This is a report on our rally at the Game and Fish office in Tucson today. See below for more info; pictures to come.

There were about two dozen of us at the protest today, including three people animating our giant sandhill crane puppet from the All Souls Procession. The rest of us had banners, signs, crane decoys and crane masks. When we first arrived, we parked on the side of the road and started walking up the driveway to the Game and Fish office. Game and Fish officer John Romero (backed up by Tucson police) blocked our path and told us that the office was private property and that we were being denied entry.

An animated discussion ensued, in which various people declared their intentions to file complaints about the crane hunt, report hunting violations witnessed during the hunt, and to vote (it was a polling place today). Romero (illegally) demanded to see voter registration cards before allowing anyone to pass; multiple cars, however, passed by him unobstructed.

Eventually, Romero was forced to admit that the Game and Fish office, as a government building, is public property. However, he still insisted that we could not enter. We pointed out that we were merely trying to express our First Amendment-protected opinions, and had no intention of being disruptive. A police officer asked if we planned to commit civil disobedience and we said no. We offered to stay away from the polling area if they told us where it was, and reiterated that we wanted to speak to someone in the Game and Fish office to file our complaints and Game Thief reports.

Note that when we protested at the Game and Fish office in April 2004, Regional Supervisor Gerry Perry informed us that we were welcome to protest in front of the building, which we were today kept from even approaching. As public property, of course, even a loud protest should be allowed at the Game and Fish office, not to mention members of the public trying to file complaints and comments.

Nonetheless, when it became clear that Romero would not back down from his illegal stance, we handed over to him our Game Thief report and our demands about the hunt (both posted below). We then withdrew to the side of the road, where we chanted and held up signs for commuters to see, and we got a good amount of support in the forms of waves and honks. One woman even stopped and got out of her car to ask for more information.

As we informed Romero, we will be considering legal action in response to Game and Fish’s clear violation of the First Amendment today.

In our eyes, the rally was a success. We were seen by dozens of commuters, and Game and Fish was confronted with the righteous indignation of people who want the hunt stopped. The ball is now in their court to investigate the hunting violations we reported to them.

But sign holding and protest can only do so much, so it’s back to the field — where the cranes need us most.

Our official demands regarding the crane hunt, as submitted today at the Game and Fish Department’s Tucson office:

1. An immediate moratorium on sandhill crane hunting this season until the Arizona Game and Fish Department can investigate the blatant cruelty and illegality witnessed by Earth First! Patrols during the first two shotgun seasons this year (see attached documents).

2. That the Game and Fish Commission not reauthorize the sandhill crane hunt for 2006, nor for any year until sandhill cranes have recovered to their historic numbers. That is, a complete ban on sandhill crane hunting in Arizona.

This official Operation Game Thief report was filed today with Game and Fish officer John Romero at the Tucson Game and Fish office. The ball is in their court - will they investigate?

On November 2, 2005, between 8:00 and 8:20 a.m., two members of the public saw a white SUV with decals on its tinted windows stop on the edge of a cornfield while a flock of sandhill cranes was flying overhead. A camouflaged man holding a shotgun jumped out of the vehicle and crouched in the field with his gun pointed upward. The car drove some distance down the road, then returned a few minutes later and the passenger got back in. The SUV drove out of sight momentarily, then reappeared just as another flock of birds was overhead. The same man leaped out, aimed upward and fired, confirming the observers’ suspicions that they were witnessing a hunting violation: seeking out prey from the road. No birds fell, the man got back in the SUV, and the vehicle drove off.

The vehicle reappeared shortly before 9:45 a.m. At precisely 9:44 a.m., the witnesses saw the vehicle stop abruptly with a flock flying overhead, followed a split second later by the sound of a shotgun blast, leading the observers to suspect that the hunter had actually fired from the road or even the car. At this point, the witnesses informed their companions of what was occurring, so while the witnesses stayed in place, other members of the public approached the SUV in question (which in the intervening time had dropped the camouflaged hunter off elsewhere in the field).

The driver of the car introduced himself as Steven Ward, owner/operator of Ward’s Outfitters (www.wardsoutfitters.com).

In order to preserve the viability of any criminal prosecution, the names of these witnesses are not being made public. If Game and Fish is interested in prosecuting this case, please contact sabthebastards@hotmail.com for their contact information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 8, 2005

Earth First! Crane Defenders to Protest at Game and Fish Office: File Complaint, Demand Action

Contact: Ben Pachano or Jonathan Shapiro, Chuk’shon Earth First!
(520) 884-0283; sabthebastards@hotmail.com

Previous press releases available at www.azef.org.

On Tuesday, November 8 at 3:00 p.m., Chuk’shon Earth First! activists newly returned from the field near Willcox, where they have been using their presence to warn birds away from areas where hunters lie in wait, will be joined by other concerned members of the public in a protest at the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AGFD’s) Tucson office. The protesters will be filing an official “Operation Game Thief” report against hunting guide Steven Ward and demanding an immediate moratorium on this year’s hunt pending an investigation by AGFD.

On November 1-2, EF! activists observed Steven Ward of Ward’s Outfitters (www.wardsoutfitters.com) illegally hunting from a road. They also recorded evidence of the brutality inherent in AGFD’s sandhill crane hunt in the form of a hunter beating a living bird against farm equipment. Based on this new evidence and the ecological arguments against the hunt, Earth First! is demanding an end to all sandhill crane hunting in Arizona. As a minimum first step, EF! demands an immediate moratorium on this year’s hunt until AGFD can investigate how widespread such violations and cruelty are.

“If Game and Fish won’t take even this reasonable measure, we will have no choice but to remain in the field,” said Ben Pachano of Chuk’shon Earth First!. “Who else is going to defend these birds from senseless slaughter?”

New footage, now available, shows EF! activists alerting sandhill crane flocks to a human presence in fields that the birds might otherwise land in.

Although the species is still recovering from nearly being wiped out by overhunting in the 20th century, AGFD authorized the largest-ever sandhill crane hunt in Arizona this year, giving out permits for 730 cranes to be killed. 35,000 sandhill cranes are killed or crippled annually by sport hunters in 13 states along their migratory route from Siberia to northern Mexico.

The AGFD office is at 555 N. Greasewood Rd.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 6, 2005

Earth First! to Carry Giant Crane Puppet in All Souls Procession

Contact: Ben Pachano (520) 884-0283 (evening/weekend), (520) 623-9184 (weekdays)
Previous press releases available at www.azef.org.

To symbolize the thousands of birds that have been senselessly slaughtered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AGFD’s) sandhill crane hunt, Chuk’shon Earth First! will march with a giant sandhill crane puppet in the Tucson All Souls Procession at 5pm on Sunday November 6, escorted by Earth First!ers carrying crane hunting decoys. The procession will gather at 5pm at the Epic Café, at the corner of University Blvd. and 4th Ave.

“We are marching to honor the spirits of dead cranes and also those still living, who we will be defending in the field until this senseless hunt is stopped,” said Ben Pachano of Chuk’shon Earth First!.

On the opening days of AGFD’s sandhill crane season, Earth First! activists collected footage of living cranes being beaten against farm equipment, highlighting the senseless brutality of this “sport hunt.” Although the species is still recovering from nearly being wiped out by overhunting in the 20th century, AGFD authorized the largest-ever sandhill crane hunt in Arizona this year, giving out permits for 730 cranes to be killed. 35,000 sandhill cranes are killed or crippled annually by sport hunters in 13 states along their migratory route from Siberia to northern Mexico.

Earth First! is demanding an immediate moratorium on sandhill crane hunting in Arizona until AGFD can investigate the brutality and hunting violations witnessed by Earth First! patrols. Ultimately, Earth First! seeks a ban on all sandhill crane hunting in the state.

Earth First! patrols will remain in the killing fields outside of Willcox, Arizona, until the season ends on November 15. By their presence in the field, the activists are determined to defend the cranes from the hunters and put an end to the hunt.

Additionally, a protest is planned for Tuesday, November 8 at the Tucson branch of the AGFD office (555 N. Greasewood Rd.) from 3-5 p.m. Members of the public will gather to voice their outrage at the unregulated, cruel and ecologically senseless sandhill crane hunt, and to demand positive action by AGFD.

Chuk’shon Earth First! is once again asking community members to help patrol this November’s Sandhill Crane hunt south of Wilcox to document and report hunting violations. Last year we were able to draw media attention to the hunt while also saving countless cranes from the hunters’ guns.  Even if you can’t make it out into the field, we have several upcoming events in town…

Sunday, Nov. 6:

Help escort our giant sandhill crane puppet during the All Souls Procession,  hand out flyers, carry crane decoys or just come watch.  Meet at Epic Café at the corner of University and 4th Ave. at 5pm.

Tuesday, Nov. 8:

Protest the Game and Fish Sandhill crane hunt from 3pm to 5pm at the Game and Fish offices @ 555 N. Geasewood Rd. across the street from Pima West (Pima Community College- West Campus). Greasewood Rd. is off of Speedway Blvd. west of I-10. Gather as members of the public to voice our outrage at the blatant cruelty and illegality witnessed by EF! patrols, as well as the ecological threat posed by the hunt.

We also invite you to come join us later that same evening at 7pm for a benefit potluck downtown at 43 S. 6 Ave (next to the Black Rose tattoo shop). We will be screening our video footage of documented wildlife abuse and having a discussion about what we can do to stop it.

And, CEF! Continues to hold public meetings every Tuesday at 6pm at the Dunbar Springs Community Garden (West University Blvd & North 11th Ave.)

Sandhill cranes are still recovering from near exinction due to overhunting and habitat destruction in the last century. Let’s not wait until they are almost gone again before we do something!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 4, 2005

Undercover Earth First! Activists Capture Brutal Sandhill Crane Slaughter On Tape

CONTACT:
Tucson: Ben Pachano, (520) 623-9184 (day); (520) 884-0283 (evening/weekend)
Phoenix: Ray Leimkuhler, (480) 446-7451
sabthebastards (at) hotmail.com

Camouflaged Earth First! activists, hidden in the killing fields outside of Willcox during the opening days of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AGFD’s) sandhill crane hunt, captured shocking evidence of the hunt’s inherent brutality and witnessed blatant hunting violations by a local hunting guide. For the second year, EF! activists are in the field documenting abuses that AGFD will do nothing about.

Footage collected by activists from Chuk’shon Earth First! and Phoenix Earth First! on November 1-3 shows a hunter repeatedly slamming a wounded bird against farm equipment. It also shows the touching scene of three cranes breaking away from the safety of their flock to protect a shotgunned crane with a broken wing, calling to each other plaintively. The birds only abandon their companion when the hunter emerges to chase the wounded bird around the field, firing four more shots before picking up the dying bird and slamming it, too, against a fencepost.

“This footage exposes the crane hunt for the senseless blood sport that it is: the killing of intensely social animals for nothing but fun,” said Ben Pachano of Chuk’shon EF!.

Earth First!ers also observed Steven Ward of Ward’s Outfitters (www.wardsoutfitters.com) and his client illegally hunting from the road on the morning of November 2; AGFD patrols were nowhere to be seen.

That such blatant cruelty and illegality could be captured so randomly by civilian investigators on the first two days of the hunt gives the lie to AGFD’s claims of “managing today for wildlife tomorrow.” The new revelations only lend more weight to Earth First’s demand: an immediate end to all crane hunting in Arizona. At the very least, AGFD should enact a moratorium until such abuses can be prevented.

Sandhill cranes, a migratory species watched by thousands of birders every year, were nearly wiped out by overhunting in the 20th century. Despite the fact that this species is still recovering from its brush with extinction, AGFD authorized the largest-ever sandhill crane hunt in Arizona this year, giving out permits for 730 cranes to be killed. 35,000 sandhill cranes are killed or crippled annually by sport hunters in 13 states along their migratory route from Siberia to northern Mexico.

“Why should we wait until a species is almost extinct before protecting it? Let’s make Arizona a pioneer in conservation—one state, at least, where the cranes can get a break,” said Ray Leimkuhler of Phoenix EF!.

The activists have vowed to remain in the field for the rest of the season, and to be there every year until the hunt is stopped.

Stop Arizona’s Sandhill Crane Hunt

Earth First! is once again asking community members to help patrol this November’s sandhill crane hunt, south of Willcox, to document and report hunting violations. Last year we were able to draw media attention to the hunt while also saving countless cranes from the hunters’ guns. This year’s hunt goes from November 1-15.

Facts About the Hunt

-Since 1981, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) has approved a sport hunt for sandhill cranes — a species that is still recovering from being almost wiped out by hunters and habitat destruction in the first half of the 20th century. In 2005, the hunt will be the largest ever, with permits to kill 730 birds offered at a cost of $15 per hunter.

-The 2003-4 total estimated North American “sport harvest” of sandhill cranes, including crippling losses, was 35,706, the second highest kill ever reported.

-AGFD states that the Rocky Mountain Population of greater sandhill cranes “is relatively small and can tolerate only a light harvest,” yet allowed 43 to be killed in 2004 and will allow up to 59 to be killed in 2005.

-Sandhill cranes wintering in the “refuge” of Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area are shot and killed as they fly from the refuge during AGFD’s sponsored hunt in November.

Stop the Crane Hunt!

For more information, contact Chuk’shon Earth First!, sabthebastards (at) hotmail.com. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 6pm in the Dunbar Spring Community Garden (at the corner of University Blvd. and 11th Ave, in Tucson).