http://news.wpr.org/post/dnr-has-ended-wolf-hunting-season
DNR Has Ended Wolf Hunting Season
The state has very nearly reached it’s wolf hunt quota of 251, which has prompted the DNR to end the season.
A flood of wolves killed by hunters prompted the Department of Natural Resources to close the state’s wolf hunting season at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Hunters stepped up their shooting of wolves in northwest Wisconsin over the weekend, and the state is now very close to its harvest quota of 251 wolves. Hunters using dogs are responsible for almost all the weekend kills, and the state says the number of wolf deaths where dogs did the chasing is about 30.
Tom Hauge of the DNR says dog use over the last three weeks apparently went pretty well. “[It] seems to have been performing within normal side bars as far as we know,” says Hauge. “If there are problems out there, they may not surface right away.”
Hauge rejects the rumor that the state rapidly shut down the hunt because it’s embarrassed by hunters posting more wolf kill pictures on social media. Some photos have hunters their arms around the wolves, holding the dead and bloodied with animals up for the camera.
Rachel Tilseth of the animal education group Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin says it’s vital that independent experts can now verify that dogs didn’t illegally fight with wolves.
“I’d like to have those wolves examined by an independent veterinarian,” says Tilseth. “This is a very controversial subject – this wolf-hounding – and I believe we need to see all the evidence.”
Tilseth says she’ll continue to try to get dogs banned from future Wisconsin wolf hunts. Republican lawmakers have refused to allow a hearing on a recently introduced bill ordering such a ban.
Exposing the Big Game 
How much proof does USFWS need to prove that wolves should not be delisted? Wyoming has them classified as varmints in most of the state. Montana’s new rules allow ranchers to shoot any wolf they see as “threatening”, which means any wolf they see, and will have year around trapping. Idaho is having wolf and coyote contests for cash and has hired a hunter to kill a couple of packs arguing that it is in defense of elk herds. Wisconsin is using dogs. MT-WY-ID-WI are obviously marginalizing this apex predator which is not good ecology for trophic cascade of effects; with hunters (sports killing) and ranchers and these state wildlife agencies having unhealthy effects on ecology. We are rapidly getting back to the 1800’s in wolf massacring states. Wolf management–they do not generally need management, should be out of the states’ hands. The states mentioned are way too hostile, and controlled by historic hostile elements. They are promoting two myths despite contrary evidence: Wolves do not kill too many elk and their impact on cattle is less than 0.002%. These states are run by rancher and hunter folklore, myths and lies and their ilk in the state wildlife agencies and legislatures, with so far the only exception being OR and somewhat WA. OR is the model wolf management state, allowing the killing of only chronic offenders, not general wolf killing, and requiring that nonlethal management be in place and tried. The throwback (1800’s) wolf massacre states are mismanaging wolves.
I totally agree, Roger! I wish I knew someone with a chopper and dart gun so we could rescue those wolf families! Maybe the state would actually agree to a live capture plan if the wolves in the Frank Church Wilderness were removed from their state? The end goal for the state is the same, the wolves are gone. For us, it would be a major win because the wolves would survive! Those wolves in question are extremely afraid of humans, they would need to be vetted and set free in two very large enclosures in a sanctuary that would not display them.
Butcher Otter actually said he would not allow wolves to be removed live, and once threatened a woman who suggested that.
Reblogged this on The Wisdom Tube and commented:
Sick, sick, sick…when does the sport killing stop?
The number is now up to 256, five over the quota. The hounders have been running rampant in Northern Wisconsin and there are many pictures with wolves that show far more injuries than just gunshot wounds. I wonder how our DNR is going to cover that up?
No doubt they will try.
Right. They don’t need to cover it up, the “law” is on their side.
I had not heard that Butch Otter said that no wolves could be removed alive. Ok I am so done with even commenting on the weather, let alone wolves with that asshole and his administration! They don’t deserve to have wolves or any say about them. It is time for folks in states with wolf hunts to do some serious organizing and get those politicians delisted and elect some friendy pro-wolf people and put laws in place that regulatory agencies need to have wildlife experts making decisions regarding wildlife. No conflicts of interest, like is common today with trophy hunters, guides and trappers on the board and outfitters running the show! The best thing you can do is dust off your degrees and resume and put yourself in a position of power to make change happen.
In the mean time, there are two families of wolves marked for death who have done nothing wrong! As far as I know, only one lone trapper is tasked with the job. Now as much as I detest trapping and trappers, don’t harm the trapper, they will just get another one. An old union tactic for dealing with company men and scabs was to make sure their vehicles don’t start or don’t have air in the tires. Spray foam insulation is one way to accomplish this without actually even touching the vehicle or causing any noise. Use your imagination, there are many ways to disable a vehicle with something as cheap and easy as a potato. But with the spray foam, and some fishtank hose attached to the bottle, you can get it way up the exhaust. Unnoticable. Let it set up as long as possible. So on a cold morning the trapper will keep trying to start his truck. If all goes well, this will result in a blown head gasket, a very expensive repair on a diesel 4wd truck! This kind of stuff is how wolves can be saved because nobody is going to take the job if this is what kind of harm they can expect done to their vehicles. And extend it out to anyone who helps in any way to kill wolves. Yeah, so it is bad PR. But nobody dies, no wolves, no rescuers or hired help. If you folks in the wolf hounding areas do this to hounders, be careful, hounds are noisy!
Reblogged this on Girl for Animal Liberation.
Reblogged this on Organicly Groan.
Hello,
Good post. Thank you. Pinned it and posted it to http://www.scoop.it/t/ecoscifi.
Garry
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
It’s a shame, they are such beautiful creatures, their only crime: trying to survive.