Wolf slaughter in Wisconsin is what happens when foxes guard henhouse

Thank you for running David McGrath’s highly sensible op-ed on Wisconsin wolf hunting. Most people don’t realize Farley Mowatt’s memoir “Never Cry Wolf ” is partly a work of fiction, but it is still an accurate representation of wolf management in the United States and Canada, the latter of which continues to poison wolves.

Not content to be outdone by Canada, our wolf slaughter in Wisconsin “harvested” — the term wildlife management agencies use to refer to the killing of sentient beings for “sport” — 216 wolves at last count. That is 20% of the population and 97 over the official quota, a number Keith Warnke of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources calls “a little bit over.” In Wisconsin, 97 represents 24 to 48 packs, or families, of wolves.

Two of the most troubling aspects of this rushed hunt during breeding season was a lack of transparency on the establishment of the quota and a lack of public input on the hunt’s “emergency rules.” These rules violated Act 169, a state law governing the annual wolf hunt, in that they allowed both meat for baiting and night-hunting.

Nevertheless, WDNR insists these “emergency rules” are legal because “the Act [169] does not prohibit them.”

Trophy-killing lobbies are running roughshod over our wildlife, natural resources and the rights of “non-consumptive users” (the term we came up with for people who enjoy wildlife without killing it) to enjoy our public lands. They also have disproportionate power over our WNDR, Natural Resources Board and legislators.

Until Act 169 is repealed, there will be a wolf cull annually. And by the looks of these emergency rules, the killing methods and aggressive quotas are going to be ever more repulsive.

Laura Menefee, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin