Minnesota Wants to Ban Wolf Hunts
By Michael Frank on February 26th, 2013
A bill introduced into the Minnesota Senate would place a five-year moratorium on wolf hunting in the state. The bill seeks to reinstate the half-decade waiting period between when the federal government dropped wolves off the endangered species list — which happened in 2011 — and a potential hunting season. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the moratorium is unnecessary, but backers of the bill say that about 79 percent of Minnesotans oppose the recreational hunting, trapping, and snaring of wolves. A total of 413 wolves were killed in the first wolf hunt last season, plus more than 200 were killed by certified trappers. Wildlife advocates say that according to DNR records that could be as much as a quarter of the state’s wolf population. Via Duluth News Tribune.
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Nobody ever seems to point out the awesome part of this whole controversy… the Endangered Species Act worked! Minnesota now has a healthy population of wolves. The question isn’t whether the population can withstand a hunt, it is whether we want a hunt. I did a full post on the topic on my blog a couple months ago… http://www.trailpotato.com/mashed-potatoes/wolves-kill-em-or-personify-em-like-bambi/