Help an elk farmer in need...(revisited)

[Oak]

Here's an advertisement from the Denver Post today. Does somebody sound a little bitter? Surely someone here is willing to help the guy out. Any lawyers willing to take this case on a contingency fee basis?

Oak

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-30-2003 08:03: Message edited by: Colorado Oak ]</font>

 

[Nut]

Here is the present home page for said ranch

http://www.wapiti.net/co/harring.cfm

 

[Oak]

Thanks Nut. Here's some important info from the ranch sale web page, for those of you going to help in the culling.

"Through love, kindness, patience and a geniune respect for their praticular behavior and instincts a level of trust can be developed to provide a healthy environment for both the animals and the humans working with the animals. As a result, my elk are friendlier than normal and work through the facility without a lot of stress to them and us. People who have bought my elk will attest to their friendly, laid back dispositions."

Oak

 

[JoseCuervo]

This guy just appears to be a bad businessman, and now he wants to blame somebody else.

On his website, he lists that he is "retiring" and appearntly that sale isn't working very well, so now, after realizing there is not a bigger sucker in the world then himself, who will spend tens of thousands for Elk, he is forced to sell them for meat.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Harrington Elk Ranch

Retirement Sale

Yes, folks, I am going to retire to get back on my horse to ride off into the sunset. I will be selling my entire elk herd (200+) and the ranch. The elk are located four miles down the road from the main part of the ranch and the land consists of approx. 285 acres with 120 fenced for elk, a first class elk facility, a large hay storage shed, and a partially completed 2,700 sq. ft. house. This land is 16 miles from downtown Steamboat Springs, where the ski slope is home to many Olympic skiers and snowboarders. Once the elk herd is sold, I will be listing the land for sale with a local real estate agency. In the meantime, I will be glad to talk with anyone who may want to purchase this land prior to the listing. Oh, by the way, the facility is heavy duty and will handle bison without any problems.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some nice critters, and I really like the eartags...

That picture almost looks sad...

And finally, in all its' glory...

Complete with the high fence to highlight the natural surroundings.

 

[dgibson]

200+ elk in 120 acres? Am I reading that right?

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Sure, cause they are fed from troughs and buckets. They don't eat no stinking grass! Rattle your bucket and pop him in the ear with a .22.

 

[Tom]

I read that too, 200+ elk on 100 some fenced acres, it must be elk to elk in their.

The San Antonio, TX paper yesterday had an opposit story on the front page. Its sort of similar but different.

People are selling off their shrimp boats on the Texas coast. The price of shrimp has dropped so much they can't pay costs with real shrimp from the ocean anymore. The Texas coast catches $0.34 of ever $1 of shrimp in the US. The business is dieing, it says, because of farm raised shrimp in Thailand and somewhere else like that. The farm raised shrimp are everywhere now, driving the non-farm, "real", shrimpers out of business.

Here's a link to the shrimp business being killed by farm shrimping. Its Sunday,9/14 front page in the lower right, if interested,
http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-15-2003 10:14: Message edited by: Tom ]</font>

 

[Nut]

Does that mean that Forrest Gump and LT.Dan are going bankrupt?

 

[280]

boo hoo, for him


Tom here is your chance for a bull

 

[Tom]

I checked Nut, they're in 7 states and Japan. On 3 islands in Hawiiai! A 5 k run this coming weekend, Run Forest Run!
http://www.bubbagump.com/

I think Alaskan King crab is the main thing on the menu?

280, I don't need the meat.

 

[280]

Hey Tom you should call the guys at Texas Trophy Hunting TV show and have them do a show at this place, it would be right up their ally

 

[Tom]

You should call them, elk would be more of a northern/western show than a Texas show. They might give you a better deal on a 4H project, but you already have those, eh. Can you ship the farm elk meat and antlers, if you send them to the butcher shop first?

His add is for elk meat.

 

[280]

Texas Trophy....now the name of that show kills me,,,Texas and Trophy used together, that my friend is comedy

 

[Tom]

Here you go.

http://www.montanatrophyelk.com/

100% success since 1969, hard to top that eh.

 

[Oak]

Wow, that looks like a great operation!

From the website:
"These magnificant, massive bulls scatter as they spot you and the challenge is on."

"Glass your bull from 4-wheel drive vehicles, 80% of ranch accessible to 4-wheel drive)"

And a 6x6 would only cost me $6,900!

Oak

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-15-2003 16:51: Message edited by: Colorado Oak ]</font>

 

[280]

hello I143

 

[Oak]

A story from the Rocky Mountain News yesterday about the "rancher" that put the ad in the paper.

"Rancher" selling out and moving back East after 10 years

Oak

 

[BbarC]

If you guys would just read the articles as printed and not try to read things into it, you'd get the "real" story. I know this lady and this ranch. She raised elk as an alternative to cattle depending on meat and velvet antler sales. It WAS NOT a hunting ranch. The thing that is sinking her is the declining velvet antler prices and the noose that CWD has put around the operation as far as shipping live animals. She admits that there is NO SPORT it taking the animals that it is strickly for meat. This operation is like any other livestock operation or any other retail or wholesale business, things happen in the market that can put you out of business. And yes, you can raise them in a high concentration situation if set up correctly. I had 100 animals on 60 acres at one time , but I had a pasture rotation system [ 9 pastures]. I also had highly improved pastures and a good irrigation system and fed daily protein supplements with minerals. I also had a good vaccination program that included parasite control. What you guys seem to not want to understand that a good elk ranch is run just like a good cattle operation, but of course you hate cattle ranchers too. Ol Bob

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-30-2003 09:24: Message edited by: BbarC ]</font>

 

[Oak]

I don't hate cattle ranchers...I just don't want their cattle destroying wildlife habitat. In that sense, I guess I hate the one's whose cattle destroy wildlife habitat.

I don't think captive elk should be kept where they can affect, in any way, wild populations of any animal. If ranchers can guarantee that their animals will have no effect on wild populations, then go for it. I don't believe that state wildlife agencies should be responsible for rounding up escaped animals, and I think the rancher should have to carry insurance that will pay for such an operation if animals escape (because animals DO escape).

I know that this particular ranch is not a hunting ranch. I spent about 10 minutes yesterday admiring this farmer's elk from the county road running past the farm. I could hear wild elk bugling on the mountain behind me as I watched the penned animals. I don't think that farm should have ever been approved, and I'm not sorry to see it go. Reading the article as printed, and not reading anything into it, I can tell that this lady: 1) is raising elk as a hobby, and 2) is not losing her life savings by going out of business. By reading the ad she took out in the paper, it's obvious that she's putting 100% of the blame about her failed hobby on the CDOW. Well, CWD existed long before this lady bought her pet elk 10 years ago.

I can't look at this story in any way and feel sorry for the lady, but that's JMHO.

Oak

 

[dgibson]

Thanks for the background, Bob.