Reinstating Minnesota’s Five Year Moratorium On Wolf Hunts Passes First Test…..

Minnesota Wolves…Photo Derek Montgomery

Finally a victory! Today a big first step was taken to protect Minnesota’s wolves from hunts,  that were thrust upon them when the USFWS delisted wolves in the Great Lakes.

“A Minnesota Senate committee approved a bill Thursday that would put a five-year moratorium on wolf hunting in Minnesota.

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee approved the measure on a seven to six vote. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center, said she thinks it’s irresponsible to hunt wolves so quickly after the animal was removed from the endangered species list”….mpr news

Minnesota’s wolf plan previously included a five-year moratorium on wolf hunts if canis lupus was ever federally delisted.  BUT the Minnesota legislature removed that safeguard in 2011,  several months before the USFWS stripped Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota wolves from the Endangered Species List.

  Soon after,  just as their fellow wolf states had done before them,  Minnesota rushed to hold a wolf  hunt in 2012, pushed by powerful hunting and ranching interests.   But wolf advocates are fighters and the battle is far from over.

This is the beginning of a push back in Minnesota, led by Howling For Wolves founder Dr. Maureen Hackett, who has been tireless in her fight to protect Minnesota’s wolves.

There is no reason to hold organized wolf hunts, hundreds of wolves are already killed each year by Wildlife Services for agribusiness.  Wolf hunts are purely a money-maker for the states and serve no purpose other than to give trophy hunters another target to shoot at.

A big thank you to Howling for Wolves and  bill sponsor Senator Chris Eaton for getting the ball rolling to end the unnecessary and brutal wolf hunts in Minnesota.

Now let’s get busy extending protections for the rest of the beleaguered wolf populations!

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Minn. Senate panel approves 5-year wolf hunt moratorium

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio

March 14, 2013

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/03/14/politics/senate-committee-approves-wolf-hunt-bill?refid=0

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Photo: Courtesy Derek Montgomery

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Minnesota Wolves,

Tags: Senator Chris Eaton, Howling for Wolves, Maureen Hackett, restore five-year moratorium, stop the wolf hunts, wolves of Minnesota