Farm Groups Urge AG to Intervene in Wolf Delisting Lawsuit
Wisconsin Ag Connection – 04/26/2007
A pair of state farm organizations are asking Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to have the State of Wisconsin intervene in a lawsuit to uphold the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau and Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association say there is a need to manage the wolf population in the Midwest because farmers and landowners are becoming vulnerable as the number wolf packs grow.
Earlier this month, the Humane Society, Help Our Wolves Live and the Animal Protection Institute filed the lawsuit, demanding that the Fish and Wildlife Service be prevented from implementing its delisting plan. The groups claim the gray wolf remains endangered in Wisconsin, despite the population surpassing its original recovery goal.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ wolf management plan is intended to keep the wolf population between 300 and 500 animals. Latest estimates show that there were nearly 600 gray wolves in the state last year.
“The wolf recovery has been successful in Wisconsin,” says WFBF Government Relations Director Jeff Lyon. “It’s indisputable that the population now exceeds goals set by the Endangered Species Act. “We are asking the Attorney General to get involved to stop these lawsuits that undermine Wisconsin’s need to manage the wolf population.”
The Farm Bureau and Cattlemen are seeking the Attorney General’s involvement to prevent a federal judge from siding with the animal rights groups.