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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services, May 9 Jackson County deputies searching for wanted man after pursuit Medford schools still filling admin roles Amid the drought, Medford's water supplies still ample Nashville singer/songwriter with local ties dies of cancer Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, May 9 Jackson County deputies searching for wanted man after pursuit Medford man sentenced in machete attack Suspect in OSP meth stop will face federal charges Emergency services Politics and Elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline opponents rally in Medford BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Freddie Gray's death Earthquakes hit regularly in Medford (Oklahoma, that is) Medford School Board, Position 6: Curt Ankerberg vs. Janet Lightheart Education Medford schools still filling admin roles Appeals court rules against Central Point schools on bus outsourcing Hedrick principal to take helm at North Medford High School More kindergartners vaccinated in 2015 Elementary students honor local police officers Environment Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Crater Lake may soon have China connection State waives college placement tests for students who hit high marks Stopping fire in its tracks Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline opponents rally in Medford State News Obama makes pitch on trade deal at Nike: 'Just do it' Forecast for 2015 predicts busy wildfire season Cheers and protest signs greet President Obama in Oregon Oregon Senate OKs bill banning 'conversion therapy' Police: Welsh man traveled to Oregon to have sex with girl Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Dorothy Evans Helen Nadine Sankey Dickie Miles Hayes Nita Day Layne Alan Battenfield Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Newman deals with penalties after appeal denied Kelly, Na share lead at Players Championship After sullied week in sports, let's all shower off In complete control Chris Singleton: No need for a rematch Varsity 541 College Sports Oregon clinches share of Pac-12 title Ex-Panthers Baldovino, Owirka earn honors In the zone Ducks' Keys chases fourth Pac-12 crown Ducks bring in transfer from Villanova Pro Sports Newman deals with penalties after appeal denied Kelly, Na share lead at Players Championship Four tied for lead at Players Many happy returns for Singler Rockets survive Clippers, even series Community Sports Bailey picks up modified win Wilson delivers in return of local boxing Palmer breezes to second straight men’s title Business Latest Stories People in Business Business briefs: Avista, Mcintosh, BOLI Blog: 1-800-Flowers.com SEC filing provides peek into Harry & David revenue and cost figures Blog: Mom is Our Hero! 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SUNDAY FOCUS: WILDLIFE CONTROL OPERATORS Proposed new rules for Oregon critter catchers would require the killing of nuisance animals Proposed new rules for critter catchers would require the killing of nuisance animals Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Mar 25, 2015 at 12:53 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Mar 25, 2015 at 12:53 PM Proposed rules for wildlife control operators --> • All wildlife control operators in the field would be required to get a license and pass a test about best management practices, rules and how to handle wildlife. Currently, only busin... » Read more X Proposed rules for wildlife control operators • All wildlife control operators in the field would be required to get a license and pass a test about best management practices, rules and how to handle wildlife. Currently, only business owners need licenses, with employees operating under the owner's license. The test would cost $25 instead of being free. • Owners of wildlife control businesses would pay $60 for a two-year permit, which currently is free. Business employees might have to pay $25 for a two-year permit, but that could be dropped before the final draft revisions are completed. • For a permit renewal, operators would be required to complete 12 hours of continuing education every two years. • All trapped wildlife would have to be euthanized using Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife-approved methods, except when released on site or with pre-approval of an ODFW district biologist. Currently, only raccoons must be euthanized to curb diseases such as canine distemper. The final proposal is scheduled to be presented to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission for discussion and a possible vote during its April 24 meeting in Bend. — Mark Freeman   » Social News The skunk that strolled out beneath an Ashland man's house thought it was heading for dinner at a front yard bird feeder, but instead its last steps landed it in a live trap that critter catcher Don Meyer had placed there the night before. This is skunk No. 4 that, along with three brethren and a raccoon, have been squatting in the house's crawl space. All took turns entering Meyer's trap, then finding a one-way trip in the back of Meyer's truck to their ultimate demise. "I normally do away with them," Meyer says. What is currently the norm could become the law for Meyer and other critter catchers working the backyards and crawl spaces of Oregon to rid them of wildlife considered nuisances by landowners who want them gone. State wildlife managers are in the midst of expanding and updating how critter catchers — officially called wildlife control operators — are licensed and monitored in Oregon, including a proposed rule that all captured animals be euthanized, with no releases without a state biologist's pre-trapping approval. The issue was scheduled for discussion and public comment April 24 before the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in Bend. The commission is set to vote on whether to enact the changes that day as well. Oregon's wildlife control operators program has not seen an overhaul since the first rules were put into place by the commission a decade ago. Currently, only the 90 trapping company owners must pass a one-time test on tricks of the trade, such as the types of traps available, how to set them and euthanizing practices. Their employees currently are not required to be licensed. The new proposal calls for anyone operating traps to be licensed, sets permit fees for company owners and employees and would require 12 hours of continuous education between renewals of the two-year license. "We're looking to make the industry more professional," says Rick Boatner, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who oversees the program. "Any time you can make your business more professional, that's a good thing." But the biggest change would be the no-release rules, which are designed to reduce problems for humans as well as the trapped animals, Boatner says. A no-release policy is believed to help curb the spread of diseases such as roundworm and canine distemper, a disease so prevalent in raccoons that the ODFW already has a no-release rule on them, Boatner says. Distemper can be spread to pets and roundworm can be spread to pets and people, he says. Also, released animals already have habituated themselves to people and are thus more likely to cause the same problems that got them trapped in the first place or even return to where they were trapped, Boatner says. Released animals can end up in territorial clashes with resident animals and struggle to find food and water sources, Boatner says. "Release is not a good option," Boatner says. "Some (people) understand it when you explain it to them. Others can't grasp it." Scott Beckstead, Oregon director for the Humane Society of the United States, believes killing nuisance animals should be a last resort, not a first and only one. "Most Oregonians believe animals should not be killed as a matter of reflex," Beckstead says. "When it comes to dealing with wildlife conflicts, every effort should be to use nonlethal means." Beckstead says he believes no new policy on regulating wildlife control operators' killing policies should be done without input from more than the ODFW biologists and trappers who made up an advisory committee that led to the new draft rules. "It merits a conversation, including everyone who has an interest in the subject," Beckstead says. The task force that helped craft the new draft included three current trappers, ODFW state veterinarian Colin Gillin and five ODFW staff, Boatner says. The Portland Audubon Association, which had a member on the original task force that drafted the current rules, was offered a seat this time around but declined, Boatner says. Boatner says his agency does not have a grasp on how many trapped raccoons, skunks, squirrels and other critter-catcher targets are caught, released or killed annually because current rules require the reporting only of trapped furbearers such as beavers and bobcats. The current draft proposal calls for reporting of everything captured by licensed trappers, who locally trap mostly raccoons, skunks and opossums for landowners. Wildlife control operators already have protocols for handling animals and use the American Veterinary Medical Association's 2013 guidelines for euthanizing animals, which include a .22-caliber shot to the head. That's Meyer's preferred method, with the animals mostly buried on public lands. He takes no pleasure in it. "I have no urge to kill anything for sport or food," he says. Meyer believes his killing of nuisance animals balances out those homeowners who capture and release wildlife that invariably raid someone else's house, bird feeder and crawl space. "Every year I keep running into more and more of them that have been released," Meyer says. "Now, you'll never catch them 'cuz they're trap-shy." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Mar 25, 2015 at 12:53 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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