Mass killing of wolves, multiple US states, spring and summer 2021.
Legalization of snares, bait, artificial night lighting assistance, unlimited number of wolves killed under one hunting license, and the killing of newborn pups, etc. Wisconsin hunters killed at least 216 wolves (of the state’s total 1,050-ish) in less than 60 hours after wolves lost legal protections. Then, Idaho’s governor signed a bill allowing the killing of up to 90% of the state’s wolves, and legalized the killing of newborn pups, with the Idaho Cattle Association supporting the bill “becauseit allows the free-market system to play a role in killing wolves.” Montana moved to allow unlimited killing of wolves under a single individual hunting license. Michigan and Minnesota are considering wolf hunts.
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Excerpt:
In April, Montana’s SB 314 set a goal of reducing the 800 to 1,200 wolves in the state to just 15 breeding pairs. The bill authorizes the unlimited take of wolves under one license, use of bait, and hunting on private lands even at night using artificial light. Additional legislation allows for the use of snares, extends the trapping season by a month, and establishes a scheme for reimbursement of costs associated with hunting wolves – essentially legalizing bounty hunting.
Source: Richard Pallardy. “Montana and Idaho Have Legalized Killing Wolves on a Massive Scale.” Gizmodo. 5 July 2021.
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Excerpt:
As many as one-third of Wisconsin’s gray wolves probably died at the hands of humans in the months after the federal government announced it was ending legal protections, according to a study published on Monday [5 July 2021]. […] They [biologists; researchers] say the deaths reduced the statewide wolf total to between 695 and 751, down from at least 1,034 in spring 2020. […] Wildlife managers in Michigan and Minnesota are also considering wolf hunts. In some western states, Republ!can legislators are pushing aggressive methods such as night-time hunts, bounty-like payments and allowing shooting from motorized parachutes, ATVs or snow machines any time of year.
Source: Associated Press. “’Killing spree’: Wisconsin’s wolf population plunges after protections removed, study finds.” As republished by The Guardian. 5 July 2021.
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Excerpt:
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure that could lead to killing 90% of the state’s wolves in a move that was backed by hunters and the state’s powerful ranching sector but heavily criticized by environmental advocates. […] The primary change allows the state to hire private contractors to kill wolves and provides more money for state officials to hire the contractors. The law also expands the way wolves can be hunted and killed. Those methods include hunting, trapping and snaring an unlimited number of wolves on a single hunting tag, using night-vision equipment, chasing down wolves on snowmobiles and ATVs and shooting them from helicopters. Also under the new law, newborn pups can be killed if they are found on private land. […] The Idaho Cattle Association representing ranchers said it supports the measure because it allows the free-market system to play a role in killing wolves. [Governor] Little’s family has a long history of sheep ranching in Idaho.
Source: Keith Ridler. “Bill to kill up to 90% of Idaho wolves signed by governor.” AP News. 7 May 2021.
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Excerpt:
At least 216 wolves were killed in less than 60 hours, exceeding the state quota of 119 and prompting Wisconsin to end what was meant to be a one-week hunt four days early, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Before the hunt, state officials estimated there were about 1,200 gray wolves in the state. […] The state had set a quota of 200 wolves, with 119 for hunters who applied for permits with the department and 81 set aside to the Ojibwe Tribes under their treaty rights. But the tribes consider wolves to be sacred and made a deliberate decision not to hunt them, said Dylan Jennings, a spokesman for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which represents the tribes. The tribes saw their allocation as a way to conserve a large number of the wolves – not to give hunters more animals to kill, he said.
Source: AP News. “Wisconsin hunters kill over 200 wolves in less than 3 days after removal from Endangered Species Act.” Republished at Chicago Tribune. 3 March 2021.
