Debacle: How a Kansas Group Forced a Wolf Hunt in Wisconsin That Turned into a 'Bloodbath'; 97 Wolves Killed over the Limit - EnviroNews | The Environmental News Specialists

Debacle: How a Kansas Group Forced a Wolf Hunt in Wisconsin That Turned into a ‘Bloodbath’; 97 Wolves Killed over the Limit

(EnviroNews Nature) — One-fifth of Wisconsin’s gray wolf (Canis lupus) population is dead after hunters and trappers slaughtered more than 200 animals in a three-day, sanctioned trophy binge. Official numbers reported by Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) show the “harvest” exceeded quota numbers in every zone, resulting in almost twice the number of wolf-kills as was sanctioned. The numbers were updated on Feb. 26, 2021, and the WDNR notes they are subject to change, which means the number of wolf deaths could be even higher.

The state opened hunting season on Feb. 22, receiving over 27,000 applications to participate in the wolf cull. WDNR made 2,380 harvest authorizations available for purchase and set the quota for wolves at 200. However, 81 of those wolves were allocated to the Ojibwe Tribes “in accordance with their treaty rights in the Ceded Territory.” The season was supposed to last until Feb. 28, but as wolf-kills piled up, WDNR started announcing zone closures Feb. 23 at 10 am. The hunt came to an end just three days into the proposed time period with an announcement stating all zones were closed at 4:56 pm on Feb. 24. By that time, the hunt had exceeded its non-tribal quota by 82 percent with 216 animals dead.

Under President Trump, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for gray wolves on Jan 4, 2021. Wisconsin officials were then pressured by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty which filed a lawsuit on behalf of Hunter Nation Inc. — a Kansas-based hunting advocacy group — saying the state violated its own constitution when it decided not to open wolf hunting season. Jefferson County Judge Bennett Brantmeier ruled in the group’s favor and required the WDNR to rush into opening a wolf hunting season. WDNR filed an appeal to stop the hunt, but a three-judge panel at the Wisconsin Court of Appeals refused to hear the case stating, “This court lacks jurisdiction over a direct appeal at this time.”

Kitty Block, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, alongside Sara Amundson, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, wrote this in a joint blog on March 1:

[This] no-holds-barred carnage of wolves in Wisconsin last week, which ended with trophy hunters killing nearly twice the sanctioned quota of animals in just under 60 hours, offers a terrible glimpse into just what lies ahead for these beloved native American carnivores unless the Biden Administration moves swiftly to restore their federal protections. Wisconsin’s wolf hunt was, from start to finish, an example of the worst wildlife management practices. The state was not prepared for a February hunt and was forced by a court ruling to rush into one without a clear, updated, scientific plan.

Critics of the hunt attributed the overkill, in part, to the state law requiring the WDNR to give 24-hour notice before prematurely ending a hunting season. It cannot issue an immediate closure. The Natural Resources Board also issued twice as many hunting permits as it normally would according to the Milwaukie Journal Sentinel (MJS).

“Should we, would we, could we have [closed the season] sooner? Yes,” WDNR Wildlife Director Eric Lobner admitted to the MJS. “Did we go over? We did. Was that something we wanted to have happen? Absolutely not.”

Wisconsin Wolf Hounders in 2013 — Photo: via Wolf Patrol

Eighty-six percent of the wolves were killed by hunters using dogs, five percent were taken by trappers, and the remaining wolves were killed through other hunting techniques.

Wisconsin Wolf Hounder — Photo: via Wolf Patrol

Local tribes were also disappointed in the decision to hold a hunt, saying they were not consulted and there were no buffer zones put in place to protect packs that live on tribal lands intermittently. The Ojibwe consider the wolf sacred and railed against the senseless hunt in February.

“To many Ojibwe communities, hunting in late February, a time when fur quality is poor and wolves are in their breeding season, is regarded as especially wasteful and disrespectful,” wrote the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission in a press release.

A Wisconsin-based activist group called Wolf Patrol, which composed an editorial in 2018 titled, Why Wisconsin Should Never Be Allowed to Manage Wolves Again, documented various episodes in the hunt and released a video that left many viewers stunned. In another piece published by Wolf Patrol, the group also claims that convicted poachers were participating in the hunt, and the website does name names.

Regarding the January delisting of gray wolves, Samantha Bruegger, Wildlife Coexistence Campaigner for WildEarth Guardians, laid it out this way in a press release:

Tragically, we know how this will play out when states ‘manage’ wolves, as we have seen in the northern Rocky Mountain region in which they were previously delisted. In Idaho, nearly 600 wolves were brutally killed in a one-year span from 2019-2020, including dozens of wolf pups. Last year in Washington, the state slaughtered an entire pack of wolves due to supposed conflicts with ranching interests. Without federal protections, wolves are vulnerable to the whims and politics of state management.

On Jan. 20, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a “List of Agency Actions for Review,” including “#10” under the Department of the Interior (DOI): “’Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife,’ 85 Fed. Reg 69778 (November 3, 2020).” The Center for Biological Diversity asserts that the USFWS, an underlying division of DOI, ignored Biden’s directive after receiving a letter from the agency’s Assistant Director for Ecological Services Gary Frazer, dated Jan. 28. In a press release, Brett Hartl, Government Affairs Director at the Center for Biological Diversity said this:

There is no way the [USFWS] followed President Biden’s directive and completed its review in just five business days. It’s baffling that they went rogue by not even waiting ‘til there was a new secretary of Interior to assess what happened under Trump. This is a slap in the face to the American public, who wants scientific integrity restored to the government and to ensure that wolves are protected ‘til they’re recovered across this country.

This isn’t the first time a state’s hunting program has faced ridicule for its lack of foresight and ill-thought-out wolf plans. Idaho had 570 wolves killed between July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020; over 450 of those deaths involved hunting and trapping according to the Idaho Press. In 2014, hunting in Montana resulted in a 12 percent reduction in the population after a six-month season. Oregon’s wolf management plan includes killing any wolf that attacks livestock twice in a nine-month period — as if the animal is supposed to know that cattle and sheep are off-limits. In 2012, Wyoming established “predator zones,” which encompass approximately 75 percent of the state, where wolves may be shot on sight with few questions asked. In Montana, 246 wolves were harvested in 2016 to bring in revenue for the state’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks budget. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and other western states have hosted wolf and coyote killing derbies in the past.

“The current status quo for wildlife management is unjust to people and wildlife, often cruel, and largely without scientific merit as our work has proven since 2014,” said Dr. Alan Treves, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in an email to EnviroNews. Treves is also the Founder of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab.

Wisconsin intends to open another wolf season on Nov. 6, 2021 “while simultaneously working towards completing a wolf management plan to guide management decisions beginning in 2022.” Two separate groups of NGOs have sued to challenge the USFWS’ delisting of the gray wolf, but the damage is already being done while they await their day in court.

WDNR failed to respond to EnviroNews on whether more wolves had been reported killed since its most recent update.

RECENT AND RELATED FROM ENVIRONEWS

Lone Wolf OR-93 Travels Farther South in CA Than any Wolf Since the 1920s: He’s Just East of Yosemite

(EnviroNews California) – He’s a lone wolf – literally canis lupus. He travels fast and far, to the south, and he travels in search of a mate. But will he find what’s he’s looking for, in a vast terrain of Northern California wilderness where gray wolves were annihilated through…

MORE GREAT STORIES ON WOLVES FROM ENVIRONEWS

Trump Admin Sued Bigly by 17 Wildlife Orgs for Stripping Gray Wolves of Endangered Status

(EnviroNews Nature) – On Jan. 14, 2021, a coalition of nine conservation organizations represented by the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for its decision to “prematurely” strip the gray wolf (Canis lupus) of protection under the Endangered Species…

Cattlemen Tell EnviroNews Ranchers Want Mexican Wolves Killed, Despite Being Paid for Livestock Losses

(EnviroNews Arizona) – Parts of eastern Arizona are a conflict zone, as a 100-year war between ranchers, conservation groups, government agencies, and the endangered Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) rages on. The rarest subspecies of gray wolf, also known as “el lobo,” is doing what wolves have always…

Wyoming Wolves Stripped of Endangered Species Act Protection – Shoot-on-Sight Policy Restored

(EnviroNews Wyoming) – Gray wolves (Canis lupus) will no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the state of Wyoming. That was the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, on March 3, 2017, which also happened to be…

Federal Government Sued For Killing Wolves in Oregon

(EnviroNews Oregon) – Five environmental groups filed a lawsuit on February 3, 2016, in U.S. District Court against the federal agency Wildlife Services, over what they say is the illegitimate killing of wolves in the state of Oregon. WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Predator Defense, and Project…

Rep. Peter DeFazio is out to Stop USDA’s Cruel Wolf and Coyote Poison Bombs for Good

(EnviroNews Oregon) – Washington D.C. – On March 30, 2017, Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2017 (H.R. 1817), which seeks to ban the use of two deadly poisons, Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide, for predator control efforts throughout the United States. These…

WA State Stops Bloodshed After Massacring Profanity Peak Wolf Pack To Appease Cattle Ranchers

(EnviroNews Washington) – Olympia, Washington – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced October 19, 2016, that it would spare the remaining four members of the now demolished Profanity Peak Wolf Pack, after already having killed seven of its wolves (Canis lupus) to appease cattle ranchers….

Five Environmental Groups Sue USDA Over Idaho Wolf-Killing Program

(EnviroNews Idaho) – Boise, Idaho – On June 1, 2016, five prominent environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services for killing over 650 wolves in the state of Idaho over the past decade. Wildlife Services is…

Elk Hunting Group Wants to Expand Wolf-Killing Derby into Montana: $1,000 Bounty per Wolf

(EnviroNews Montana) – The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), which has funded wolf-killing derbies in Idaho to the tune of $150,000 since 2013, is now seeking to expand its $1,000-per-kill bounty program to the neighboring state of Montana. RMEF provides funds to the Foundation for Wildlife Management (F4WM),…

Idaho Wolf-Killing Contest Killed for One More Year – Kind of…

(EnviroNews Idaho) – Facing a lawsuit from conservation groups, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has revoked a permit allowing for a “predator derby” to take place on approximately three million acres of public lands in north-central Idaho near the town of Salmon. The derby originally called for…

California the First to Ban Predator Prizes While Idaho Forges Ahead With Wolf-Killing Derby

(EnviroNews California) – Van Nuys, CA – Will not allowing prizes for California wildlife hunting derbies deter such events from taking place? Groups like Project Coyote certainly think so. On December 3, with a 4 to 1 vote, the California Fish and Game Commission passed a motion prohibiting…

Poll Closed: Should U.S. Government Maintain a Wolf-Killing Program? Yes or No? – View Results

(EnviroNews Polls) – In December of 2015, several environmental groups, spearheaded by WildEarth Guardians, won a pivotal lawsuit against Wildlife Services, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency, for its wolf-killing program in Washington State. On February 3, 2016, WildEarth Guardians, in concert with four other groups, filed…

Daryl Hannah Tells Her Story of the Wolf

(EnviroNews California) – In this very unique episode, Daryl Hannah tells her story of how she bonded with wild wolves in the great outdoors. Via our coverage of the 2011 New Living Expo in San Francisco California.

USDA Caves to Public Pressure, Agrees to Remove All Coyote/Wolf Cyanide Bombs in Idaho

(EnviroNews USA Headline News Desk) – Hailey, Idaho – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services (WS), which kills millions of wild animals in the U.S. each year, agreed April 10, 2017, to temporarily halt the use of M-44 cyanide bombs for predator control initiatives in Idaho….

It’s Done: Trump Signs HJR 69 into Law Allowing Slaughter of Alaskan Bear Cubs, Wolf Pups

(EnviroNews Alaska) – Washington D.C. – On April 3, 2017, President Donald Trump signed House Joint Resolution 69 (HJR 69) into law. The legislation rescinds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) 2016 Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule (Refuge Rule). The Refuge Rule was enacted to protect native…

Bill Allowing Slaughter of Alaskan Bear Cubs, Wolf Pups, Sails Through Senate to Trump’s Desk

(EnviroNews Alaska) – Washington D.C. – On March 21, 2017, in a 52-47 vote, the Senate passed House Joint Resolution 69 (HJR 69), a Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule (Refuge Rule), which has been in…

Center for Biological Diversity Sues Trump for Signing HJR 69 Allowing Slaughter of Bear Cubs, Wolf Pups

(EnviroNews USA Headline News) – Washington D.C. – The Center for Biological Diversity (the Center) filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Anchorage, Alaska, on April 20, 2017, against the U.S. Department of Interior (Interior) and Secretary Ryan Zinke, after President Donald Trump signed House Joint Resolution…

Signable Petition Demands Zinke to Reject HJR 69, Trump’s Bear Cub/Wolf Pup Killing Bill

(EnviroNews World News) – PETITION WATCH: The Center for Biological Diversity (the Center) has launched an online petition via the Care2 platform demanding Department of the Interior (Interior) Secretary Ryan Zinke “deny any request by Alaska for predator control in wildlife refuges.” This, after House Joint Resolution 69…

Governments in CO/UT/NM/AZ Deliberately Derailed Mexican Wolf Recovery, Documents Reveal (Investigative Report)

(EnviroNews Colorado) – After decades of deliberation the final revision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan (the Plan) was released at the end of November, but former USFWS officials tell EnviroNews it strays far from scientists’ minimum recommendations for recovery of the…

Breaking News: Wildlife Orgs Sue Trump Admin for Failing to Protect ‘El Lobo,’ the Mexican Wolf

(EnviroNews Nature) – Environmental organizations filed a lawsuit on January 30, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Arizona against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), alleging the agency violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by ignoring science relevant to the recovery of the beleaguered Mexican wolf (Canis…

Victory for Mexican Gray Wolves: Court Stops Injunction, Allows Releases from Captivity to Proceed

(EnviroNews Nature) – Denver, Colorado – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) can continue to release Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) from captivity into the wild after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction halting the program on April 25, 2017, which conservationists say…

USFWS Hiring ‘Wolf Killer’ to Trap Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves and Greens Are ‘Furious’

(EnviroNews Arizona) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced it intends to hire known wolf exterminator William Bennett Nelson of Bill Nelson Wildlife Control to trap and radio-collar endangered Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in New Mexico and Arizona, causing “fury” amongst environmental and…

Big Win for ‘El Lobo’: Fed. Court Strikes Down ‘Egregious’ Management Rule For Mexican Wolves

(EnviroNews Nature) – In a win for nature fans, the United States District Court in Arizona struck down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service/USFWS) management rule for the endangered Mexican grey wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), finding that it “provides only for short-term survival of the species…

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

TAGS
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FILM AND ARTICLE CREDITS