MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nearly 60 years after gray wolves were considered extinct in Wisconsin, the population has rebounded to more than 900. That is thanks to decades of protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, which makes it illegal to hunt or harm listed species.
But the conservation success story has turned into a nuisance for hunters, farmers and others whose animals are increasingly encountering wolves — with deadly consequences. That is why some are calling for the federal government to delist wolves and resume legal hunting.
President Donald Trump’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year proposed lifting endangered species protections for wolves, calling their rebound “one of the greatest comebacks for an animal in U.S. conservation history.”
The plan faces opposition from conservation and animal rights groups. And even if protections are lifted, Wisconsin will continue to pay those who lose animals to wolves.