Rise of the Wisconsin wolf
By Matt Hrodey
Livestock of Northern Wisconsin: Your lives are in danger. And not from your friendly neighborhood meat processor. Wolves attacked livestock at 47 farms last year, a new state record as the gray wolf population – still classified as endangered in the Midwest – continues to grow.
Wolves killed 63 cattle, most of which were calves, worth a total of $113,586, according to a new report from the state Department of Natural Resources. Between 25 and 27 packs of wolves are believed to have carried out the killings along with a handful of lone wolves.
The previous record was sent in 2008 when wolves attacked cattle at 32 farms. Wolf attacks against both cattle and dogs have been on the rise since gray wolves returned to the state in the mid-1970s and, under the protection of state and federal wildlife protection laws, steadily multiplied in numbers. Last year, wolves killed an estimated 24 dogs in the state.
But people may be more dangerous to wolves than wolves are to cattle and dogs. Of wolves tracked by the DNR using radio collars last year, 62 percent of those that died were killed by human-related causes such as illegal hunting, getting run over or getting euthanized because wildlife officials determined they were becoming a threat to humans (under current regulations, being a threat to non-human life isn’t enough to permit legal hunting).
Although most wolf attacks and sightings occur in the northern third of the state, sightings were reported even in Southeastern Wisconsin last year. Although none were reported in Milwaukee or Waukesha counties, three wolves were spotted in Kenosha County, two were seen in Washington County and a lone wolf was reported in Ozaukee County.
The gray wolf is “protected” under state regulations, a step down from “threatened” and two steps down from “endangered.” Federally, the wolves are listed as “endangered,” but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering downgrading gray wolves to “threatened.”
A congressman from Utah, Democrat Jim Matheson, is sponsoring legislation that would forbid the federal government from classifying gray wolves in the West or Midwest as endangered or even threatened. Matheson is responding primarily to declines in Utah’s deer, elk and moose populations, he says. They’re shrinking as western wolf populations rise, hurting Utah’s hunting industry.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have attempted several times to delist grey wolves, but conservation groups have consistently won court orders requiring the agency to restores the wolves to endangered status.
“Federal wolf recovery experts say that the reintroduction of the gray wolf is a success,” Matheson said in a recent statement. “Instead of wasting money on court fights, let’s focus on long-term sustainability of wildlife and habitat conservation.”