RON SEELY | Wisconsin State Journal
Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday they will be forced to scrap the 2012-13 wolf hunt in Wisconsin if a Dane County judge issues an injunction temporarily halting the issuance of licenses.
The request for an injunction is sought by a coalition of Wisconsin humane societies in a lawsuit that claims the DNR did not include provisions in the wolf hunt rules that would prevent violent and inhumane fights between dogs and wolves.
Dane County Circuit Judge Peter Anderson on Wednesday delayed a decision on the injunction until Friday at 1:30 p.m. He also set a date of Sept. 14 to rule on a motion from the DNR and the state of Wisconsin to dismiss the case.
The wolf hunt, the only one in the nation allowing the use of dogs, is scheduled to begin Oct. 15. As of Wednesday, the agency had received more than 16,000 applications for wolf hunting permits. The application period closes Saturday, and a drawing to pick 2,000 permits would be held next week.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit have asked that Anderson halt the issuance of licenses until the agency amends the wolf hunting rule to regulate the training and use of dogs during the hunt. Kurt Thiede, the DNR administrator overseeing the hunt, said Wednesday there would not be enough time prior to the scheduled Oct. 15 start of the hunt to make such changes.
During a four-hour court session Wednesday, Anderson grilled lawyers on both sides of the issue. He focused on two main issues raised by the case — whether the group of humane societies has legal standing to challenge the use of dogs in the hunt and whether the DNR had the authority to include stricter regulations on training and hunting wolves with dogs.
Cynthia Hirsch, a lawyer with the state Department of Justice, argued that the DNR did not have the authority to regulate the training and use of dogs for wolf hunting because of provisions in the wolf hunting law passed by the state Legislature.
“Basically, the DNR had no choice in the matter,” Hirsch said.
Lawyers for the humane societies said the groups have a legitimate stake in the issue — or legal standing that allows them to challenge the unregulated use of dogs. “Their mission, their business, is the protection of all animals, wild and domestic,” argued Carl Sinderbrand, with the Axley Brynelson law firm.