Newark students take on Delaware to save gray fox

Delaware lawmakers who want to allow the hunting of the gray fox have found a vocal opposition group: Students at the school that helped make it the state wildlife animal.

The Senate is considering legislation that would let the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control create a hunting season for the species.

"We are prepared to go to Dover with our signs and our song," said Paul Sedacca, the teacher at Joseph M. McVey Elementary School in Newark who prompted one of his classes to push for the gray fox's status. "Assuming parents give permission."

House sponsor Dave Wilson, R-Bridgeville, said the bill would protect those who inadvertently trap gray foxes from potential legal trouble.

The law is currently unclear with what happens to those who catch gray foxes by mistake.

The legislation also means that DNREC can keep a closer eye on the species and ensure that the population isn't out of control, Wilson said.

The House approved the bill last week. A date for the Senate vote has not been set.

Legislators in June 2010 approved legislation making the gray fox the official state wildlife animal – joining the blue hen (state bird), weakfish (state fish) and horseshoe crab (state marine animal).

The addition was after fourth-graders at McVey Elementary suggested the fox get the designation, part of a persuasive writing lesson taught by Sedacca.

Sedacca and his current crop of students are ready to hit back to ensure that the Senate and Gov. Jack Markell protect their school's sponsored animal. Armed with markers, posters and even a song, they're taking aim at lawmakers.

Sedacca and his students said they have no beef with the state's poultry farmers hunting and trapping the animal. What is troubling is that legislators want the hunt to be on for the sheer sport of it, students said.

Sabra Waithera, 9, who is originally from Kenya, said a possible hunt of the gray fox is similar to elephants in her home country.

"I feel like that is not fair," she said. "The gray fox hasn't done anything bad to them and you shouldn't do anything to the gray fox because it didn't do anything to you."

Cam'Ren McKay, 10, held a sign Monday afternoon that pleaded for lawmakers to not kill the fox. Under the marker-written text was a hand-drawn picture of a fox and text that said, "Please don't kill me."

"If Gov. Markell accepts the bill ... I would actually go get a gray fox and I would keep it as a pet," McKay said.

Markell signed the 2010 law in McVey elementary.

Spokeswoman Kelly Bachman in an email said Markell would sign the hunting legislation as currently written. The governor is not opposed to harvesting the gray fox "so long as it is done responsibly and with appropriate oversight," she said.

"The gray fox is not endangered and has long been harvested in surrounding states," Bachman said.

Nearby states like Pennsylvania also have authorized the hunting or trapping of state animals. It is also not without precedent in Delaware, where the weakfish and horseshoe crab are harvested.

Delaware's gray fox population is unknown. Bud Holland, a Townsend hunter and trapper, said gray foxes aren't necessarily a nuisance, but they are a predator that is opportunistic and will take game when and where it can. Delaware's hunters and trappers should be allowed to pit their wits against one the top predators in the state, he said.

"That's an opportunity that should be able to be enjoyed by any sportsmen that wants to," Holland said. "You have to have a lot of respect for the animal as a predator."

Under the legislation, DNREC can issue permits to private landowners allowing the hunting and trapping of gray foxes on their property, as long as there is a wildlife management plan for the property approved by DNREC, and that a reduction in the number of foxes is recommended by the plan. Hunters who use that private land would be able to hunt and trap the foxes.

David Small, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said the current system needs updating.

"Trappers, who are legally trapping, they may be targeting red fox, but they may be catching gray fox," Small said. "That's an issue, that's an incongruity in the law."

Small said he understands the concern of Sedacca and his fourth-graders.

"We're certainly sensitive to how people view and value wildlife," Small said. "And in this case, these students became very familiar with a native species of Delaware. They learned a lot about it and drew some affinity to it."

Wilson said he has nothing against the students.

"I'm not after the fourth grade class of years ago. I think they did a great job," he said. "This is not about it being the state wildlife animal, it's about having scientific numbers of what is taking place. Do we want to continue to just go out and shoot in the dark and find out that you'll never know (about the population)?"

Sedacca and his students aren't giving up. They've prepared and posted talking points to oppose the legislation. One point compares trapping to torture. Another offers language for the students' written petitions to Markell and state senators.

They're also sending hand-written letters and pictures to lawmakers, are circulating petitions and will lead a social media campaign to save the animal.

The effort to save the gray fox has become the perfect civics lesson for his students, he said. It is also a matter of respect, Sedacca said.

"We'll let the governor know that if you're going to sign that bill, you're going to sign it right in front of us and we're not going to be happy about it," he said.

The governor, Sedacca said, "owes it to my students from 2010 and my students now to not allow this to take place."

Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271 or at joffredo@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonoffredo.

Delaware and the gray fox

Delaware House lawmakers have voted to allow the hunting and trapping of the gray fox, the official state animal. The matter now goes to the state Senate.

* Native to Delaware; prefers to live in interior of forests

* Eats both plants and animals, including small mammals and insects

* Able to climb trees and run up to 28 mph

* Does not hibernate; has litters of three-six offspring

* Named state wildlife animal on June 10, 2010, joining the horseshoe crab (state marine animal), weakfish (state fish), and blue hen (state bird).

Source: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control