Minnesota DNR reports at least 32 wolves killed on opening day of season
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports that at least 32 wolves have been killed on the opening day of the state’s first managed wolf hunt.
That total listed on the DNR website as of 8:20 p.m. includes 16 wolves in the DNR’s Northeast hunting zone – including most of the Northland – as well as four wolves in east-central Minnesota and 12 in northwestern Minnesota.
The quota is 200 wolves for the early hunting season, which continues until Nov. 18 or until the quota is met. The wolf season opened concurrently with Minnesota’s firearms deer hunt across Northeastern Minnesota.
A second wolf hunting season, along with a trapping season, will begin Nov. 24 and continue through Jan. 31. That harvest will be capped at 200 wolves, too.
The state of Minnesota assumed management of the gray wolf after it was removed from the federal Endangered Species List on Jan. 27. Some groups said the DNR did not offer enough opportunity for public comment on the wolf season. No public hearings about the season were held except for testimony before the Legislature. The DNR did offer an online survey about the season, and about 80 percent of respondents said they opposed a wolf season.
Two groups, Howling for Wolves and the Center for Biological Diversity, sued the DNR to stop this fall’s hunt but were unsuccessful. Howling for Wolves sponsored a protest in downtown Duluth on Saturday about the wolf hunt. The protest drew about 35 people.
Via: Duluth News Tribune