect our nation's wildlife from the unethical and unsportsmanlike practice of airborne hunting."[59] The PAW Act has been created to close the loophole in the existing Airborne Hunting Act that has allowed Alaska legislators and officials to continue to aerial hunt. The bill would clarify under which conditions it is acceptable to use aircraft to aid in the management of wildlife. It would bar states from using aerial hunting to artificially boost game species when they are not at risk and to clarify the prohibition of harassing animals from planes which is part of the "land and shoot" hunting that is being utilized in Alaska. The PAW Act acknowledges the right of states to manage wildlife by clearly stating that wildlife agencies may use planes to respond to legitimate biological emergencies in wildlife populations. It also states that aircraft may be used for animal control where land, livestock, water, pets, crops, or human health are at risk.[58] An estimated 15% of Canada and Alaska's wolf population of 6,000-7,000 is harvested annually. (Canada's total wolf population is about 30,000. Sentence needs rewording.) Ontario ceased its wolf bounty system in 1972, though retaining a year-round open season for wolves.[2] In Alberta, wolves bounties are still offered by some local governments. Starting in 2010, Big Lakes County offered a bounty of C$300 per adult wolf, leading to 290 wolves worth $87,000 by mid-2012.[60] After the gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list for the western great lakes region in January 2012, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources instituted a hunting season to manage the population.[61] This new season ran from November 3, 2012, through the 18th, 2012 in some regions and continued November 24, 2012 and ran through January 31, 2013 or until the tag limit was reached.[62] That limit was set at a target of 400 wolves across the state.[63] The total number of wolves harvested in this inaugural season was 412 wolves. Twelve more wolves were harvested past the target number.[63][64] On December 19, 2014, a US Federal Court ordered a stop to the hunting of wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and in Michigan.[65] Quarry Gray wolf skins at the Bergen fishmarket, Norway The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest member of the Canidae. Though once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia, the grey wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat; in some regions it is endangered or threatened. Considered as a whole, however, the grey wolf is regarded as of least concern for extinction according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Wolf weight and size can vary greatly worldwide, tending to increase proportionally with latitude as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. Wolves are usually hunted in heavy brush and are considered especially challenging to hunt, because of their elusive nature and sharp senses.[66] Grey wolves are notoriously shy and difficult to kill, having been stated to be almost as hard to stalk as cougars, and being far more problematic to dispatch with poison, traps or hounds. However, wolves generally do not defend themselves as effectively as cougars or bears.[67] Some wolves will evade capture for very long periods of time and display great cunning. One specimen nicknamed "Three Toes of Harding County" in South Dakota eluded its pursuers for 13 years before finally being caught.[68] Another wolf nicknamed "Rags the digger" near Meeker, Colorado would deliberately ruin trap lines by digging up traps without tripping them.[69] In sport hunting, wolves are usually taken in late autumn and early winter, when their pelts are of the highest quality and because the heavy snow makes it easier for the wolves to be tracked.[66] Adult wolves are usually too fast to be overtaken by wolfhounds, but not for well conditioned horses, especially in thick snow. A shot wolf must be approached with caution, as some wolves will play possum.[23] Accounts as to how wolves react to being trapped or cornered vary. John James Audubon wrote that young wolves typically show little resistance to being caught, whereas older, more experienced wolves will fight savagely.[70] Pelts Parchment by Oppian of Apamea illustrating a wolf being skinned Wolf pelt geographical variations- A Mackenzie Valley wolf, a Yukon wolf, a Yugoslavian wolf and a European wolf Wolves are commonly hunted for their fur. The color of a wolf's fur can vary, from the pure white of the largest, Alaskan wolves, through the range of reddish brown. Even the so-called "grey wolves" can include pure black pups in a litter, although grey is the most common color. Wolves have two kinds of hairs; an outer coat of long, stiff hairs called "guard hairs" and an "undercoat" of soft fur which grows thick in the winter and helps to insulate their bodies from the cold; this fur has the advantage of not freezing. The five inches (130 mm) long guard hairs which are shed in spring and summer are waterproof, keeping the wolf's underfur dry and warm. The fur of the undercoat may be nearly two and a half inches thick and help keep a wolf warm even in temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero.[71] Wolves in warm climates have shorter guard hairs and less dense underfur.[34] In some areas of medieval Europe, pelts were the only considered practicality of wolves. Pelts were usually made into cloaks or mittens, though not without hesitation, because of the wolf's strong odor.[8] Wolf pelts were important to many Native American tribes and considered by some to be powerful medicine. Sacred articles were wrapped in wolf skin and some tribes also wove wolf and American bison hair together in small blankets. Native American hunters used wolf pelts as disguises to allow them stalk close bison herds. The bison were accustomed to having wolves walk among them and did not fear wolves unless they were vulnerable because of disease, injury, or if guarding young. Wolf pelts were also valuable as clothing, objects for trade and for ruffs or coats. They were also used in ritual dances and worn by some shamans, or medicine men.[71] Tundra-dwelling wolves are especially valued, as their pelages are more luxuriant than those of forest dwelling wolves, sometimes selling for twice as much. Females typically have smoother coats than males.[34] Ethiopian wolves are not usually exploited for fur, though there was an occasion in Wollo in which wolf skins were used as saddle pads.[72] In Russia, between the years 1600–1725, wolves were not actively sought out for their fur, which was not considered a major commodity, though they were taken when the opportunity presented itself.[73] In the former Soviet Union, between 1976 and 1988, 30,000 wolf pelts were produced annually. Recent statistics from CITES indicate that 6,000-7,000 wolf skins are internationally traded each year, with Canada, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia and China being the largest exporters, and the United States and Great Britain being the largest importers.[2] Today, wolf pelts are still valued for parka trim, fur coats and rugs. The production of wolf pelts is still an important source of income for Arctic communities in Alaska and Canada.[2] While not in the same class as high grade furbearers like beaver, otter or mink, the gray wolf's fur is nonetheless thick and durable,[74] and is primarily used for scarfs and the trimmings of women's garments, though it is occasionally used for jackets, short capes, coats,[75] mukluks and rugs.[76] Aside from bodily protection and adornment, gray wolf pelts have also been used as camouflage in hunting and warfare, as an insignia among western Native Americans and as a form of currency.[74] The quality of wolf peltries rests on the density and strength of the fur fibre, which keeps the fur upright and gives the pelt an appealing bushy aspect. These characteristics are mostly found in northern wolf populations, but gradually lessen further south in warmer climates. North American wolf pelts are among the most valuable, as they are silkier and fluffier than Eurasian peltries.[75] In Medieval Europe, pelts were considered the only practical aspect of wolves, though they were seldom used, because of the skin's foul odour.[77] In Scandinavian folklore, wolf-skin girdles assisted in transforming the wearers into werewolves,[78] while several Native American tribes used wolf pelts for medicinal purposes.[79] Plains Indians often wore wolf pelts as disguises to get close to American bison when hunting.[80] The Pawnee wore wolf skins as capes when exploring enemy territories.[81] The United States Army used wolf skin for parkas during the later stages of World War II and the Korean War to protect the faces of soldiers from frostbite.[75] In the Soviet Union, 30,000 wolf pelts were produced annually between 1976 and 1988. Statistics from CITES indicate that 6,000–7,000 wolf skins are internationally traded each year, with Canada, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia and China being the largest exporters, and the United States and Great Britain being the largest importers. Overall, the harvesting of wolves for their fur has little impact on their population, as only the northern varieties (whose numbers are stable) are of commercial value.[82] Wolf trapping for fur remains a lucrative source of income for many Native Americans.[76] Ritual and traditional medicine In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, wolf flesh was a main ingredient in unguents used to ward off evil. When applied in the form of a powder, the wolf unguent would be used to cure epilepsy, plague and gout. Powdered wolf bones were used to cure chest and back pains, broken bones and strained tendons. Wolf teeth, particularly the canines, would be perforated and used as talismans against evil spirits. This practice is thought to fall back to the Paleolithic, as shown by some prehistoric grave sites showing numerous wolf tooth charms. It continues in some areas of rural France, where it is also thought that wearing a wolf tooth offers protection from wolf attacks. The tongue, when cooked with flour and honey, was traditionally used as a remedy for epilepsy and as a guarantee of good luck. The eyes of a wolf were traditionally thought to give courage to children and render the user partially invisible. The liver was particularly prized for medicinal and ritualistic purposes. When cooked or desiccated into a powder and mixed with certain ingredients (flour, wine, water, blood, urine etc.), wolf liver was said to cure epilepsy, edema, tachycardia, syphilis, gangrene, vertigo, migraines, verucas and dysentery. Wolf penis supposedly cured impotence. Wolf blood was used for gout, period pains and deafness. The paws and fat of a wolf were sometimes used to ward off evil, or facilitate the transformation of a werewolf. Wolf dung was used against colics. The milk of a she-wolf made the drinker invulnerable, while eating the heart of a wolf gave the consumer courage in battle. A wolf's tail, while used for warding off evil, was also used as a love charm. The head of a wolf, if hung outside a house, would deter wolves, robbers and evil spirits. When reduced to powder, a wolf's head could be used against toothache and joint pains.[83] In the cultures of certain Native American tribes, wolf body parts were considered important additions to certain rituals. Pawnee warriors, known as Wolf People, dressed in wolf skin cloaks when scouting or hunting. Nez Perce warriors wore wolf teeth pushed through the septums of their noses. Cheyenne medicine men wrapped wolf fur on sacred arrows used to motion prey into traps. Arikara men wove wolf fur with bison fur in order to make small sacred blankets. Nuxálk mothers painted wolf gall bladders on their young male children's backs, so they could grow up to perform religious ceremonies without making mistakes as hunters. Hidatsan women experiencing difficult births would call upon the familial power of wolves by rubbing wolf-skin caps on their bellies.[34] In Mongolian folk medicine, eating the intestines of a wolf is said to alleviate chronic indigestion, while sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids.[84] There are not many traditional uses for Ethiopian wolves, though their livers may be used for medicinal reasons in northern Ethiopia.[72] Meat Main article: Dog meat It is rare for wolves to be hunted for food, though historically, people have resorted to consuming wolf flesh in times of scarcity, or for medicinal reasons. Most Native American tribes, especially the Naskapis, viewed wolf flesh as edible but inadequate nutrition, as it was not a herbivore and thus did not possess the same healing qualities thought to be distinct in plant eaters.[34] The mountain people of Japan once ate wolf meat in order to boost their courage, though they commented that the meat was tough. Mountain dwelling wolves known as yomainu[clarification needed] were considered poisonous.[30] The "Derboun" of the Arabian mountains and southern Syria was a small black wolf which apparently was considered by the Arabs to be more closely related to dogs, as they freely ate its flesh like any other game, unlike with regular wolves which had an unpleasant odour.[85] During the European colonization of Western America, wolf meat was considered "not usually eatable", though fair game for a hungry man. However, Martin Schmitt argued that references to the consumption of wolf meat at the time may have actually been on coyotes.[86] During Vilhjalmur Stefansson's Arctic expedition in 1913, George H. Wilkins sampled cooked wolf meat and commented that it was "fine eating" and noted a resemblance to chicken.[87] There have been reports of parasites in the meat.[6] Archived April 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine</ref> Wolf meat is considered haram under Islamic dietary laws (Sahih Muslim, no: 1934)[88] In an 1868 issue of The Sant Paul's Magazine, Anthony Trollope gave an account on the palatability of wolf flesh, and how it was sometimes used as the subject of practical jokes among French hunters. The flesh of the wolf may be taken certainly to be about the rankest carrion in creation, not even excepting that of the common vulture and the turkey-buzzard. Yet all this in reality is less fact than imagination. M. Charles Gauthey, a well-known sportsman in the Cote-d'Or, relates that the landlord of a country inn, himself a sportsman, and wishing to play the brethren a confraternal trick—or as it is called in French, leur jouer un tour de chasseur,—had a piece of wolf's flesh cut into small square morsels, and stewed up with veal and mutton cut into pieces of a different shape. The landlord helped the ragout himself, and being careful to serve each guest with one of the square morsels, was enabled to inform them after dinner that they had all been eating wolf. Two of the guests were thereupon seized with horror, and one to such a degree that he was compelled to retire from the table with precipitation. The others took the joke in good part, and one and all declared they had detected nothing in the dish to excite suspicion in the least degree. — The Saint Pauls Magazine, by Anthony Trollope. Published by Virtue and Co., 1868 Wolf meat was eaten several times during Vilhjalmur Stefansson's 1913 Arctic expedition, particularly during the summer, when wolves were fat.[89] Natives in Transbaikalia reportedly ate wolf meat even when other food was plentiful.[90] The consumption of wolf flesh and organs plays an important role in Asian folk medicine: in Mongolia, eating the meat and lungs of a wolf is said to alleviate colds, and sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids.[91] Accounts on how wolf meat tastes vary greatly, with descriptions ranging from "tough",[92] "gristly",[93] "distasteful" and "smelly",[90] to "somewhat [resembling] chicken",[94] and "very superior to lean venison".[95] Terminology Wolf hunting historically gave rise to a vast vocabulary: Berkut: A tame golden eagle used to hunt wolves in Central Asia. Grand vieux loup: An old, solitary male wolf.[96] Loup Chevalier: A wolf which regularly attacks horses.[96] Loup lévrier: A wolf exceptionally fast in the chase.[96] Loup Moutonnier: A wolf which regularly attacks sheep.[96] Louve: A female wolf.[96] La Louveterie: Wolf hunting.[96] Louvetier royal Modern day offshoot of the luparii. Now serves an administrative function regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations.[13] Lovière: A wolf den.[96] Luparii: An elite corps of crown funded officials whose purpose was to control wolf populations in France during the Middle Ages.[13] Lycisca: A wolf-dog hybrid.[96] Outlaw wolf: A wolf which regularly killed livestock in America. Wolfer: Both professional and civilian wolf hunters who operated in North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.[34] Wolfhound: A dog bred or trained to hunt wolves. Methods Aerial shooting An-2 on skis at Volosovo air field, Moscow. It was one of the most frequently used models in the USSR's wolf management programmes Aerial shooting involves the tracking of wolves via a small airplane or helicopter and is considered by many to be the most effective method of wolf control. It was frequently used in the Soviet Union during its wolf control campaigns, starting in 1946 when the Chief Directorate of Aviation received reports that pilots flying at low altitudes frequently saw wolves. Polikarpov Po-2s and Antonov An-2s were the most frequently used models. The normal protocol was for the pilot to search frontally, and the shooter sideways. 70%-80% of wolves were first sighted by the pilot. Rocket guns would be fired into dense brush in order to scare wolves out into the open. Markers were thrown at the site of each kill for later collection. Actual shooting was done from the rear cockpit or left side when at a distance of 18–20 metres from the quarry. An experienced shooter could spot a standing wolf a kilometre away at heights of up to 100–140 metres. Most wolves were killed when the planes flew at speeds of 70 to 85 km/h. The load limit of a Po-2 was 2 men and 5 adult wolves; the rear cockpit could hold 4 wolves, while the shooter's cockpit could hold 2, or carcasses could be tied to the fuselage or wings of the plane.[23] Aerial hunting has been discontinued in the former Soviet Union because of budget restraints.[2] Wolf hunting is still practiced this way in the U.S. state of Alaska.[97] "Congress passed the Federal Airborne Hunting Act of 1972,[98] which made it illegal for hunters to shoot animals from a plane or helicopter. The federal legislation does have a provision for predator control, permitting state employees or licensed individuals to shoot from an aircraft for the sake of protecting "land, water, wildlife, livestock, domesticated animals, human life, or crops".[99] Blind The use of heated box blinds is a popular method of wolf hunting in modern Alberta. Bait stations are set in advance of the hunt, with blinds being erected in the more frequented spots. The method was developed as a response to the fact that finding wolves on foot was almost always a pure luck scenario, because of the wolf's elusiveness. Shots are usually fired when the wolf is 200 yards (180 m) from the blind.[100] Calling Calling is a traditional wolf hunting method of Mongolia. The hunters go to the place where the pack is located early in the morning and will imitate a wolf's howl. The hunters howl in unison with the wolves and wait for the animals to come to them. Mongolian wolf hunting is usually done with the assistance of local herders.[101] Fladry In modern European Russia, a traditional wolf hunting method involves encircling the located wolf pack with a 3–5 kilometers (1.9–3.1 miles) fladry, a long rope with small swatches of fabric stitched to it every few feet. The fabric is usually red in order to be easier spotted over the background of snow by the guides. Since it retains a human scent for several days, wolves tend to stay within the encircled area. When the hunters arrive, the pack of wolves is already "flagged".[102] Hunting with dogs Main article: Wolf hunting with dogs Several dog breeds known as wolfhounds have been bred for the purpose of hunting wolves, though conventional hunting breeds have also been used. Hunting with eagles The use of raptors in the hunting of wolves is primarily practised in Central Asia. The Kyrgyz people have traditionally used golden eagles, known as berkut, to hunt wolves. In the past, wolf pelts provided material for clothes crucial for the survival of the nomadic people in the severe colds. The eagles are used to immobilize the wolves by placing one foot at the back of the neck and another at the flank closer to the heart and lungs. Hunters usually only use eagles against pups, as an adult wolf can cripple in combat even a highly experienced eagle. Losing even one toe or talon will significantly lower the eagle's ability to tackle prey. Only a minor injury to the sinew of a foot may leave the eagle incapable of further hunting. As a wolf is capable of resisting even the best-trained bird, the falconer always keeps near, ready at the first opportunity to help the eagle. This is done carefully, as the wolf, sensing human presence, fights desperately to tear loose from the bird's talons, and the eagle can be severely injured. Because of the violent nature of their work, eagles trained to hunt wolves have shorter life spans.[103] Luring In 19th century Russia and Scandinavia, pigs were used as decoys and were transported in strong canvas sacks on horse-drawn sleighs. The pigs, kept in the canvas bags, were made to squeal in order to attract the wolves. Hunters would wait at a distance to shoot the wolves when they came out after the pig. Once the wolves arrived, the hunters would either shoot them or retrieve the pig and canvas bag. In the latter case, they took off down the road, luring the wolves behind. The wolves would be led to a palisade, where they would be trapped and shot.[104][105] Poisoning Historically, poisoning was very successful in reducing wolf populations, particularly in the American West and Imperial Japan. Strychnine was the most frequently used compound. The poison would be typically mixed in lard or tallow, and spread on bits of meat, or placed within incisions on the bait. Though effective, the method had the disadvantage of greatly loosening the fur of the dead wolf, causing it to shed easily. Wolves killed by strychnine were typically skinned immediately after death, in order to avoid the fur absorbing too much of the poison.[30][34][106] Skidor In Lapland, wolves were occasionally hunted by the Lapps on skis. They would be armed with stout, 6-foot-long (1.8 m) poles tipped with a pike which was used both as propulsion and as a weapon. A skidor hunt was usually undertaken by multiple hunters over a course of a few days. The kill itself was usually made at a slope or hillside.[105] Traps Knife traps The Native Americans used two kinds of knife traps. One method was to encase a sharp blade in fat and frozen upright on a block of ice. The wolf would cut itself while licking the blade and bleed to death. Some argue that this method is a myth.[107] The other method was a baited torsion spring which when triggered, would stab the wolf in the head.[34] Trapping pit Across the top of the trapping pit was a thick stick or pole, and on this was fastened a plank, which covered the top of the trap. On one end of this plank was a piece of venison, and on the other a stone. The way the trap was meant to work was this: The wolf would come to the venison, and just as it got on the plank to eat it, the plank would turn, causing the wolf to fall into the pit. The weight of the stone at the other end would bring the plank up again, ready baited for another wolf.[108] Steel wolf trap Steel wolf traps, used frequently in the American west, were made from heavy steel, were six and a half inches wide, and had two springs, each with 100 lbs of power. Steel wolf traps were usually the same models used in the capture of beavers, lynx and wolverine. In order to hide the human scent, trappers would handle their equipment with gloves, and cover the traps in beeswax or blood. As the wolf's power of scent is so great, a mere touch of human skin on the trap will result in the wolf vacating the area. Wolves may also dig up or spring the traps. The traps would typically be set in fours around a bait and strongly fastened to concealed logs, and covered in moss, chaff, cotton or sand for camouflage. Sometimes, the trap and the bait would be placed in a pool of water, thus leaving no other point of access for the wolf to take.[106][109] Reactions Livestock and crop damage Opponents have argued that at least in North America, wolves contribute little to overall livestock losses. In 2005 0.11% of all cattle losses were due to wolves. In states with wolf populations, they were responsible for an average of 2.5% of predation on sheep.[110] Jim Dutcher, a filmmaker who raised a captive wolf pack, observed that the wolves were very reluctant to try meat that they had not previously eaten or seen another wolf eat before, possibly explaining why livestock depredation is unlikely except in cases of desperation.[111] In Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, wolf predation accounts for 1% of total sheep deaths.[112] Wolf hunting proponents have drawn attention to the fact that wolves will on occasion commit acts of surplus killing when within the confines of human-made livestock shelters. Rare incidents of surplus killing by wolves in Minnesota are reported to leave up to 35 sheep killed and injured in flocks and losses of 50 to 200 birds in turkey flocks.[citation needed] In spite of the low percentage of attacks on livestock in Minnesota, farms in wolf territories and environments may become more susceptible to depredation under certain conditions. These conditions include larger farm size, increased numbers of cattle, an increased distance from human management, and improper disposal of livestock carcasses.[113] While loss of livestock by wolves makes up only a small percentage of total losses in North America,[114] surveys in Eurasia show some instances where wolf predation was frequent. In some areas of the former Soviet Union, wolves cause serious damage to watermelon plantations. Wolves will usually only take ripe melons after giving test bites, which can render even unripe fruits worthless for future consumption. Sometimes, up to 20% of the total watermelon crop can be destroyed on one raid.[23] Wolves and game herds Wolf hunting opponents have argued that wolves serve vital functions in areas where they are sympatric with game herds. By culling unhealthy animals, wolves keep game herds healthy. Opponents state that without wolves, prey populations swell unnaturally, unbalancing ecosystems whilst simultaneously sapping wildlife management resources.[115] In the Iberian Peninsula for example, conservationists consider wolves to be beneficial because they keep wild boar populations stable, thus allowing some respite to the endangered capercaillie populations which suffer greatly from boars eating the eggs and nestlings.[116] In Yellowstone National Park, wolves were shown to have a hugely positive effect on general ecological health, and by extension, that of game herds. Game animals in Yellowstone killed off all young, reachable tree saplings, destroying beaver, songbird, insect, fish and amphibian populations, and threatening to starve themselves via overexploitation. Wolves reduced game animal numbers and forced them to be more mobile, allowing more saplings to grow and allowing the populations of aforementioned animals to increase.[117] Proponents for wolf hunting often point out the apparently adverse effects large wolf populations have on game herds. An example occurred in 2008, in which the Alaska Board of Game approved plans calling for department staff to shoot wolves from helicopters on the southern Alaska Peninsula in order to assist the survival of the Southern Alaska Peninsula Caribou Herd. Wolves were believed to be responsible for a dramatic drop in the Southern Alaska Caribou Herd's population, which once numbered up to 10,000 in 1983, only to drop to a population of 600 animals in 2008. Wolf predation was also believed to be responsible for virtually no calves surviving for the two years prior the culling plans, despite a 70% pregnancy rate.[3] In the former Soviet Union, depending on the locality, a single wolf can consume 90 saiga, 50-80 wild boar or an average of 50 domestic or wild caribou annually. A pack of 2-5 wolves will often kill 2 caribou every three days. Further reports from the former Soviet Union indicate that rather than prey on exclusively sick or infirm prey, wolves seem to attack young or pregnant animals far more frequently, regardless of their sanitary state. In the Nenetskij National Okrug, wolves were shown to select pregnant female domestic caribou and calves rather than infirm specimens, with some reports showing that wolves bypassed emaciated, sickly animals in favour of well fed ones. Large numbers of wolves have also been blamed on the decline of critically endangered saiga antelope herds in Central Asia. During the late 1950s and early 1960s when the Soviet Union used poison to effectively bring down wolf numbers, the number, as well as the range of moose, wild boar and red deer increased. Caspian seals were valued as fur bearers in the Soviet industry, and in a three-week period in February 1978, wolves were responsible for the wanton killing of numerous seals on the Caspian sea near Astrakhan. Between 17 and 40% of the seals in the area were estimated to have been killed, but not eaten.[23] Wolves and the spread of disease Some hunt proponents argue that large numbers of wolves are central to the spread of numerous infectious diseases because of their nomadic nature. Diseases recorded to be carried by wolves include rabies, brucella, deerfly fever, listeriosis, foot and mouth disease and anthrax. Wolves are major hosts for rabies in Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and India. Wolves in Russia have been recorded to carry over 50 kinds of harmful parasites. A 10-year study in the former Soviet Union showed that in some regions, every successful wolf litter in spring coincided with a 100% increase in cestode infections in moose and wild boar, with some specimens having up to 30-40 cysts. It also showed that where wolves were absent, the number of cysticercosis-infected wild ungulates was much less. Although they by habit carry harmful diseases, large wolf populations are not negatively influenced by epizootic outbreaks as with other canids, and thus some hunting proponents argue that disease cannot be a guarantee of naturally controlling wolf numbers.[23] Attacks on humans Main article: Wolf attacks on humans The absence of a global review, and the language barrier having partially hindered the flow of international information has led some international groups to level criticism at some wolf advocates, claiming that they have extrapolated America's general lack of negative experiences with wolves to the rest of the world, whilst ignoring the differing histories and cultures which lead to diverse interactions with the animals.[118] Hunting proponents argue that wolves with no negative experiences of humans are more likely to encroach upon human settlements and attack people, citing for example the differences in attitudes toward the public distribution of firearms in America and Eurasia as examples as to why nations on both continents have differing accounts of wolf aggression.[23] Hunting wolves is reasoned to maintain shyness in wolves,[118] an idea which is correlated by a modern account demonstrating that wolves in protected areas are more likely to show no fear toward humans than ones in areas where they are actively hunted.[2] Historical and recent accounts indicate that habituated or "fearless" individual wolves or wolf packs must be met with measures to dissociate wolves' association between and dependence on humans for food to mitigate risk for attack.[118] Notable wolf hunters Antoine de Beauterne Jean Chastel MacQueen of Pall à Chrocain Mary, Queen of Scots[6] Jack O'Connor[34] Theodore Roosevelt[67] Ernest Thompson Seton Ivan IV Vasilyevich[119] Gallery See also Animal welfare Beast of Gévaudan, a famous episode of wolf-hunting Hunting license Jackal coursing Three Toes of Harding County famous wolf hunted in South Dakota Wolf attacks on humans, some of which have spurred hunts Wolf-baiting Wolf hunting with dogs

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