| In the fall of 2020, the Secretary of the Interior announced the removal of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species list, returning management of the species to state agencies across America.
While this is certainly a conservation success story that we all should celebrate, it is also one that requires swift and immediate attention to manage a population of strong, smart and vicious wolves.
The number of wolves in Wisconsin is nearly four times higher than the state’s goal of 350 wolves. Additionally, total wolf depredations have increased 70% in Wisconsin since the gray wolf returned to federal protection in 2014.
While the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced a wolf hunt to take place this fall, state law dictates that wolf hunting and trapping season can begin on October 15 and run through the last day of February.
There is no reason to wait until the fall. A hunt can and should be held now.
This Friday at 8:30 a.m. CT, the DNR will hold a virtual meeting to to discuss the next steps to establish a wolf hunt in Wisconsin in 2021. Make your voice heard! Click here to get info on how to submit testimony or watch it live.
The only thing delaying a wolf harvest does is give radical anti-hunting groups time to sue and use all legal maneuvers necessary to block the delisting of the gray wolf.
Wisconsin hunters must stand up, speak out and demand the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reinstate the wolf harvesting season now or the wolf may again be under federal protection before a hunting season can be held. |
