Sen. David Trahan (R-Waldoboro) has introduced legislation to toughen regulations governing wolf hybrid kennels.
The bill, An Act To Regulate the Keeping of Wolf Hybrids, would give the Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources the authority to deny a kennel license “based on a potential threat to wildlife or public safety.”
According to the text of the bill, any existing wolf hybrid kennel(s) would receive a conditional license pending review. The Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources “may revoke the conditional license” if “public safety concerns arise.”
According to Trahan’s Jan. 25 testimony before the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the bill is, in part, a response to Jim Doughty’s plan to open Wolf Ledge Refuge in Bristol.
“Mr. Doughty’s motives may be pure and his love for wolf hybrids genuine, but what he is doing is dangerous and extremely misleading,” Trahan said.
Trahan cited studies and independent research about hybrids. A document he distributed to the committee catalogs wolf and wolf hybrid attacks on children since 1981.
The document lists a series of 64 grisly incidents, including a Sept. 1990 attack in which a two-year-old New Jersey boy was “killed and partially consumed” by his family’s wolf hybrid “while he was sleeping in his crib.”
“Many times the children would go over to pet the wolf hybrids and the next thing you know, they’re dead,” Trahan said. “They’ve been torn to shreds by the wolf hybrid.”
Trahan asked the committee to consider “several common sense changes to existing regulations,” including standards for “acreage required per animal and acceptable distances from populated areas,” “a license fee structure that represents the risk and properly provides resources to protect the public,” and reporting requirements regarding past violent behavior.
“Bristol residents and their children deserve nothing less,” Trahan said.
Rep. Jon McKane (R-Newcastle) and Pat Landry, a neighbor of the proposed refuge, testified in favor of the legislation.
“From my kitchen window, I can see [Doughty’s] house,” Landry said. Landry called acreage standards “very important” and suggested “really, really stiff penalties” for infractions.
“[After] one escape, shut ’em down,” Landry said.
Mark Stadler, Director of the Wildlife Division at the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW), testified against the bill. According to Stadler, hybrids, as domestic animals, fall outside DIFW’s sphere of jurisdiction.
According to Stadler’s prepared comments, “Adding an additional layer of regulatory oversight on the activities of the public participating in the commercial pet trade is an unwarranted burden.”
“I was really shocked by [Stadler’s] testimony,” Trahan said after the hearing. “I don’t think [DIFW] understand[s] the definition of a wolf hybrid.”
“I’ve never been so chilled by something as the idea of a wolf refuge going into Bristol,” Trahan said in a Jan. 24 phone interview.
“These are not animals that take dog biscuits from your mouth and are gentle,” Trahan said, referring to a photograph in The Lincoln County News. “My researchers said they’re pretty scary beasts.”
Doughty, in a Jan. 26 phone interview, questioned Trahan’s knowledge of the subject and said there are “already laws on the books” requiring chipping and tattooing of hybrids. The state and federal governments “are fully aware of what I have,” he said.
Another law forbids breed discrimination, Doughty said. Rottweilers, pit bull terriers and other breeds known to attack humans are often seen in public without any unusual restrictions, he said.
Instead of focusing on Wolf Ledge Refuge and similar efforts, the state should work on laws to regulate the breeding of hybrids, Doughty said.
Doughty has received a license for Wolf Ledge Refuge and is waiting for spring to resume construction of necessary pens, he said. He’s already added a perimeter fence around the existing fence for his two pet hybrids, Koda and Sasha.
Doughty, in previous interviews with The Lincoln County News, has stressed the role of education in the mission of Wolf Ledge Refuge. He has said he will screen potential hybrids, considering the safety of his family as well as the town.
A work session for the bill is scheduled for Tues., Feb. 8.
