Wisconsin more than doubled wolf hunting quota, angry environmentalists



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At the board meeting on Wednesday, officials from the Natural Resources Department urged the group to exercise restraint in setting quotas for the fall hunt, which begins on November 6. They said they did not have enough data on the size of the wolf population. after the hunt earlier this year.

“We have a small population, and whether you want more wolves or fewer wolves, from a biological management point of view, that population is small and that requires careful biological scientific management of the population,” said Keith Warnke, administrator of the Fish department. , Wildlife and Parks Division. “It requires a conservative quota until we have more population data, more science, to support our decision making.”

Animal rights activists have said that holding two hunts in the same calendar year was uncharted territory and too intense.

“What is called the management of wolves in this state is a revenge-motivated assault by legal dog fighters, trophy killers, dishonest special interests and their anti-wolf allies in the state legislature. “said Paul Collins, group director of state. Animal welfare action.

Hunters argued that the state’s wolf population has increased as gray wolves are listed as an endangered species, threatening agriculture and herding.

“Hunters have been responsible stewards of this population,” said Luke Hilgemann, president and CEO of Hunter Nation, the group that previously continued to hunt wolves. “We believe this will restore the balance.”

Marcy West, who was appointed to the Natural Resources Board by Mr. Evers, voted the higher quota.

“But the majority asked for zero,” she said of the public’s contribution to the quota.

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