Idaho Senate Approves Bill to Kill 90 Percent of State’s Wolves
If environmental activists, both soft and hard line, had any courage, they would promote an effort to discourage any tourism to Idaho. This action is insane.
Excerpt from this New York Times story:
The Idaho Senate approved a bill this week that would permit the state to hire contractors to kill up to 90 percent of Idaho’s wolves with the goal, supporters said, of protecting cattle and other agricultural interests.
“These wolves, there’s too many in the state of Idaho,” State Senator Mark Harris, a Republican, said on the Senate floor before the vote on Wednesday, after telling a story about a “gentleman rancher” whose livelihood was jeopardized when a pack of wolves scared off his cattle.
Idaho’s Wolf Conservation and Management plan calls for the state to maintain a wolf population of at least 150 wolves. At last count, Mr. Harris said, 1,556 wolves were roaming the state.
“They’re destroying ranchers; they’re destroying wildlife,” he said.
The bill would give the state’s Wolf Control Fund an additional $190,000 to hire contractors to kill wolves — on top of $400,000 previously allocated toward killing wolves in Idaho. The bill also would remove a limit on the number of wolves a hunter is permitted to kill.
The Senate approved the bill in a 26-7 vote on Wednesday. The measure now goes to the State House of Representatives. The office of Governor Brad Little, a Republican, declined to say whether he planned to sign the bill. Last year Mr. Little signed another bill boosting funds for the killing of wolves.
Backers of the bill said that wolves also reduce the numbers of deer and elk available to hunters, taking an additional economic toll on the state. Some lawmakers disputed that hiring contractors would drive the wolf population down to just 150, while others referenced the 150 figure as if were the goal.
While sometimes their population does need to be controlled, 90% is over the top, unnecessary, and cruel. Wolves are a keystone species and important to the environment. They control the population of deer and keep the herds healthy by hunting the sick, weak, and elderly. Moreover, they keep herds moving, which helps ensure the new growth of local flora that provides resources and environments to other animals. If the wolves are really a problem, there are definitely better ways to handle it.
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