Managing Wolves

Managing Wolves

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Here is Northwest rancher Jack Field: “When the Department goes through - even after they check all the boxes and can document that all the steps have been taken to prevent or mitigate impact - whenever lethal force has to happen it always becomes a very divisive and explosive discussion politically and socially. The Department really needs to focus and spend their time and energy educating the general public about what wolf management is and what it takes to manage and recover an apex predator - meaning the Department needs to make sure the public clearly understands that when you’re recovering wolves you have to be able to successfully remove problem wolves.”

 

The House recently passed a bill that would remove federal protections for the gray wolf, allowing ranchers, hunters and others to kill the animals.

The Manage Our Wolves Act passed 196-180, mainly with Republican support. It would direct the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to end Endangered Species Act protections for the species and prohibit lawsuits challenging the removal.

The GOP and many western states have long argued that four decades of federal protections have been too successful in bringing the wolf back from the brink of extinction, and the species now poses a significant threat to livestock, pets and humans.

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