December 03, 2012
What’s going on? A killing frenzy? This wolf hunt is beyond disgusting and opened a door exposing abuse of power by politicians.
Wolves
were removed from the endangered-species list in January and already
are being trapped and shot. A four-month season is ongoing in Wisconsin,
day and night, with trapping, electronic calling devices and bait.
Possibly dogs, too, if the Dane County judge approves it Dec. 20.
Why?
The bill authorizing the hunt reportedly was co-written by the Bear
Hunter Association, Hunters’ Rights Group and Safari International. Gov.
Scott Walker was elected with support from these groups. This seems
like payback.
The Department of Natural Resources wrote a wolf-management
plan in 1999 when the population was approximately 200. This plan
determined management could be implemented when the population reached
350, meaning the DNR could shoot a few or have a limited hunt. That 350
was never meant to be the maximum population. Now, it seems, there are
more wolf-hunting licenses than wolves.
The DNR already allowed
farmers to trap and shoot problem wolves on their property. Depredation
payments for livestock and pets lost to wolves are astonishing. The DNR
paid $20,000 for two deer killed in a canned hunting area, I read. Fix
the fence!
According to the DNR, each wolf kills about 20 deer a
year; approximately 16,000 deer are killed by wolves annually. Wisconsin
has about 1.4 million deer.
Wolves prey on the sick and weak, which helps prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease and other diseases.
Wolves
are public trust. They belong to all the citizens of the state and,
according to a DNR survey, more than 75 percent of people are against
this hunt.
There’s no biological reason to kill wolves. It’s disheartening to see a lack of respect for life, wilderness and ecology.
Write your representatives.
Cathy Miller
Brulesource
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