PRESS RELEASE: Howling For Wolves responds to announcement of new wolf killing rules by the MN DNR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 5, 2021

Howling For Wolves responds to announcement of new wolf killing rules by the MN DNR

(St. Paul, Minn.) – Yesterday the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources publicized information regarding how farmers and others can now kill wolves because the wolf in Minnesota has been removed from the Endangered Species List by the U.S. Department of Interior.

Dr. Maureen Hackett, founder and president of Howling For Wolves, a Minnesota-based wolf advocacy organization, said in response:

“Most Minnesotans would be shocked to know that the Minnesota DNR now allows indiscriminate wolf killing even before a problem occurs throughout most of the state. Instead, the DNR could use this opportunity to implement a 'nonlethal first' policy. Prevention methods should be the first response in the rare case when people think they may have a wolf problem.

As it stands now, the DNR allows wolf baiting and trapping for a one-mile radius from land owned, leased, or managed in two-thirds of Minnesota for an indefinite period in advance of any conflicts. This means that wolves will be baited onto land they should avoid in order to trap and kill them. This means the numbers of wolf killings for suspicion of a possible future problem is unlimited. Killing wolves destroys wolf packs causing unpredictable behavior by surviving wolves and drives them toward easy food. This is a recipe for pack disruption and disappearance, more livestock conflicts, and puts the wolf on the path to extinction. 

The DNR should first initiate nonlethal prevention methods for suspicion of potential problems and before there are wolf-livestock conflicts. This is especially true and should be required by all who use public lands for grazing.

The vast majority of Minnesotans, Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan, and many lawmakers want the wolf protected for future generations. Working to promote nonlethal methods is crucial to that objective.”

WOLF KILLING IN MINNESOTA:

Even when the wolf was protected by the federal Endangered Species list, they were killed legally by government agents for suspected livestock predation. For each livestock incident, entire packs were baited back to the problem area, trapped and killed.

Annual known wolf mortality

The table below lists known wolf mortality for the indicated year. Totals are compiled annually after April 1 each year.

Citation: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wolves/index.html

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Howling For Wolves educates the public about the wild wolf to foster tolerance and to ensure the wolf’s long-term survival. Howling For Wolves opposes wolf hunting and trapping and all wildlife snaring. We advocate for nonlethal prevention methods that reduce wolf-livestock conflicts and support current federal protections for the wolf. www.HowlingForWolves.org.