Wolf proposal critics again say anti-fed direction is the wrong move

There is plenty of push from conservationists to keep Wisconsin lawmakers from drastically changing how the DNR deals with the state’s wolf population.

It was another contentious hearing Tuesday in Madison for a proposal that would end funding for wolf management and ban enforcement of federal wolf protection laws.

Advocates say it’s needed to end livestock killing by the state’s healthy wolf population. But it’s the wrong approach, says UW Madison zoologist, Patricia McConnell.

“Management is what decreases depredation,” McConnell said. “It’s not public hunting.”

Supporters say, since the feds won’t delist the wolf under the Endangered Species Act, the state should empower farmers and others to protect themselves and their animals against wolf attacks. A move that’s way overdue, they say, considering the healthy wolf numbers in the state.

But that would lead to uncontrolled wolf killing, which is the wrong approach for wildlife management, argued liberal columnist Patricia Randolph during the hearing.

“When you kill natural predators like that, you destroy the balance,” she said. “You create disease.”