TAKE ACTION: Brutal Wisconsin Wolf Hunt Bill Comes Up For Vote….

Update: March 13, 2012

You are having an effect, people are hopping mad over this hunt and the legislators are hearing from them! Keep it up!!!

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Lawmakers seek to amend bill on proposed wolf hunt

Legislators concerned that a proposed wolf hunt goes too far are hoping to amend a bill scheduled for a vote before the state Assembly on Tuesday, seeking to shorten the season to protect pregnant wolves and eliminate night hunting.

“I’m getting emails from all over the state about this,” said state Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, one of the legislators who will try to amend the bill.

The bill, which already passed the Senate, calls for the state Department of Natural Resources to establish a hunting season for wolves, which were just removed from the endangered species list. The proposed season would run from October through February. It also allows night hunting and the use of hunting dogs.

Hulsey said the length of the proposed season means hunters would potentially be shooting wolves that are carrying young in January and February. He said shortening the season so that it runs from October to December would solve the problem.

The bill passed by the Senate included several amendments that addressed at least some concerns expressed by state wolf experts during hearings on the original bill. Those changes, for example, give the DNR more authority to establish hunting zones and control the number of wolves killed, targeting the hunt in areas where depredation is a problem.

Wisconsin is now home to about 1,000 wolves thanks to a recovery program that started in the 1980s after wolf populations in the state dropped to near zero due to over-hunting and bounties.

But a number of experts remain concerned about the length of the season, especially because of the threat to pregnant females. Randle Jurewicz helped manage the state’s wolves for years in the DNR’s Bureau of Endangered Resources before his recent retirement. He said the shorter season would be an improvement.

Jurewicz is also concerned, however, that the bill that was passed by the Senate allows the use of dogs to hunt wolves. He said he is concerned because the hounds most Wisconsin hunters use, mostly to hunt bear, are no match for wolves and that the bill requires the state to pay hunters if their dogs are killed by wolves.

Allowing the use of dogs, Jurewicz said, would turn the wolf hunt into a giant dog fight with the edge definitely going to the wolves.

“It’s still a big problem,” Jurewicz said of using dogs. “These are not raccoons. These are not rabbits. They aren’t even coyotes. They don’t run away from a lot.”

Because more dogs are likely to be killed, Jurewicz said, the state probably will not have enough money to cover both the payments on dogs and on livestock or pets killed by predatory wolves, Jurewicz said. That money, under the bill, is supposed to come from license fees.

Late Monday, it was uncertain whether Democrats were going to propose an amendment that would remove the use of dogs from the bill.

Click Here To Read More

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Update: March 11, 2012

Please don’t forget to call or fax the Wisconsin Assembly before the vote this Tuesday, 3/13. They want to hunt wolves with dogs, hunt them at night, club them to death in traps, shoot across roads, use almost any type of weapon including muzzle loaders, handguns, shotguns, bow and arrows, crossbows, traps and snares, predator calls and baiting. The bill has already passed the Senate. This is the most brutal hunt yet proposed.

The war on wolves has been declared. Wisconsin apparently believes they live in a vacuum and nobody will notice the “wolf torture” bill cooked up by the trophy hunting crowd. It only reinforces what the non-hunting public already knows, “thrill killing” our wildlife for sport is animal cruelty.

Wisconsin will no longer be famous just for its cheese but for Assembly Bill 502/S411. The Wisconsin Assembly should  re-think their stand on this horrific bill and vote NO. There are plenty of other places to buy cheese and vacation, places where dogs won’t be chasing wolves around the woods to their deaths, for some “cheap thrill kill game”. Shame on you Wisconsin legislators.

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Contact Wisconsin State Assembly Representatives

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=assembly

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Sample letter/Talking points

Dear Wisconsin Legislator,

I’m writing to let you know how disturbed I am that Wisconsin would consider a wolf hunt so soon after wolves were removed from the ESA but specifically one that allows wolves to be hunted with dogs, night hunting, shooting across roads, steel jaw traps, baiting, predators calls, muzzle-loading firearms, handguns, shotguns, bow and arrows and crossbows. Why not just bring out the artillery?

This bill is so egregious to so many Americans who care about wolves and want to see them protected. It is unconscionable that Wisconsin would treat a newly delisted species in this way. This hunt is obviously motivated by special interests who have no love for the wolf. From the outside it looks like a “revenge hunt”.

Wolves have an important ecological role to play. They cull ungulate herds, keeping them healthy and free of disease. There is no reason for such heavy-handed tactics against them. They are not eating all the deer or killing all the cattle. To quote Ed Bangs ( retired Federal Wolf Recovery Coordinator),  “To the livestock industry, wolf losses are so small, you can’t even measure them.” March 2012

Please vote no on this very bad bill. It gives Wisconsin a black eye and will have a negative effect on the state’s vital tourism industry. There may be a small, vocal minority that dislikes wolves but the majority of Americans love wolves and will not want to visit a state that uses such barbaric practices against them.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

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Assembly Bill 502

http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/proposals/ab502

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TESTIMONY
of
JAMES E. ZORN
EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR
GREAT LAKES INDIAN FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION

Please read the important testimony of Jim Zorn, Executive Administrator Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, speaking out against S411, the Senate companion bill to Assembly Bill 502, which passed the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 by a vote of 24-9 , without debate.

http://www.glifwc.org/upload/SB_411_written_testimony_fnl.pdf

The tribes are against this assault on the wolf, they call Ma’iingan.

The commission represents these tribes:

WISCONSIN
Bad River Band
Lac Courte Oreilles Band
Lac du Flambeau Band
Red Cliff Band
St. Croix Chippewa
Sokaogon Chippewa

MINNESOTA
Mille Lacs Band
Fond du Lac Band

MICHIGAN
Bay Mills Community
Keweenaw Bay Community
Lac Vieux Desert Band

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Care2 Petition

Say No To Wisconsin Wolf Hunt

Click Here To Sign

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March 6, 2012

Wisconsin Assembly Delays Wolf Hunt Vote Until Next Week….

A break? The Wisconsin State Assembly has delayed a vote on the brutal wolf hunt bill until next week. That gives us much-needed time to lobby Representatives into rethinking their vote. I know it’s a long shot, the Assembly is more conservative on this issue than the state Senate but I see this as a positive. Please take the time to call Wisconsin Representatives until they take up the bill next week. If  they hear from us in great numbers there is a chance they may reconsider their vote.

If you live out-of-state let them know you will boycott all products from Wisconsin and will not set foot in the state if they vote for this wolf hunting bill, that allows up to six dogs per wolf hunter to chase wolves down. Wolves do not need to be hunted, they regulate their numbers according to their prey base, that is simple biology. They certainly don’t need dogs chasing them through the woods, terrorizing them and other wildlife.

If you’re  a Wisconsin resident,  make sure they understand you will make it a priority to vote anyone out of office who supports this inhumane and cruel legislation.

The war on wolves has spread from the Northern Rockies to the Great Lakes. The usual suspects are behind the onslaught, the ranching and hunting lobbies, who are scapegoating and demonizing wolves, once again.

Enough is enough. It’s time to fight back!!

Assembly delays action on bills legalizing wolf hunt, lifting Family Care cap

Last Updated: March 07, 2012 – 2:41 am

The Assembly planned to vote on the measures Tuesday. But at about 1:30 a.m. early Wednesday morning Republican leaders decided instead to adjourn and take up the unfinished bills next week, its final week in session.

Read more : http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/39a90a18e4ab4e35af7608eccd81f0a4/WI-XGR–Assembly

Photos: Courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Wisconsin Wolves, Animal Cruelty

Tags: Defeat AB 502, Wisconsin Assembly delays vote, hunting wolves with dogs, animal cruelty