Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has published the regulations for it’s court-ordered wolf hunt which is set to begin on Monday February 22, 2021. The state of Wisconsin and the WDNR’s appeal of the Jefferson County court ruling brought about by the Kansas-based Hunter Nation lobbying group is expected to be ruled on before the hunt starts Monday.

The facts are plainly simple, this expedited wolf hunt is the result of a special interest group’s lawsuit, not the recommendations of a single WDNR biologist. The state of Wisconsin does not even have a qualified wolf biologist as it’s Large Carnivore Specialist, instead in the rush for this hunt it called on the previous Large Carnivore Specialist who signed off on Wisconsin’s wolf hunt in 2012-14. Nothing about the hunt is cautionary, despite the fact that it is the first wolf hunt of its kind beginning and ending in the midst of gray wolf breeding season.

In the rush to kill as many wolves as possibly in the 8-day season, the Natural Resources Board is allowing every big game hunting method allowed. 4,000 licensed wolf hunters will be allowed to pursue wolves with packs of up to six hunting dogs from sunrise to sunset while predator callers using electronic and mouth calls can hunt wolves 24 hours a day. In addition, as is the case with Wisconsin’s bear hunting, up to ten gallons of non-animal based bait can be used to attract wolves as well as foothold traps and cable-retraints.

It is Wolf Patrol’s prediction that the quotas in each wolf hunting zone will be filled in the first few days of the hunt and the total kill will far surpass that allowed for the entire state, which is 200 animals. Once a quota has been reached in a wolf zone, WDNR is still allowing licensed wolf hunters 24 hours to continue hunting. Meanwhile prospective wolf hunters in Wisconsin are already calling for others to “kill ten and report one” or simply “leave them lay.”

The February 2021 Wisconsin wolf hunt will not be a hunt, it’ll be a slaughter. Allowing thousands of hunters, trappers, hounders and baiters to enter Wisconsin’s wolf territory during a hard winter with heavy snow will surely lead to many more than 200 wolves being killed before the WDNR responds and closes the hunt early.

Stay tuned for more updates as we receive them!