On July 2, 2019 while monitoring bear hunters illegally driving on the Nicolet Trail, (which is designated only for ATV’s & snowmobiles) a bear hunter operating legally, accused Wolf Patrol of harassment by filming the many hound hunters training dogs during Wisconsin’s bear hound training season.

This is not the first time Wolf Patrol has been told that filming hunters on public lands is illegal. But after five years of doing so, we have never been cited for hunter harassment or violating the unconstitutional “Right to Hunt Act.” The law was passed in 2016 in order to curtail citizen monitoring of controversial hunting practices like bear baiting & hound training in known wolf country where multiple bear hounds have been previously killed by wolves.

The bear hunter featured in this video was later informed by law enforcement that Wolf Patrol does indeed have the right to film bear hunters on public lands, and has the same right as bear hunters to use national forest lands. He contacted Wolf Patrol’s founder, Rod Coronado to personally apologize and to acknowledge our rights to film bear hunters in Wisconsin.

This latest incident is the result of groups like the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and Gresham Bear Hunters who refuse to recognize the constitutional rights of opponents of bear hunting by continuing to misinform their supporters that it is illegal to film hunters in Wisconsin.

 

Rest assured, Wolf Patrol knows their rights and we intend to continue monitoring bear hunters in Wisconsin during the entirety of bear hound training season. Last year, 19 bear hounds were killed or injured when they were being trained to chase bears in northern Wisconsin.

If you believe bear baiting & hound training in your national forest is the problem, not native wildlife or advocates opposed to these practices, please share your concerns with Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest officials by emailing them at:

cnnfadmin@fs.fed.us