Whether Gov. Greg Gianforte is the only trapper in Montana to receive a warning in the last five years for trapping a wolf without completing a required certification class cannot be determined due to how game wardens record alleged violations, a spokesperson for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks says.
On Feb. 15 Gianforte trapped and killed a wolf north of Gardiner. On Feb. 16, he brought it to FWP headquarters in Helena for a required inspection, and was issued a written warning by Enforcement Chief Dave Loewen for doing so without first completing a mandatory wolf trapper education class. The governor was in compliance with all other aspects of the law, officials said.
BILLINGS - Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease was recently diagnosed in Yellowstone County in four, loose domestic rabbits. The disease was first reported in the county on Feb. 11.
The illness can cause weakness, changes in eating habits, bloody nose and even sudden death in rabbits, according to Dr. Lisa Galvin of the Best Friends Animal Hospital.
The illness is something Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is concerned about as well. The [sick] rabbits are not the native cottontails or jackrabbits or snow shoe hairs that are wild in Montana, but there s a concern that the disease could spread into the wild populations or places where people raise rabbits, Bob Gibson of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said.
Gov. Greg Gianforte made his final state agency leadership appointment Wednesday, nominating longtime Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staffer Henry “Hank” Worsech as the department’s new director.