Written by Admin
The
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has publicly denounced the red wolf
reintroduction in coastal counties, calling for the red wolves to be
rounded up — despite being the only wild population of red wolves on the
planet.
Last week, the Commission adopted two resolutions: one
requesting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service end the red wolf
reintroduction, and the second asking the agency to capture and remove
all the wolves and their offspring that have ended up on private land.
It is the latest shot fired in an ongoing dispute over the
endangered red wolf population along the N.C. coast. Previously, the
Wildlife Commission was the target of a court case claiming nighttime
hunting of coyotes in red wolf territory was detrimental to the
endangered species.
Red wolves look like coyotes, and night hunting increases
the risk of red wolves being shot accidentally, according to the court
suit. So the Wildlife Commission was forced to rein in coyote hunting in
red wolf territory, imposing limits and restrictions on when, where and
how coyote hunting could occur.
But the Wildlife Commission continued to assert that
shooting nuisance coyotes should trump concerns over red wolves and has
now made its opposition to the red wolf reintroduction official.
In the resolution last week, the Commission said that the
red wolves were interbreeding with coyotes and encroaching on private
lands, and that the red wolf introduction in five coastal counties
should end.
The Southern Environmental Law Center, which brought a
lawsuit in 2012 opposing the Commission’s red wolf management,
disagrees.
“Red wolves have lived — and thrived — on the current mix
of private and public lands for 25 years, becoming one of the most
successful predator reintroductions in U.S. history,” said Sierra
Weaver, senior attorney with SELC. “Asking that the federal government
declare ‘extinct’ the 100 red wolves that live in eastern North Carolina
is a blatant attempt to remove from the wild one of our country’s most
beloved animals.”
For its part, U.S. Fish and Wildlife released a 171-page
evaluation of the program in November 2014 and is expected to release a
decision on the program’s future early this year.
Meanwhile, the Wildlife Commission is accepting public
comment through March 16 on the retooling of coyote hunting rules in red
wolf territory.
Published in
Outdoor Latest
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