Hunters Prepare for Wolf Hunt, But All Is Not Lost

Published: 8/29

In just a few hours, hunters across the Gem State will be able to legally kill wolves again. This year’s hunt has received far less attention nationally and even globally than the first hunt back in 2009. Still, thousands of permits have been sold including many in eastern Idaho.

In 2009, Idaho was under the nation’s spotlight as the debate over wolves hit a feverish pitch. 4,000 wolf tags were sold the first day. This year, a little more than 6,000 tags have been sold for the hunt which starts Tuesday. That’s one fifth of the total amount sold in 2009.

According to the Idaho Fish and Game, the purpose of the hunt is to reduce the amount of wolves to a more manageable number. 

Area elk hunters say they have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of elk in Idaho. They blame the wolves for the reduction and that’s why they feel like the wolf hunt is so important.

“The wolves have been a big devastation on the elk herds, the cattle and a lot of the other dogs and stuff,” said Ed Golden, an area hunter. “We need to control them. The wolves, just like any predator.  I don’t hate them but they need to be controlled just like coyotes, bears and mountain lions.”

In 2009, less than one percent of the hunters were successful during the wolf hunt. That’s why wildlife managers made drastic changes for this year. The biggest being the removal of many of the quotas across the state.  

“Wolves are very smart, “continued Ed. “If you see them out in the woods while you are hunting, you are very lucky. Once you see one or maybe you get a chance to shoot one, you won’t see him again. He’ll be gone. They are very intelligent. They just don’t stick around.”

Ed says he has there are plenty of wolves in eastern Idaho. He’s even seen them near the two and a half mile road area. Along with the hunt, Fish and Game officials will continue to use other ways of monitoring the wolf population. This includes a ten week trapping session which starts in December.

The wolf hunt runs through the end of March.

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Howl-In, Phone-In for Wolves, Tues. Aug. 30 in New York City

August 29, 2011

photo by John Hyde

The New York City office of Friends of Animals is staging a Howl-in, Phone-In to protest a wolf extermination scheme set to begin in Idaho on Tuesday, August 30, 2011, and in Montana on September 3rd.
The Howl-In, Phone-In is taking place at the entrance to Central Park at Columbus Circle on Tuesday, August 30—from 12:00-2:00PM. We’ll be placing calls, and mailing postcards, to the three governors—demanding the slaughter be canceled immediately, and pressing a tourism boycott of those states.
Friends of Animals’ president, Priscilla Feral, says, “What’s about to happen to gray wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming—who are a vital part of the ecosystem—is vile. Governors of these states are subjecting wolves to pogroms from the Middle Ages.”
Because gray wolves were taken off the Endangered Species List in the Northern Rockies—through a rider placed in the 2011 federal budget bill—they unfortunately face state-sponsored slaughter in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. It’s estimated that only 1,500 gray wolves remain in those three states.
Friends of Animals has announced an economic and travel boycott of these three states—including Yellowstone National Park, which exists in all three—until wolves are no longer persecuted.

What: Howl-In, Phone-In for Wolves
When: 12:00 PM-2:00 PM

Where: Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park—59th St between Central Park South & Broadway in Manhattan
Why: Protest the state-sponsored wolf-killing in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Questions? Please contact Edita Birnkrant, New York Director of Friends of Animals
Email or Phone: (212) 247-8120

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