Despite Pressure, Wisconsin Allows Hunters to Kill Up to 300 Wolves During the Fall Hunt

For the 2021 Fall hunting season, Wisconsin wildlife authorities approved the slaughter of 300 wolves, more than tripling biologists' proposal of a 130-wolf kill quota.

After a four-day hunting season in February saw hunters kill nearly twice as many wolves as allotted during the wolves' breeding season, scientists with the state department of natural resources (DNR) recommended the 130 limits, raising concerns about potential long-term ramifications for the population.

Despite a total wolf kill quota of 300, the quota established for state-licensed hunters will almost probably be lower. Treaty rights dating back to the 1800s allow Wisconsin's Chippewa tribes to claim up to half of the quota. The Chippewa regard wolves as holy animals and refuse to hunt them. State-licensed hunters will only be permitted to kill 150 wolves if the tribes claim their entire portion of the quota.

According to John Johnson Jr, head of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, "the animosity against this entity is founded on myth." "You've already experienced the functional equivalent of two seasons this year. Nothing, however, can deter our brother's hunger for more blood.

"Respect is something that will be in short supply today," Johnson noted that respect for science, respect for the tribal community, and respect for the ma'iingan, the Chippewa word for wolf.

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