On July 13, 2019, Wisconsin gray wolves killed a bear hound trespassing their territory in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Forest County. This is the first wolf depredation of a bear hound in the national forest since Wisconsin’s bear hound training season began on July 1st. Since then, two bear hounds have been killed by wolves.
This poor bear hound was pulled from the tree he had chased a bear up into on July 13, 2019 and killed and eaten by wolves in the same area where a bear hound was killed in September 2018.
When the training season began, Wolf Patrol was monitoring bear baiting and hound training in the same area of Forest County where the most recent depredation occurred. Then as was the case last year, Wolf Patrol reported multiple bear baits that were out of compliance with regulations to WDNR conservation officers. In 2018, more bear hounds were killed or injured in Forest County than anywhere else in Wisconsin.
A non-compliant bear bait discovered in early July not far from where wolves killed a bear hound on July 13, 2019.
Wolf Patrol is asking Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest officials to end or restrict bear baiting & hound training on our national forest lands where every year multiple bear hounds are being killed by wolves defending territory and young pups. Allowing unregulated bear baiting and hound training to continue is also allowing more wolf depredations on bear hounds to continue.
Wisconsin hound hunters run their dogs after bear in temperatures approaching 90 degrees leading to heat stroke in many hunting dogs during Wisconsin’s summer-long bear hound training season.
Throughout the Summer bear hound training season, Wolf Patrol will be monitoring and reporting on continued bear baiting & hound training in Forest County national forest lands where it is expected that more depredations will occur.
Please let national forest officials know that you believe its time to end or restrict bear hunting activities in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest where they are causing a deadly conflict between federally protected wolves and bear hounds.
SEND EMAILS TO:
cnnfadmin@fs.fed.us
Bear treed by Wisconsin hound hunter Riley Zahn on July 14, 2019.
Wolf Patrol 