U.S. Ends Protections for Wolves in 3 States
Wolves like any other animal need protection. Wolves will always be endangered because people love to kill them. After the Bush administration decides the wolf would not be part of the protection act in three states of the United States (Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho).
According to the Department of the Interior base population of 66 wolves introduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in the mid-1990s, there are now nearly 1,300, with an additional 230 or so in Montana that have drifted down from Canada. State management plans allow for wolf hunting, or outright eradication in some places — including most of Wyoming with a target population of 150 in each of the three states.
They said that the reason why they should not be protected is that the population of gray wolves has far exceeded their total recovery gal and still growing every year. Even though the population of wolf keeps increasing there is no way they can survive with out the protection plan. Because before the act was passed only 400 hundred wolf where found in 48 states, and it takes couple years to recover.
The Natural Resources Defense said that Americans will howl with rage when they learn that their government is jeopardizing this iconic animal, wolf should always be protected. Also animal protectors are trying to set lawsuit so wolf can be back to the endangered species. How can we prevent this when the hunters are ready to kill this animal.
Can we consider wolf a problem. According wildlife officials themselves have killed 725 problem wolves since 1987, an annual cull of about nine per cent of the population a year. A private foundation has also paid out about US$900,000 in compensation for wolf attacks on livestock since 1987. For anyone who still have their doubts about the decision on the government to take the wolf out of the endangered species please check this sites
Posted By: Rafael Leon
posted by PWH @ 9:06 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I think that it is really unfortunate that wolves are no longer covered under a protection law. I was just wondering if you knew the number that defines whether or not a population is endangered? Yes, the recovery has enabled an increase of wolves, but if this protection law is not put back into affect soon, the wolf population may be wiped out completely which will take a lot of time to recover.
Posted by Vanessa Raphaël (2)
That's terrible the wolves aren't being protected anymore. I know you said Wyoming is allowed to hunt wolves but the population has to be at 150. Do the other states where the wolf is no longer protected allow hunting of wolves, or are they fined if they kill a wolf? If they are allowed, do you know how many wolves each person is allowed to kill? I know sometimes when the population is considered a "safe number", hunting is allowed (to keep the population at a reasonable number) but hunters are heavily fined for killing more than they are allowed.
Posted by: Christine McConville
I feel like this could even be a good thing for wolves. I understand that it is difficult to sit around and justify hunting these animals but if the population has grown into the thousands in yosemite taking away the protection could finally symbolize a replenished population. I'm still not for the hunting of this animal but I feel like there is still plenty of good in this story.
Posted by Daniel O'Leary
I was just reading A WALK IN THE WOODS by Bill Bryson where he mentions the absurd amount of money paid out by the United States to kill endangered species and then the absurd amounts paid to save pesky animals. The book is about his observations made when hiking the Appalachian Trail (which is nowhere near the states you're talking about but is still very relevant). Here are some of the figures he presents: In one year PA paid $90,000 in bounties for killing owls and hawks which saved the farmers only $1875 in estimated livestock losses. 1890: NY pays bounties on 107 mountain lions, by 1920 ALL mountain lions were killed. ONE was spotted about 10 years ago - I'm not sure if any have been seen/proven since then.
Maybe it would do states/the US some good to research animal threat versus bounty versus environmental affect.
Posted by Sarah Kaz
Wolfs are a key predator in many ecosystems and if they aren't protected the ones that kill livestock or are to close to human populations, which are everywhere, will be killed. You could include some possible outcomes if the wolf population declined to much or they went extinct.
-Tom Farese
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