From: Josephine Hingston [mailto:
[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2018 8:05 AM To: Christy Ketchel Subject: Support for H.636 Good morning, Ms. Ketchel, Would you be so kind as to forward the below to all members of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Committee? Many thanks, Josephine Hingston -------------------- Vermont Legislators, Committee members, neighbors: I am writing to strongly recommend passing H.636. I am also fully in support of H.262, H.336, and H.590. I cannot state strongly enough my shock and disgust that killing derbies are considered an allowable practice for the management of wildlife. I am writing also underline the importance of integrated management practices for predators - they are not pests or "nuisance wildlife" as biological studies of animal behavior and ecosystem function continue to show. Banning coyote hunting extermination rallies needs to happen in 2018 - please stop pandering to the worst and most barbaric hunters in our state. Best wildlife management practices in the treatment of predators continue to be revised and often utterly reversed (as should be the case with backward practice). I am disappointed to see that Vermont is not among the leaders in adopting, exploring, and perhaps even pioneering wildlife management approaches that seek to develop human civilization into something that doesn't wantonly destroy and poison its own world. We (rightfully) police our slaughterhouses to ensure a humane, quick death: my local slaughterhouse was fined and suspended twice last year last for taking more than 10 or 20 minutes to slaughter animals. Wild creatures are held in traps for hours in the best case, or days.