The population of the grey wolf continues to grow in parts of the Upper Midwest. So much so, that for the first time, wildlife officials in Wisconsin are starting to kill problem wolves. To date, officials have destroyed four animals. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
The population of the grey wolf continues to grow in
parts of the Upper Midwest. So much so, that for the first time,
wildlife officials in Wisconsin are starting to kill problem wolves.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
The federal government recently reclassified the grey
wolf from an endangered species, to a less protected
threatened one. In northern Wisconsin, wildlife officials used to
relocate wolves
that were killing livestock. But a new survey shows the wolf
population in Wisconsin is up to at least 335 adults, and officials are
using the federal downlisting to euthanize problem wolves.
At least four wolves have been killed in the last few weeks. Wisconsin
will
soon start the process of removing the wolf from the state’s
threatened species list. Adrian Wydeven is a wolf expert with the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He says under tight
restrictions, some landowners could kill wolves, too.
“We could issue permits…or if a wolf came on somebody’s land
and attacked pets or livestock they’d be able to shoot a wolf in self
defense.. which under endangered and threatened species law we
can’t allow that.”
Federal officials are working to remove the grey wolf from the
nation’s threatened species list within the next few years. For the
Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chuck Quirmbach reporting.