Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists' advice
Also: Scientists urged Wisconsin to limit its wolf kill. It didn’t go well (Science Magazine)
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Source: The Guardian
Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists’ advice
• Hunters killed double limit during February breeding season
• State wildlife officials recommended a 130-kill limit
Maya Yang
Sat 14 Aug 2021 08.00 BST
Wisconsin wildlife officials have authorized the killing of 300 wolves for the 2021 fall hunting season, more than doubling biologists’ recommendation of a 130-wolf kill limit.
Scientists with the state department of natural resources (DNR) recommended the 130 limit after the four-day hunting season in February saw hunters kill almost twice as many wolves as allotted during the wolves’ breeding season, raising concerns over potential long-term ramifications for the population.
“We’re uncertain of the impacts of that February hunt,” said Keith Warnke, the fish, wildlife and parks division administrator during a tense public meeting with conservationists and the DNR’s policy board. “The situation … warrants caution,” he added.
Paul Collins, state director of Animal Wellness Action, criticized the state’s wildlife officials, saying: “What is being called wolf management in this state is a revenge-driven assault perpetrated by legal dog-fighters, trophy killers, disingenuous special interests and their anti-wolf allies in the state legislature.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/14/wisconsin-wolves-hunters-300-kill-limit
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Source: Science Magazine
Scientists urged Wisconsin to limit its wolf kill. It didn’t go well
By Susan CosierAug. 12, 2021 , 4:00 PM
A controversial move to allow hunters in Wisconsin to kill up to 300 wolves this year could imperil the state’s wolf population, conservation biologists say. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board voted yesterday to approve the quota for the November hunt, ignoring a recommendation from an advisory panel to limit the kill to 130 wolves.
The decision comes amid national scrutiny of how Wisconsin officials are managing the state’s gray wolves (Canis lupus), which until January were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The following month, hunters killed 218 wolves in 3 days—an estimated 20% of the state’s wolf population—during a permitted hunt, even though officials had capped the legal kill at 119 animals. Since then, researchers believe poachers have killed more wolves. The string of events has helped create substantial uncertainty about the size of the state’s wolf population, previously estimated at about 1000 animals, prompting some scientists to urge officials to permit hunters to kill just a small number of wolves in the upcoming hunt—or none at all.
The natural resources board, made up of political appointees, ignored those pleas. And it brushed aside a lower quota recommended by a state Wolf Harvest Advisory Committee, made up of biologists, hunters, wolf advocates, and tribal members.
A controversial move to allow hunters in Wisconsin to kill up to 300 wolves this year could imperil the state’s wolf population, conservation biologists say. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board voted yesterday to approve the quota for the November hunt, ignoring a recommendation from an advisory panel to limit the kill to 130 wolves.
The decision comes amid national scrutiny of how Wisconsin officials are managing the state’s gray wolves (Canis lupus), which until January were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The following month, hunters killed 218 wolves in 3 days—an estimated 20% of the state’s wolf population—during a permitted hunt, even though officials had capped the legal kill at 119 animals. Since then, researchers believe poachers have killed more wolves. The string of events has helped create substantial uncertainty about the size of the state’s wolf population, previously estimated at about 1000 animals, prompting some scientists to urge officials to permit hunters to kill just a small number of wolves in the upcoming hunt—or none at all.
The natural resources board, made up of political appointees, ignored those pleas. And it brushed aside a lower quota recommended by a state Wolf Harvest Advisory Committee, made up of biologists, hunters, wolf advocates, and tribal members.
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Read more: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/scientists-urged-wisconsin-limit-its-wolf-kill-it-didn-t-go-well
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