‘Constitutional rights’ or ‘sad and shameful week’?
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Gray wolf. Photo by Derek Bakken / (CC BY)
As Wisconsin reflects on its February wolf hunt, opinion remains split regarding the impact of the hunt. Some 216 wolves are known to have been killed during that brief period, exceeding a quota of 119 wolves that was set by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) outside of reservation lands. By Feb. 24, the hunt was closed by the DNR, four days ahead of schedule.
Advocates for the hunt saw it as necessary species management, as well as an issue of constitutional rights for hunters. Conservationists, however, questioned several aspects of the hunt and how quickly it developed. In the last days of the Trump Administration, the gray wolf (Canis Lupus) was removed from the federal endangered species list. After a circuit court judge ruled in favor of a Kansas-based hunters’ organization, the DNR began preparing for the 2021 wolf hunt.