July 02–Wisconsin’s wolf hunt will continue this fall with fewer animals killed.
That’s a reasonable plan from the state Department of Natural Resources and its wildlife experts.
Science should guide the state’s strategy on controlling yet preserving a healthy wolf population. So far, it mostly has, though the use of dogs, night hunts and traps are excessive.
The state Natural Resources Board just approved a tighter harvest quota of 156 wolves for Wisconsin’s third hunting season, which will start in the fall and run for a couple months. This year’s limit is lower than last season’s 251 animals.
The careful approach is welcome.
Wisconsin shouldn’t reduce its wolf population too fast because the effects of hunting are not fully known. Moreover, the state’s original goal of having 350 of the animals is outdated and needs updating. That estimate was made when wolves were recovering from near extinction here, and wildlife officials didn’t know they could thrive.
The latest tally of wolves in Wisconsin suggests 675 animals in almost 200 packs late last winter. That’s down from the more than 800 wolves in 214 packs the winter before.
The number of wolves typically doubles each spring, when pups are born. But many don’t survive for a variety of reasons, some natural.
Staunch opponents of Wisconsin’s wolf hunt don’t want any animals shot and killed. But northern Wisconsin residents deserve some protection for their livestock and pets. The hunt helps keep the wolves wary of people.
Hunters want a bigger harvest so more enthusiasts can bring home a trophy. But if Wisconsin goes too far too fast, it risks the wolf’s successful comeback — which in turn risks the hunt itself.
“Learning as we go is the way most biologists prefer to go about this,” DNR Wildlife Management Bureau Director Tom Hauge told the Associated Press. “Maintaining a sustainable wolf population is absolutely job number one for the department.”
That’s good to hear. And that’s a goal both sides in the emotional debate over Wisconsin’s wolf hunt should share.