On January 12, 2022, Michigan hound hunter, Jordan Farmer was chasing bobcats on public lands, when one of his dogs was killed by wolves and another injured. Now he and other hound hunters are calling for wolves to be eliminated from their rightful place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan again, so he and other hunters can “safely” pursue and kill bobcats, bears and other native wildlife.
The gray wolf was not reintroduced into Michigan as many hounders claim, but successfully recovered after centuries of persecution by men just like Farmer. Hound hunters including Farmer maintain that wolves were eradicated for a reason…so recreational hunters can run packs of hounds after native wildlife for the sake of killing for fun. Make no mistake, these “hunters” are not killing for food, but for sport and money. While no hound hunter including Farmer eat the bobcats they kill, they do sell their fur on the commercial market where a bobcat pelt can fetch as much as $350.
Since the 01/12/22 depredation of Farmer’s hunting hound, many hound hunters are now calling for the poisoning, shooting and illegal killing of wolves in Michigan and Wisconsin. Hound hunters are also demanding that the state of Michigan and Wisconsin to return to a recreational hunt for wolves so their bloodsport can continue unabated, despite an overwhelming majority of citizen’s saying they are against wolf hunting.
It is imperative that supporters of wolf recovery counter the ocean of misinformation that “sportsmen” are spreading about wolves in their selfish agenda that would once again eradicate wolves from the Michigan landscape. Most of the propaganda being spread by anti-wolf interests center on the impact wolves have on their primary natural prey in the Upper Peninsula, whitetail deer. Hound hunters advocate for a return to “a sportsman’s paradise” where the only predator allowed to kill deer are humans.
Gray wolves in Michigan account for a small fraction of the deer killed in Michigan, with auto collisions and hunters taking the overwhelming majority. Over 420,000 deer were killed by hunters in 2020 and according to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, the state saw 51,103 vehicle-deer collisions in 2020. According to the MDNR’s website, wolves play a small role in deer mortality. Biologists estimate the Upper Peninsula deer population at 270,000. Wolves kill 17,000 to 29,000 deer. An estimated 687 gray wolves live in the Upper Peninsula, according to the DNR’s website.
Wolf Patrol is calling on all people to register their comments to Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) before January 31th, 2022 while public comments on wolf management are welcomed. Please state that native wildlife such as gray wolves, not hunting hounds have a right to exist free from harm and harassment as well as threats of poisoning and illegal poaching which is being advocated by the hound hunters themselves.
Click the link below to submit your comments on Michigan’s Wolf Management Plan
before January 31, 2022
Wolf Patrol 