2013 is the year we push for legislation that repeals recreational wolf hunting in Minnesota

The first ever DNR regulated wolf hunting season in the state of Minnesota came to a close last Thursday, leaving a bittersweet taste in the mouths of the majority of citizens who opposed the hunt, and especially those of us who have joined the fight against it – both locally and nationally. It’s a new year and our message to the politicians, legislators, hunters, DNR members and average citizens who supported the wolf hunting bill in this state is clear: You’ve crossed the line.

Passing are the days when the public puts blind trust in the DNR, credulously assuming this organization will carry out what is best for the environment and has the best interest of all living creatures in mind as they plot out their plans behind closed doors; for despite the fact that 80% of respondents to a DNR-issued survey were opposed to the hunt, the bill was swiftly pushed through the legislature and the voice of the public was completely ignored. No public forums, no clear or satisfactory explanation … just a bill that was passed to hunt and trap a species taken off the endangered list only one year prior.

Before the hunting season began, the DNR estimated that about 3,000 wolves have maintained their population during the last five years. Recently interviewed about the season’s closing, my friend Dr. Maureen Hackett, founder of activist group Howling for Wolves, stated that before the wolf hunting season even began nearly 300 were killed legally by farmers, and likely another couple hundred by poachers. Add that to the 400 plus that were tagged during the hunt, and Hackett says, “now you have nearly 1,000 wolves killed out of maybe 3,000 wolves total. That’s 30% of the population.”

Simply put, if legislation that outlaws recreational wolf hunting in this state is not passed in the near future, the wolf population will quickly drop to numbers that will put them back on the endangered list. There’s a lack of transparency and a major disconnect between the officials/environmental “experts” and the public concerning this issue. As I stated in a fairly recent post, the MnDNR was pandering to special interest groups such as sport trappers, hunters and livestock producers when they devised the wolf hunt. Against their own management plan and without any recent data that even suggested overpopulation, the DNR mandated this past years’ hunt on a whim – and with a hidden agenda. There’s always more than meets the eye.

I urge you, dear reader, as a fellow steward of the Earth and all of its inhabitants, join me. Its time to hold some feet to the fire. Individuals within large systems of power simply do not change unless they are forced to by one collective public voice demanding change. Tell the elected officials and state legislators you will not stand for another wolf hunting season in this state.  For more information and to get involved, click here.