DNR Board Wednesday Should Use Science To Set Wolf Kill Quota

Monday, June 23, 2014

A guest post from Rachel Tilseth, Founder of Wolves of Douglas County, about the important DNR board meeting Wednesday,  8:30 a.m. in the Marquette Room at the Ambassador Inn at Marquette, 2301 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  (agenda, details here):

I want to remind Wisconsinites that you can make a difference as citizen lobbyists by making your voices heard regarding our wild wolves. This coming Wednesday June 25 the Natural Resources Board will be deciding how many wolves can be killed for this wolf hunt season. The Wolf Advisory Committee recommends that the NRB approve a kill quota of 156, which is 24%, or nearly one quarter of the population of wolves across the entire state.

The Wolf Advisory Committee is advisory only, consisting of a majority of pro- hunt citizens who refuse to accept scientific methodology - - even suggesting a higher quota of 300. Current scientific data recommends that two years of hunting has put the genetic pool of wolves at risk. 

I recommend that citizen wolf advocates make their voices heard by calling or emailing the secretary of the WDNR Cathy Stepp at 608-266-2121, or DNRsecretary@wisconsin.gov and expressing how this current wolf kill quota of 156 is not healthy, and will seriously damage the genetic pool.  

Therefore, let science, not trophy hunting interests, be the leading factor, as wolves are a cornerstone species that keep our environment healthy.

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