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2021 Wolf Harvest
Advisory Committee is holding a public hearing on the quota for the fall 2021
WI Wolf Hunt on June 22, from 9 am - 2 pm. This will be a virtual meeting, and
the public can join in by
Zoom
or by phone.
However, there will be NO
time reserved during the meeting for verbal public comments. Please, PLEASE
email your written comments to:
DNRWildlifeWebmail@wisconsin.gov
before Friday, June 18 at noon! Put “Fall Wolf Season Comments” in
the subject line, and let the Committee know that you favor a ZERO quota for
the upcoming fall wolf hunt. Submitted comments will be recorded
verbatim with submitter’s name and provided to the committee in advance of
the meeting.
 2021 WI
Wolf Harvest Advisory Comm. Public Hearing info
The
February Wolf Hunt was a slaughter that shocked humane-minded citizens not only
in WI but across the nation. We must do all we can to stop that from happening
again. PLEASE take a few moments of your
time to let the Committee know you consider wolf hunting completely
UNACCEPTABLE, and ask for a ZERO quota for the upcoming fall hunt! In
case you need them, we have put together a list of talking points (see below) to serve as a springboard
to your own thoughts.
We
urge you to let your voice be heard on behalf of WI wolves by submitting your
written testimony! You can be sure that the wolf hunters, trappers, and
hounders will!
TALKING POINTS:
The land, water, and animals of Wisconsin, including
Federal forests, belong to ALL the people, not just hunters and trappers.
Wolf management programs that include hunting seem to be
governed predominantly by special interests and not best available science.
The impact of the February 2021 wolf hunt has not been
fully analyzed. Until the impact of the over-kill can be studied, no further
hunting or trapping of wolves should be allowed.
The poorly planned and rushed February hunt caused
significant collateral damage to established packs during breeding season.
(See:
WI Greenfire' s The February 2021 Wisconsin Wolf Hunt: A
Preliminary Assessment) for more details.
The DNR has not calculated overharvest in quotas. That
has led to over-kill of the wolf population, particularly in the recent
February 2021 hunt.
The February 2021 wolf hunt did not honor treaty, land,
and heritage rights of Native tribes.
I support a ZERO quota for the fall wolf hunt.
Wolves are not eaten by hunters, therefore the hunt is
only “thrill kill” for trophies.
Livestock depredation is frequently given as the main
reason wolves should be hunted -- but the percentage of livestock actually
killed by wolves is relatively small.
Previous Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wolf
Management Plans contained effective measures for "controlling nuisance
wolves and reimbursing landowners for losses caused by wolves" without the
use of hunting.
Hunting wolves destroys pack order and the ecosystem.
As an apex predators, the wolves help to control CWD by
using weakened deer as a food source.
It's NOT a "hunter's rights" issue -- more and
more ethical hunters are speaking out AGAINST trophy hunting and trapping of
wolves. Please see: https://HuntersForWolves.org/, the website of Hunters For
Wolves, for more details.
Wolf hunters and hunters with hounds often violate the
rights of private property owners. Hunting hounds do not know property borders;
the hunters do not respect them.
Traps, snares, cable ties, and packs of hunting hounds
create conflicts and pose dangers to other users of public lands, to private
property owners and to their pets.
Depredation payments currently in place can adequately
compensate ranchers and farmers. Depredation payments should NOT be paid to
hounders who purposely put their animals in harm’s way.
To our shame, Wisconsin is the ONLY state in the country
to allow the use of dogs to track and trail wolves, with nearly unrestrained
in-the-wild training of these dogs. This is NOT the type of leadership that
reflects well on our state!
Hunting wolves with hounds is just a form of
“legalized dog fighting.”
Hunting at night with dogs, ATVs and snowmobiles is
disruptive to the environment and to people who live in rural areas.
Pursuing wolves with ATVs, snowmobiles and
hounds—chasing the wolves to exhaustion—is unethical, cruel, and is
not “fair chase” hunting.
I have changed the way I recreate in Wisconsin NOT
because of wolves—but to avoid conflict, noise, disruption, and FEAR of
hound hunters and their untethered hounds.
A minimum five mile NO HUNT buffer zone should be
created around tribal lands, camping sites, hiking trails and other places used
for silent sports to provide for the safety of both the tribal wolves and the
general public.
2021 WI
Wolf Harvest Advisory Comm. Public Hearing info
2021 WI Wolf Management Survey Analysis/Talking Points
(pdf)
DNR Wolf Management Plan page WI
DNR Wolf Hunting & Trapping
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