Increased Wolf Hunt Quota Numbers For Wisconsin Brings Controversy

A fall wolf hunt in Wisconsin got the green light with double the recommended quota numbers.  The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board green lighted the hunt which is set to happen in November 2021 and more-than doubled the suggested number of wolves to 300.  That increase has some groups concerned about the affects an "aggressive hunt" would have on the total population of wolves for the state.

The fall hunt comes on the heels of a similar wolf hunt in Wisconsin that happened this past February - when "hunters and trappers killed 216 wolves in less than three days during the state's first wolf season since 2014, 82% above the quota of 119 wolves set by the DNR". That hunt also represented the first winter wolf season in the history of the State of Wisconsin.

Critics of wolf hunting point to the February take as a "wolf slaughter".  That 216 number meant that "nearly 20% of the state's estimated total wolf population of about 1,100 [was taken] in less than 72 hours".  They suggest that the winter hunt - and the proposed numbers for the November hunt - demonstrate why "Wisconsin is the prime example [of] why wolves need to regain federal Endangered Species Act protections".

The original proposed number for fall 2021 was 130.  But the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board voted 5-2 to increase that quota to 300.  The move is likely due to the increasing voices of farmers who cite a large wolf population in the state and rising "wolf conflicts with livestock and pets".

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A "yes" vote on the hunt, along with the increased quota numbers, has also brought DNR Board Chair Frederick Prehn in to the crosshairs of controversy.  Just last month, a joint letter from the Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity requested that the Wisconsin Attorney General remove from Prehn from his office.