PRESS RELEASE: Howls May be Silenced by Passage of Absurd “Manage Our Wolves Act”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(Madison, WI).   Today the US House of Representatives passed HR 6784, the “Manage Our Wolves Act” despite public opposition from constituents, scientists, hunters and business owners. HR 6784 removes all federal protections for all wolves in the lower 48 except the Mexican gray wolf. This legislation threatens the long term recovery of endangered wolves and throw them into the hands of trophy hunters nationwide. The bill excludes opportunity for judicial review — a blatant attack on the very checks and balances at the core of our democracy. It would permanently deny citizens of the right to challenge delisting in court, even if state management plans go awry.  

Britt Ricci, who lives in Congressman Sean Duffy’s district feels this is a bad move for rural Wisconsin residents.  

“Congress will tout this as a victory for wolves, but nothing could be further from the truth. As soon as wolves lose federal protection in Wisconsin, they will be subject to inhumane trapping, snaring and hounding seasons with aggressive quotas that put them in an endangered status to begin with.

Indiscriminate killing of wolves actually increases conflicts and the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), so special interests like the farm bureau and sportsmen’s groups are not only doing a disservice to wolves and the Endangered Species Act, but to themselves as well. Many areas of the country have yet to see the success of wolf recovery that we have seen here Wisconsin, such as Maine, Colorado, California etc. and this bill is robbing citizens of their right to a biodiverse environment.”

The Wolf Advisory committee under Governor Scott Walker, blocked scientists and pro-wolf voices outside of the DNR from participating. Despite the DNR’s own study showing considerable support for the wolf population statewide and in wolf country including Congressman Duffy and Congressman Kind’s districts, wolf advocates are excluded from any decision making. That is not only offensive to advocates but also an affront to democracy. All citizens should have a say and not just special interest lobbying groups that wish to have the species removed from the landscape entirely. The majority want the ESA protected, not the NRA.

“I believe that Congress, especially Congressman Duffy and Congressman Kind should think harder about perspective. A total of thirteen cows were killed in Wisconsin. One calf was taken by wolves in Michigan in 2018. One. But the they voted for this, ignoring the best available science, wanting lethal control of wolves which has been proven ineffective. What they really want is a trophy hunt and to appease campaign contributors such as the NRA, SCI and hunting lobbyists. Thirteen human lives were lost in California in a mass shooting just last week, and yet calling for sensible gun control is “emotional” or “too far”? We have fires ravaging California. We have 10,000 people without power in Puerto Rico but Congress chooses to focus on wolves?

“This is not what the overwhelming majority of Americans want as pointed out by the recent election.” – Melissa Smith, director of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife.

Mary Anderson, a Washburn County farmer, stated that she has to work a full time job in addition to running her farm. “Wolves are the farthest thing down my list of problems. I’m worried about having jobs in rural Wisconsin, clean water and watching out for family farms. Honestly, I’ve had more problems with loose hound dogs than the resident wolf pack along the river. Wolf depredation occurred at only 21 out of over 70,000 farms in Wisconsin, and people were reimbursed for their loses. This is hardly a crisis.”