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Letter from the Skunk Whisperer President

This is a letter posted by the President of the Skunk Whisperer on Facebook, 22 November 2011.

As President of The Skunk Whisperer, I would like to say a few words.

Ned does not feel comfortable with his niece watching “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on Animal Planet. The same goes for the church folks that Chris’s family is part of. Neither are comfortable with children watching the show in general.

4,000 of you were Skunk Whisperer fans before our show ever aired. To you, our clients, our family, friends and everybody else – on behalf of our real Skunk Whisperer Tulsa and Oklahoma office owners and employees, Wild Heart Ranch and their crew, I would like to sincerely apologize for all of the vulgar language and behavior you have been exposed to on “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on Animal Planet. Our goal was to make the show educational. Some of that DID come through, and we are very happy about that.

Through TV, we saw a fantastic opportunity to educate the world about non-traditional, more humane, no-trap, no-kill methods allowing wildlife to safely co-exist with humans. However, certain actions and behavior on the show have been shocking, overwhelming, hurtful and infuriating, not to mention extremely stressful. Most of all, we are fearful that the general public sees things such as sleeping in a customer’s backyard or openly urinating on a customer’s lawn (a sexual registry crime) as the way we operate in real, unproduced and unscripted life. We would fire an employee on the spot for doing a mere fraction of what was shown on the show.

Stormy was employed by production and was doing exactly what he was paid to do. Other people hear beeps when Ned is talking and see Ned laughing about Stormy riding a pony whereas, Ned was actually not there at that time but editing made it appear as if he was laughing in approval. Ned has received death threats because of his beliefs about wildlife control. Yet he continues to stand up for what he believes in; Ned’s integrity is second to none. Annette had one of her orphaned fawns that she was raising killed by gunshot multiple times to the heart right at her doorstep. Not everybody approves of our methods, as they may feel that, as our methods are more and more recognized by the general public, they threaten traditional wildlife control methods and their living.

In summary, the type of behavior I mentioned is not reflective of our business models and our missions, and is simply not tolerated, yet we cannot control what is filmed, edited, and being shown on Animal Planet.

As of now, and until the air clears, your posts on this page will be seen by nobody, including us. Comments will be seen by everybody and monitored. If you want to give constructive feedback for our TV series, please email us directly at info@totalwildlifecontrol.com. We will pass that over to our entertainment attorney and he will pass it on to Discovery’s lawyer; or, you can post below if you would like. Nothing will change unless the public demands it.

Regards,

Betsey Bruha, President
The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc.
Truly humane wildlife removal & prevention, done right the first time

Tulsa Animal Cruelty Exposed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ned Bruha, “The Skunk Whisperer®” publicly posts undercover video of felony animal cruelty & insists that authorities make over 2 dozen felony convictions

Tulsa, Oklahoma – November 28, 2011 – Rattlesnake roundups in Oklahoma are attended by thousands of people each year. At some of these events, rattlesnakes have their mouths sewn shut for photos with the attendees holding them. In a simple YouTube video, Ned Bruha, V.P. of The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc., an Oklahoma franchise company that does humane wildlife removal, compares this to a haunting and graphic photo of a puppy with its mouth sewn shut. In the “pit of death”, the snakes are deprived of food, water & shelter. Bruha takes a stand with undercover video & quotes Oklahoma laws already found on the books, & insists that Oklahoma authorities use the video evidence to make over two dozen felony animal cruelty convictions – from a simple YouTube video located here.

The dry, simple eight minute video encourages any “Average Joe” to stand up and make a change. Bruha says “Anybody with a camera and a computer can stand up and insist that folks do the right thing. The rattlesnake roundups can and will be educational, family events without felony acts of animal cruelty. Sewing a puppy’s mouth shut is not acceptable, so why is it okay to do it to a snake?”

Forty year-old Bruha, who has a TV series titled “Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer” on a major television network, first learned about rattlesnake roundups in the fall of 2010. “I ran into a photo on the internet of a rattlesnake having stitches removed from its mouth after being rescued or stolen from a rattlesnake roundup. I had never heard of such a thing. I got mad, and decided to stand up and do something about it instead of just whining”, said Bruha. Bruha and another gentleman collected undercover video from the events, asked a local photographer and artist to make a puppy’s mouth look like it is sewn shut in a photograph, and then had a simple YouTube video of it launched to the internet.

Contact:

Contact Person: Ned Bruha
Company Name: The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc.
Telephone Number: 918-261-4444
Email Address: nedbruha@totalwildlifecontrol.com
Web site address: http://totalwildlifecontrol.com
Mailing address: 9521 B Riverside Parkway #343 Tulsa, OK 74137
Video address: http://www.youtube.com/user/theskunkwhisperer For additional information or higher resolution photo for television, email nedbruha@totalwildlifecontrol.com

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Watch the Video Bruha Released

The Skunk Whisperer – Wildlife Control: New Website Launched

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 25, 2011 – Servicing all critter needs for bees, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, bats, beavers, cougars, coyotes, foxes, geese, armadillos, feral cats, opossums, rodents, snakes, wild birds and various other critters; we have grown our website to provide critter facts and information for visitors from around the world. Our mission is to utilize, improve, elevate and advocate cost effective, eco-responsible wildlife damage remediation and prevention methods allowing humans and wildlife to co-exist without conflict.

We’ve made several changes to our totalwildlifecontrol.com website. Visitors will now find it easier to navigate to pages they need. There is an enhanced search feature built into the website and various other embedded features to increase user engagement. We have dedicated sections for Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Norman, and Grand Lake clients. The breath of the resources and information provided on our website cannot be understated. We’ve implemented a brand new news, blog and RSS feed section of the website for the most up to date information as well. Feel free to drop in and leave us a comment on our blogs.

We hope you enjoy the new design, functionality and ease of navigation. totalwildlifecontrol.com

Contact

info@totalwildlifecontrol.com
918-261-4444

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view the official press release

Premier date for Animal Planet Show Released

The premiere date for “Ned Bruha, Skunk Whisperer” on Animal Planet is 13NOV at 7-8pm CST. 20NOV from 7-8pm CST. On the following Sundays, new shows will air at 7pm & a repeat at 7:30pm CST.

We’ll have more on this developing story as information is gathered.

*Dates are subject to change.

Here’s a fun video with Ned.

OKC Skunk Whisperer Finds Chimney Barn Owl Family A New Home

The Skunk Whisperer® wildlife professional Chris Greenlee was recently called upon to help an Edmond family with an interesting situation – federally protected barn owls in their chimney. The Vanantwerpen family in Edmond, Oklahoma had been living with the uninvited and troublesome barn owls in their chimney for about seven months. During that time owls had given birth to several chicks also known as “owlets” or “owlings”.

When interviewed on the situation Mr. Vanantwerpen said “We have noticed that even though we live next to a huge open field, we certainly have no mouse or rodent problems because of the free pest control the owls offer. Once the young were able to fly, they just sat on the gutters and watched as their mother taught them how to hunt. Gradually, they all started hunting and coming back to the gutter, the roof top or chimney to eat their fresh dinners.” Eventually the owls began to create a lot of trouble for the Vanantwerpens and the surrounding neighborhood, to the point where many of the neighbors were beginning to feel “terrorized” by the owls. Neighbors were afraid to let their smaller dogs out of the house for fear of losing them to the owls. And the owls were actually damaging many of the homes with their large talons and making a stinky mess as well, including leaving feces on houses and dropping bugs down the Vanantwerpen’s fireplace. Although the neighborhood wanted to do something about their barn owl situation, they also wanted to do the right thing for the owls, a species which is federally protected. The Vanantwerpens had even expressed a desire to provide them with a new home nearby, an owl box for them to relocate to once they had been excluded from their chimney.

Federal protection restrictions made the situation a challenging one, but The Skunk Whisper®’s area wildlife management professional Chris Greenlee was up for the task. The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc. coordinated efforts with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and wildlife rehabilitators in California and Oklahoma to be certain that the owl family’s eviction was being done at a time when it would impact the owl family the least. Chris Greenlee of The Skunk Whisperer®’s Oklahoma City office said “We were first called in April when they were just eggs. They were complaining, along with their neighbors, that the owls were ‘not such a hoot’ because they were defecating all over their homes, leaving owl pellets everywhere and scratching up their windowsills with their huge talons. We asked the client if we could do the right thing for the birds and wait, and they quickly agreed. I built a barn owl nesting box and mounted it 30 yards away on a nearby, outdoor fireplace chimney. They know that my nesting box is there, because there are signs that the owls have been on and in it several times. It is nice to see a family decide to be heroes for the animals like this family did here. Others may have lit a fire in order to ‘take care of the problem’. We enjoy seeing people want to coexist with wildlife”. To ensure proper construction of the owl’s new home, The Skunk Whisperer® obtained owl house plans from expert Alex Godbe of the Hungry Owl Project in San Anselmo, CA. The owl box was then constructed and erected on a nearby chimney for a few months prior to the owl family’s eviction. Godbe said “Since there are no trees around, the chicks might want to return to the nest site for a few weeks after that, so the longer they are left, the better it is for them”. Chris Greenlee said “Although time did not allow me to follow the owl box plans 100%, the owls did not seem to mind because they certainly have utilized it, even before they were evicted from the chimney”. Annette King-Tucker of Wild Heart Ranch wildlife rehabilitation center in Claremore, commented on the situation, “This nuisance owl problem will be reconciled with the ultimate goal in mind, which is keeping the owls’ well being top priority. The Owlings were raised in this inherited territory. They were taught to hunt here by their skilled parents. The optimum survival statistics will be achieved for this group by simply allowing them to remain in their existing territory, perhaps even 30 yards away in the nesting box that has now been provided for them”. Once it was time to evict the owls from the chimney, the owl family was gently encouraged to leave by simply whispering the word “shoo”. Next, the chimney was altered to keep them from re-entering. Some of the owls will likely move into the new owl home created for them, whereas others will likely move on to greener pastures. Chris Greenlee said of the experience, “We enjoy having clients like this family call and want to do the right things, for the animals”. Betsey and Ned Bruha said “Kudos to Chris for doing yet another impeccable job, keeping customer service and the animals’ best interest as top priority. We are very proud of Chris, his compassion, successes and accomplishments.” Read News 9′s Story

The Elusive Canada Goose With An Arrow Through It’s Chest

A wild canada goose was recently discovered in a suburban area with an arrow shot through its chest. After several capture attempts failed, The Skunk Whisperer® Team including Stormy Cole, Ned Bruha and his wife Betsey joined the mission to help remedy the difficult situation. After 40 minutes of chasing and coaxing, the goose was finally caught by the skillful Skunk Whisperer team and transported to wildlife rehabilitator Annette King Tucker. The goose is expected to live but may never be able to fly again.

More On The Story

Many people call The Skunk Whisperer® about injured geese. Most injured goose calls take many hours of time and literally turn into “wild goose chases”, only further jeopardizing the goose’s health. If the geese are faster than we are, which they usually are, it simply cannot be taken to a rehabber. Most nuisance goose problems are caused by humans feeding them, therefore advocating them to appear in large numbers.

In this particular instance, the goose had been shot through the chest and was in a hazardous predicament with a wound that would eventually take its toll. Once The Skunk Whisperer® became aware of the situation, the Tulsa office immediately deployed a Skunk Whisperer team including Stormy Cole, Ned and Betsey Bruha. Stormy Cole, a Skunk Whisperer wildlife management professional, told reporters “I did not want to hop in a pond in late November, but I would do it in a heartbeat if I had to”.

Normally, a proper injured goose capture takes a dozen people, special equipment and hours of time, Single geese can be as tough to capture as greased pigs, but the team had a better chance of capturing this one because it would be slowed down by the arrow. As it turned out, the team had to chase the goose around for 40 minutes before catching it, so the arrow ended up not slowing the goose down much at all.

Once captured, the arrow was cut at two points to reduce additional trauma to the goose during its transport to the Wild Heart Ranch wildlife rehab facility. Ned Bruha said “It feels great knowing that we were able to save an animal’s life that day, but it is a shame that somebody did this to the goose. I am embarrassed to be a member of a species that would do something as senseless as needlessly shooting this goose and knowingly allow it to suffer. Wildlife should not be used for target practice”. Betsey Bruha adds “This goose was likely shot nearby, in town. I do not know if somebody was looking for a free Thanksgiving bird or what, but I hope that the person who needlessly shot this federally protected bird with this arrow reads this story and decides to never hunt again”.

Thanks to wildlife rehabilitator Annette King-Tucker, this animal will live to see another day. Ned commented “We salute wildlife rehabilitators all over the world who have selflessly dedicated their lives to saving the animals that we place in these situations. Annette is my hero and has made me a better person, allowing me massive amounts of knowledge, via her experience, to further assist wildlife in need of rehabilitation. During this “season of giving” please seriously consider donating funds and supplies to wildlife rehabilitators such as Annette King-Tucker”.

Related Information

Injured Goose Is Trapped, Rescued
The story behind the chase and capture of the injured goose, as well as input from The Skunk Whisperer team and information on it’s recovery from wildlife rehabber Annette King Tucker.

Canada Goose Control
Input from The Skunk Whisperer on Canada Goose wildlife and information on our goose control services.

Information on Canada Geese Management
Additional and helpful information, including more on goose control and parking lot problem scenarios. Goose Control, Management and Relocation | Canada Geese In Parking Lots – Problems & Solutions

The Skunk With His Head In The Peanut Butter Jar

Once upon a time there was a hungry skunk who went on a journey to find something good to eat. Imagine his excitement when he discovered a tasty jar of peanut butter. But this presented a challenge, the only way he could reach the yummy peanut butter at the bottom of the jar was to stick his head all the way inside. But once his head went inside he could not get it back out. Our skunk now found his head completely stuck in the peanut butter jar he’d once been so happy to find – quite the predicament indeed. Eventually, a nice lady came across the frustrated skunk and called Skunk Whisperer Ned Bruha for help.

After some phone calls to the proper authorities Ned was able to obtain the required permission to remove the jar and set the skunk free. Some gentle handling and the skunk was soon freed and on his way home.

The story was filmed by KOTV in Tulsa and was quickly picked up by both national and international news, and was seen on The CBS Morning Show, CNN, BBC and other media sources around the world. The response was staggering with input pouring in from across the globe. Many viewers wondered why there had been a delay in removing the jar, causing concern and even a parody skit on the Bonnie Hunt show.

A video essay about the predicaments the skunk and Ned got themselves into – the original story is presented in the video to the left and the Bonnie Hunt Show recap can be found to the right.

Why Things Were Done The Way They Were: To some viewers it appeared that the skunk was not rescued as promptly as it should have been, for instance, the Bonnie Hunt Show was initially critical of Ned for not postponing his interview until after the peanut butter jar had been removed and the skunk was freed from his predicament. However, it is important for viewers to understand that the rescue process could not take place until special permission had been received from the state of Oklahoma. Consequently, most of the filming and interview were conducted while Skunk Whisperer Ned Bruha was waiting for this permission from the state, a process which took approximately one hour. The special permission was required from the state because Oklahoma laws normally mandate death or relocation of the skunk in such situations. Although Ned and the person who requested help wanted to simply remove the jar and let the skunk go, they could not do so before receiving state permission or Bruha could have lost his state permit to practice wildlife control. If the skunk had been transported to a wildlife rehabilitator with the jar on his head, the situation would have become even more stressful for the skunk and it would have sprayed those around him. As the situation turned out, permission was received, Ned was able to gently calm down the flustered skunk with chloroform, release it from the jar and everybody walked away happy – including the skunk. Local station KOTV also ran a follow up story explaining why the rescue of the skunk had to be delayed.

One of our most popular media stories, the skunk with the peanut butter jar stuck on his head was also featured in an episode on Animal Planet’s Weird, True and Freaky. Although Ned commented “it was less dramatic in person than it appeared on the show.”

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