A wolf hunting bill has been approved by the Michigan Senate committee, sparking outrage from some Michigan residents. If approved as law, Senate Bill 288 would allow Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission to designate wolves as game.
Currently, the designation can be reversed by Michigan voters. Senate Bill 288 removes voters from the equation, granting Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission full power to designate wolves as game.
Last December, Public Act 520 categorized wolves as a game species in Michigan. A total of 161,305 valid signatures from Michigan voters are needed to reverse that designation. As reported by MLive.com, The Humane Society has submitted 253,705 signatures in opposition to the act.
There are more than enough signatures to halt the act. However, Senate Bill 288 may render them useless.
As reported by Detroit News, Scott Kaplan of Keep Michigan Wolves Protected has stated that the bill is “an attempt to silence the will of the people.”
Michigan’s Wolf Management Advisory Council will meet today in St. Ignace Michigan to discuss Public Act 520. The council will lead the discussion including tribal government, conservationists, and those involved in wolf management.
Officials with the Wildlife Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will hear testimony from all sides before deciding whether the hunt, proposed for May, will occur. If the DNR schedules a hunt, it may be suspended if the signatures in opposition are validated before that time.
If Senate Bill 288 is voted into law before the scheduled hunt, it could invalidate the signatures, allowing the hunt to continue.
Currently, the DNR is reportedly considering a hunt limited to 47 wolves. The hunt would be confined to three regions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The proposed wolf hunt was introduced as DNR officials have received increased complaints involving wolves. Numerous complaints included attacks against family pets and livestock. Residents in Gogebic county have filed “91 complaints of nuisance wolf behavior” in the last three years.
Residents have requested that the state intervene as they fear for the safety of their children and animals. Current law allows residents to kill wolves found on their property, but many residents assert that it has not decreased the nuisance behavior.
The wolf hunting bill has been approved by the Michigan Senate committee in response to residents’ concerns.