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Wildlife board member in bobcat incident resigns
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Trapper Tracy Truman, criticized by some county commissioners after posting a video of his dog barking and lunging at a trapped bobcat, has resigned from the Clark County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife.
In an email to board members Wednesday, Truman wrote that he received an offer from a sportsmen's group to work on a new program.
"In the interest of fairness, I can't stay gainfully employed, raise 6 kids, be a husband, be at all the kids' sporting events, keep a busy church assignment, and give the (board) the time and attention that it deserves," Truman wrote.
He does not mention the bobcat video in his letter to the board, which is made up of ranchers, farmers and sportsmen who make recommendations on wildlife matters to the Nevada Wildlife Board.
Truman recommended Rachel Anderson, who has a lengthy fishing, hunting, trapping and wildlife history, as a potential replacement. He attached her resume to his email.
County Manager Don Burnette emailed commissioners Wednesday that they are now tasked with appointing Truman's replacement within 60 days, according to state law. The county is accepting applications to fill the seat.
The County Commission delayed discussing the appointment at its meeting this week after county counsel Mary-Anne Miller said a request for prosecution had been submitted to the district attorney's office over the video.
It was unclear where the prosecution request originated. Gina Greisen, president of Nevada Voters for Animals, had asked the district attorney's office to hold the file so new District Attorney Steve Wolfson could review it. Greisen denied asking for Truman to be prosecuted.
The video, shot in December in the Spring Mountains, shows a bobcat trapped by one leg. Truman's hand appears in the video holding part of a chain attached to the trap while his dog barks at the bobcat, which takes a few swipes at the dog. Truman, a 40-year trapper, is heard encouraging the dog and saying, "Get him, boy," as he pulls on the chain. The animals never make contact with each other in the minute-long video.
Truman has said it was an educational tool meant to show other trappers a dog doesn't have to make contact with a trapped animal. Animal rights activists reposted the video without Truman's permission; it was taken down after Truman complained of copyright infringement.
Commissioner Tom Collins, who reappointed Truman, said he tried to talk him out of resigning. Truman wrote him a personal note of his resignation on Feb. 17, four days before the commission meeting.
"There's a reason for trapping. As long as we continue to disturb the balance of nature, we have to continue to control and manage wildlife," Collins said.
Greisen said the issue is bigger than Truman's video, and she is working to ban trapping throughout the county.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife conducted its own investigation and sent those results as part of its protocol to the district attorney's office. It will take one to two weeks to review the report.
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Tracy Truman is disgusting. He came across as an arrogant jerk. That video made me sick. I hope that no one is so stupid as to believe the "training" remark as that act was purely sadistic! If Tom Collins really wants to simulate the poor bobcat's condition then I suggest instead of one of his little fingers let's put his whole arm in a trap and have about five big men pull him around with all their might, while pit bulls are nipping and barking at him, then it would feel close to what the bobcat in this horrible video experienced. Shame on both of you. Mr. Collins the next time you are protecting the good ole boy system at least don't insult our intelligence and simulate a true act and not that travesty of the finger trick. Lastly, to Tracy Truman you should by law not be able to be with any animals or small children for that matter. You sir are a disgrace to humankind! Kuddos to Mr. Steve Sisolak, thank you for your good sense and not making all of Nevadans look like backwoods nefarious individuals who hate and disrespect animals.
Mr. Know it all huh? That says enough about what you think of yourself. So all we need is the "food chain" to manage wildlife? Is that what your 30-year career taught you? Hilarious... Apparently they didn't teach you in Oregon that Bobcats are Apex predators. They may be killed on very rare occasions by a band of coyotes or by a mountain lion but those occasions are hardly common enough to manage their population. Again, Nevada state bilogists have determined predators and fur bearers should be managed by humans. Part of that is through trapping. I'll take the word of scientific studies over a self-proclaimed expert any day. Again, let's be logical rather than emotional about this. And the word is "Absurd"...
Okay, this guy is a piece of work. It's bad enough that the animal is hunted but since it is inhumanely caught in a trap, and surely suffering, couldn't he humanely put it out of it's misery upon retrieving it from the trap instead of toying with it when it is already in certain pain? The joy that he was getting by dragging this Bobcat around and getting his dog worked up is very tangible in the video; that is what most people are certainly upset and angry about. I believe that fur trapping is outdated and disgusting and I, personally, don't believe it needs to happen but if it does need to happen there should be professionals that do it in the most humane way possible instead of getting their kicks torturing a suffering animal in a trap. Thank GOD this guy resigned, we don't need ANYONE like this "managing wildlife" on our behalf.
@Logical... Has there EVER been a reported case of a Bobcat killing any child? How about a Beaver, or a Muscrat, a Mink? Have you ever heard of the "food chain"? Natures way of managing wildlife? Before you start pointing your uneducated finger at others, may I suggest you not look so stupid. I am a retired Oregon wildlife agent with 30 years in the field. I have no problem with Tracy Truman, as he is within his legal rights to do what he does.You sir need to get a clue!
@Flyod.Fitzgibbons... To compare killing a Bobcat to those being detained at Gitmo is upsurd! If you can't do any better than that, shut the F up!
I'm amazed and appalled at the so-called sportsmen on here who speak so authoritatively when they are actually either extremely uneducated or just trying their hardest portray themselves as such. Trapping is not conducted solely for fur. That you can't seem to understand that speaks volumes about your knowledge of wildlife management. Bobcats (as cute as they may be) are predators. They will eat your children if given the chance. They need to be managed. The lawful way the state has decided to manage them is through trapping. Get a clue people.
F.F - Bobcats don't plan and execute attacks against other human beings, unlike those humans at GB. And yes, I have more empathy for animals then most humans.
Wonder if the people who want to vilify Mr. Truman care anything about the humans caged at Guantanamo Bay? Or do they care more about animals than humans? They "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel."
The sportsman and citizen's of Nevada also deserve better management at NV Dept. of wildlife. The Chief of LE has no integrity. He covered up the unlawful killing of a big horn sheep by a game warden, he intervened in a case involving the poaching of an antelope b/c the hunter knew a wildlife commissioner, and the list goes on and on. Need to wipe the management slate clean, and start from scratch.
another of T.C.'s disasters.
Robert.Spear... Sir, you don't consider killing an animal soley for it's fur to be cruel or inhumane? Then you probebly felt clubbing harp seals was OK too? I am a sportsman,have been all my life, but killing animals to make hats, and fur coats is just that, cruel and inhumane. I have nothing against Mr Truman, he is within his rights to do what he's doing. My issue is that he's allowed to do it. Actually I think this story is blown way out of proportion. We all need to move on. There is more important things going on in the world right now. As for me I'd like to catch bghs 1986 in a trap, but rat fur isn't in much demand right now.