Thoughts On the Montana FWP Wolf Hunt Quota Hearings

I think the Wednesday Montana FWP wolf hunt quota  hearings, held across the state, were window dressing. No hearts and minds were changed. The people who hate wolves, still hate wolves, the people who want to hunt wolves still want to hunt them and the wolf advocates were left out in the cold. It was more of take it or leave it kind of thing. FWP basically is saying they are changing the quotas to either 153, 186 or 216 and if you don’t like it tough. I didn’t ask for a wolf  hunt, didn’t want a wolf  hunt and I certainly didn’t want them to hunt even more wolves.

The whole point of the hearings was CYA. They can say they went out and explained their special little plan to everyone and now we can all send in our comments, like it’s going to make one bit of difference to the commissioners. I mean what do we get to choose from? Double or almost triple the wolf hunt quotas?  Wolf supporters didn’t have anything to say about the hunts in the first place. The state just decided to have wolf  hunts.

I was told that when someone in the audience at one of the hearings asked why the state was having wolf hunts, the Montana FWP speaker said, “Because we can.” Now that’s sound management isn’t it? Wolves lives are disposable.  Apparently FWP was enamored of the money the 2009 wolf hunts brought into their coffers. They don’t care one bit if wolf advocates don’t like it, they’re going to do it “because they can”.

I have to say I was stunned by the tiny numbers of wolf advocates attending the hearings.  As far as I know and someone can correct me if I’m wrong, not one environmental organization was represented, not one wolf organization attended. If I’m wrong please let me know. But it was a puny turnout and wolves were the losers. If people say they are pro-wolf and then don’t even bother to show up for hearings, when Montana is discussing killing lots more wolves in the coming 2010 hunts, then I have no idea what to say about that.

Does everyone know what’s happening here? There’s going to be a wolf slaughter this coming fall, if Judge Molloy doesn’t relist wolves. Wildlife Services is already out in force killing wolves. On top of that wolves in Montana are now going to have to dodge arrows with the proposed archery season, a back country rifle season and a general hunting season that could plunge the population of wolves from 520 to below two hundred wolves by the end of 2010.

Oh, FWP will tell you that won’t happen because wolves had pups in 2010, that haven’t been counted. What they won’t tell you is Wildlife Services has been aggressively killing wolves for agribusiness and this is pup season. How many wolf pups have been killed along with their parents in these deadly “control actions” for agribusiness? What will all this killing do to the number of breeding pairs going into 2011?

Apparently the new paradigm is they won’t let the  wolf population drop below fifteen breeding pairs or 150 wolves. When in the hell did we get to those numbers?  This is a war on wolves and we are losing, WOLVES ARE LOSING.  Being present and speaking out can actually make a difference. If  pro-wolf people were as vocal as the wolf haters we actually could become a force to be reckoned with. But sadly that’s not happening.

For all the wolf advocates that didn’t attend, does your silence  mean you endorse the horrific policies the state wants to adopt  to kill more wolves?

“Crickets”

Posted in: Montana wolves, Wolf Wars

Tags: Montana FWP, Increased wolf hunt quotas, wolves under fire