Court affirms illegal immigrants can't have guns     A federal appeals court has rejected an illegal immigrant's claim that the Second Amendment guarantees him the right to bear firearms.   DENVER (AP) —A federal appeals court has rejected an illegal immigrant's claim that the Second Amendment guarantees him the right to bear firearms. Emmanuel Huitron-Guizar of Gillette, Wyo., had argued that illegal aliens are guaranteed certain other rights by the U.S. Constitution, such as the right to due process. The Second Amendment provides that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,'' and Huitron-Guizar argued he was part of “the people.'' But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that Huitron-Guizar fell under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which forbids gun possession by nine classes of individuals, including illegal aliens. It conceded there is some argument about the meaning of “the people'' and U.S. citizens _ but found that Congress had lawfully exercised its power to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens. “That Congress saw fit to exclude illegal aliens from carrying guns may indicate its belief, entitled to our respect, that such aliens, as a class, possess no such constitutional right,'' the court said. Huitron-Guizar, 24, was born in Mexico, brought to Wyoming at the age of 3, and never obtained U.S. citizenship. In March 2011, officers served a search warrant at his home and found a rifle, a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol. He entered a conditional guilty plea to being an illegal alien in possession of firearms transported or shipped in interstate commerce. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and is to be deported thereafter. Huitron-Guizar's attorney, Ronald Pretty, said Tuesday he believed such cases involving constitutional definitions of “people'' as opposed to “citizens'' could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The circuit court of appeals did find the Constitution did not clearly define U.S. citizenship. “We know, for instance, that the founders' notion of citizenship was less rigid than ours, largely tied to the franchise, which itself was often based on little more than a brief period of residence and being a male with some capital,'' the panel noted. ___ Online: Appeals Court Ruling: http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/11/11-8051.pdf

A Southern California woman walking her leashed dog has been knocked to the ground by a coyote that snatched her pooch and ran away. California City Authorizes Firm To Shoot Coyotes LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California woman walking her leashed dog has been knocked to the ground by a coyote that snatched her pooch and ran away. Karen Sherif was on her usual Tuesday morning walk in Laguna Woods when she suddenly felt a tug on the leash and was knocked down. Her 12-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Pooh was in the mouth of a coyote. The coyote took off, dragging the 64-year-old woman into the road by Pooh's leash. Sherif let go of the leash and neighbors rushed out of their homes to help. The woman's injuries aren't serious. Pooh's body was found about 100 feet away, her neck broken. Laguna Beach police Lt. Jason Kravetz tells the Los Angeles Times that authorities are looking for the coyote involved in Tuesday's attack. California City Authorizes Firm To Shoot Coyotes On the shady paths of this sprawling Southern California retirement community, neighbors have been told to carry sticks. TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — On the shady paths of this sprawling Southern California retirement community, neighbors have been told to carry sticks. The menace is a group of emboldened coyotes who have attacked leashed pets, killing two dogs in the last week and dragging down pet owners who rushed to their rescue. On Thursday, the city of Laguna Woods voted to take matters into its own hands by authorizing professional exterminators or animal control experts who obtain permits to shoot the wild animals. Officials promptly issued a permit to one such firm, which is required to notify law enforcement within 10 minutes if any shots are fired, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Doan. The city — a network of gated retirement communities shrouded in trees — already has tried other tactics to round up the pack of roughly seven animals who, unlike most coyotes, don't scatter at the sight of humans. Officials used pepper spray to disrupt trails and dens. Tranquilizer guns and traps were also utilized. But most of the coyotes have eluded capture. "We just have not been able to catch the other four and the incidents just seem to be escalating,'' City Manager Leslie Keane said. Coyotes are often a problem in the vast suburbs in Southern California where homes are built right up to creeks and foothills where the animals roam. But coyotes are perfectly content to live in urban environments where the food supply outstrips that of the wild _ garbage, tree fruit, pet food and pets offer ample grub, said Kevin Brennan, a wildlife biologist with California's Department of Fish and Game. Laguna Woods is unique because the city made up of retirees has a median age of 77 — which has local officials concerned that such a tussle could take a bigger toll. But confrontations between coyotes and suburbanites aren't new. Jurisdictions including Riverside and the county of San Bernardino also have hired private firms to trap or shoot the animals when preventative measures to keep them out have failed, Brennan said. "What happens is familiarity breeds contempt,'' he said, "The longer coyotes hang around people, they lose their fear and they start becoming more bold.'' "Basically you should never allow a coyote to feel comfortable around your home. You should always scare it off.'' In Laguna Woods, two women were injured in the last week when they were knocked over after coyotes pulled on leashes to maul their small pet dogs. City officials said they don't want to wait until someone gets attacked by a coyote to take action and state authorities only get involved when there an imminent threat to public safety. One of the challenges is many retirees have smaller pets who keep them company. In the absence of their now-grown children, the dogs and cats often become family and are attractive to coyotes. Lorraine Barr, 92, said she took her 7-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Pumpkin on a late-night walk last week and was watching out for coyotes, but was still stunned when one of them went for her dog and ran off with it. "My wrist was yanked so hard that I fell forward on my stomach, and I'm a heavy woman,'' Barr said. One of her neighbors later found the collar, bloody. The dog was not found. Barr called the loss of Pumpkin "exceptionally difficult emotionally.'' "We understood each other. She followed me around my small apartment, and after her naps the first thing she would do was get up and make sure how I was,'' Barr said. "It's the hardest thing I've ever experienced since the first person I loved ended the relationship 65 years ago.'' Another woman, Karen Sharif, suffered a black eye, a swollen cheek and a cut lip when a coyote snatched her dog Pooh in the middle of a midmorning walk. Sharif refused to let go of the leash, and she fell on her face before eventually having to let go. The coyote soon dropped the dead dog, and she got it back. "Dog owners know that when they buy a dog, they're going to face their pet dying in 10 years, 15 years, but they don't expect to see the vision of it in the mouth of a wild animal,'' Sharif said. "That's what's causing me sleepless nights.'' But some in the community don't want to see the animals shot. Organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and some Laguna Woods residents have said the city could review other options before reaching for a gun. That includes Barr, who despite losing her dog to coyotes said she doesn't want them dead. "Everyone I know is aghast, and I'm aghast, at the thought of killing the coyotes,'' she said. "They serve a purpose too. I would hope that they could be captured and re-released.'' Sharif agreed, saying "I am not blaming this coyote. It did a natural thing.'' But Sharif said she learned from city officials that the coyotes can be trapped but there is nowhere to take them. "In the short run you've got to kill them, I'm afraid,'' she said. Officials say the problem likely starts in communities where residents didn't take measures to keep coyotes away before they got aggressive. Local officials have found leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes left outside, leading them to believe residents were feeding the wild animals, Keane said. That would lure coyotes to retirees' homes instead of shooing them away. Mayor Bert Hack said most coyotes run off when they see people. He said he recently spotted one take off down the street with a cat in its mouth. "We have dealt with this — it waxes and it wanes,'' Hack said. "But when people get hurt, you tend to want to do something about it.''

  Epidemic Alert: Feral Hogs Tearing Up New York Countryside     The pigs are invading New York! It may sound like the lamest monster movie tagline ever, but the feral hog pandemic that was previously localized to the South has made its way to the Empire State, and it spells destruction for state agriculture. The New York Times has reported that feral hogs have made their way into Champlain County, New York, and like their cousins down in Dixie, these porkers are causing huge problems. For example, Bob Rulf, an 82-year-old farmer, found his crops severely damaged, and thinking it was a deer problem, dispatched a few hunters to take care of it. What they found was even more of a nightmare. “They eat everything,” said wildlife biologist Ed Reed. “They’ll eat the understory in a forest and dig up plants by rooting the ground for insects and roots. They compete with wildlife for food. They’re the most destructive mammal out there.” Now, state wildlife officials are weighing their options in dispatching the hogs, from traps to sterilization, and even popping pigs from choppers. “There’s a real sense of urgency,” Reed told reporters. “Once the pigs get established, they are very difficult to eradicate completely.” Officials have tried using traps filled with all manners of pig bait — donuts, dried gelatin powder and dried corn, for example — but have found the pigs tend to crowd in a corner and will climb on one another to escape. Even circular traps have proved ineffective, catching only three pigs last year. The Times are reporting that New York’s usually strict hunting laws have been relaxed a bit for the porkers; the New York Department of Environmental Conservation is advising hunters to “shoot and keep feral swine at any time and in any number.” Sounds like open season for makin’ bacon to us.  

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission voted to allow hunters to kill up to 52 wolves in the state this fall.   CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission voted Wednesday to allow hunters to kill up to 52 wolves in the state this fall even as Gov. Matt Mead said he remains hopeful that Congress will act to exempt the state's wolf management plan from legal challenges he expects from environmental groups.   Game commission approval is the latest in a predictable series of state actions since Mead reached a deal last summer with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to end federal protections for wolves in the state. Mead said he hopes final federal approval of wolf delisting in the state by early fall.   The agreement would require Wyoming to maintain at least 10 breeding pairs of wolves and at least 100 individual animals outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation. Wildlife managers say there are currently about 270 wolves in Wyoming outside of Yellowstone.   Under Wyoming's plan, the state would allow trophy hunting for wolves in a flexible zone around Yellowstone National Park, beginning in October. The hunting would last until 52 were killed or until the end of the year. Wolves in the rest of the state would be classified as predators that could be shot on sight year-round.   Mead said 90 percent of Wyoming's wolves live in the trophy hunting area. Although he said he's heard criticism that the limit of 52 wolves this year is too low, he said he believes it's appropriate.   “This was a complex deal that we reached and we don't want to break the deal,'' Mead said. “And we don't want to get down to that bare minimum, where disease, or an accident out on the freeway where five wolves are wiped out, and we go below those minimums.'' Mead said he's hopeful Congress will act to exempt the state's wolf management plan from any legal challenges from environmental groups. Congress earlier extended such protection to earlier wolf delisting actions in Idaho and Montana.   Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, had pushed to exempt Wyoming's wolf plan from legal challenges last year but the provision was removed from an Interior Department spending bill. Christine S. D'Amico, spokeswoman for Lummis in Washington, said Wednesday that Lummis continues to explore all options for how to protect the state's wolf plan. Many ranchers and hunters in Wyoming believe the state's wolf population has grown unacceptably high since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone in the mid-1990s. The state has fought for years to try to get state control of the animals, repeatedly and unsuccessfully suing the federal government. The federal government accepted a similar delisting agreement from Wyoming in 2007 only to repudiate it as soon as a federal judge criticized it in response to a legal challenge from environmental groups.   Mead said he's heard environmental groups are intent on suing to try to block Wyoming's new wolf plan.—“Anything we have done on wolves, or that other states have done on wolves, is just a hot-button for litigation,'' Mead said. “But I would ask all those groups, number one, recognize that we're approaching this very conservatively, that we worked hard over a year on this plan, that I think it is scientifically sound. “It has been signed off on by the Secretary of Interior,'' Mead said of the plan. “It has been repeatedly signed off on by the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. So it's not just something that we came up with as just good for Wyoming. It's an agreement by a lot of parties that worked on this.''   Jenny Harbine is a lawyer with Earthjustice in Bozeman, Mont. The group has mounted legal challenges to wolf delisting efforts before. Harbine said Wednesday it's too early to say whether her group or its clients will challenge Wyoming's wolf plan until the plan receives final federal approval this fall. “I'll just say that the (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife Service should only delist wolves in Wyoming if the agency feels like doing so would comply with the Endangered Species Act and has a sound scientific basis at this time,'' Harbine said. “If delisting rule in Wyoming is legal, then there's no reason to seek indemnification from Congress for such a rule.''