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Wolf Hunting: Good, Bad or Ugly?

by Jim Kinsey on December 7, 2011

The reintroduction of wolves is seen by many as a great accomplishment while others see them as a threat to wildlife numbers. As Jana and I traveled the country filming Skull Bound TV, we have found that this debate has almost too many sides to count. We hear facts from biologists, stories from ranchers and even some opinions that appear to be skewed by rumors, but today we want to set the stage for this great debate by hosting an online Campfire Discussion. Join us and let’s set the record straight, lay down the facts and discuss this issue in one place.

You might also like to read a story about when Skull Bound TV was invited to join a group of biologist to capture and radio collar wolves and elk from a helicopter. Click Here: Read about our experience first hand with wolves.

Any views or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect those of Outdoor Hub. Comments on this article reflect the sole opinions of their writers.

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guest

It just seems counterproductive to me. We’ve spent decades trying to get the wolf population back up to levels where they aren’t threatened or endangered, only to declare open season on them??? Don’t get me wrong. I think that ranchers and other people with live stock to protect should be allowed to defend their livelyhoods. But are we ready to start taking out wolves that aren’t posing any threat to farm animals? I say no!
Hunter4Life

C’mon. Outdoorsmen did their part and helped get the population back to where wolves are ok to hunt. The courts have said so! Why shouldn’t we be allowed to? No one can say wolves don’t pose a threat to wildlife. They’re wolves! They are predators. Allowing hunters to hunt is just going to help keep both populations under control.

Write your congressmen and defend hunter’s rights!
Jim Kinsey

I believe all animals must be managed. With out proper management wolves will continue to do what they do best and animals such as elk, deer and other big game animals suffer. In many cases now some of those herds are at record lows with only the older animals surviving. This older population gets older with no new recruitment. Look for the documentary ” Yellowstone is Dead” by Scott Rockholm on youtube. You might be amazed at what’s going on in and around Yellowstone National Park.
Jim Kinsey

Another great link by Big Game Forever on the wolf issue!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxaYMrwG3FI
Bassmaster28

Geust
Not managing wolfs may potentially take away our hunting heritage? In Montana I can buy a elk tag and hunt state wide other than special draw units soon if wolfs are not manage I will have to put in for a tag and maybe be able to hunt. the numbers are exploding big game numbers are plummeting. Do you live in the western states and are you and advocate for hunting future? over 50% of the Lolo National Forest elk herd is gone does that say introducing wolfs is counter productive as it as taken years to get elk to the numbers they once were, before an apex predator was introduced? They are posing a threat to our heritage and you say let them be so the anti hunters get what they want, less or no hunting? I say yes they need to be managed!
http://www.huntingtherez.com Jason

There was a time when nature required such predators as part of the North American Ecosystem. A time when there was millions of Buffalo. Today the balance is way off. No more nature food chain for them. I do believe the Creator created them for a reason, but the wolves too must be managed. This ecosystem will suffer greatly if not managed. Some Native American Tribes have expressed grave concern to the wolf and wolf numbers on their lands. They are looking at managing wolf numbers on their sovereign lands. .
http://www.facebook.com/people/Billijo-Beck/100000365023646 Billijo Beck

The most important part is that we are Only going back to our Original agreement back in 1995 And was approved in 2002 by Idaho’s legislators. And that is for 10 packs + 5 as a buffer. Our Elk herds are Crashing where there is HIGH wolf densities. Our Counts that were just done last year Showed that. As the Sight counts came in many of our area’s were seeing 3, 5, 7. Calves per 100 Cows. And this was done in the Winter time when the animals were pushed OUT of the high mountains and in concentrated numbers in lower elevations.
The Entire USA is watching us on this. Wolves are NOT delisted. They are merely put Back on the 2009 ESA Federal rule. Which says Idaho will manage Wolf numbers at 150 Wolves.
I don’t think Most from other states Realize what kind of MESS Idaho really is in. The IDFG advertise that only 6 Cow zones and 9 Bull zones are in trouble. But as Hunters we should know that it is 2 to 4 UNITS that make up a ZONE…If you count the Zones and then the UNITS that make up the Zones It comes Up with 28 hunting UNITS….And if you Look at the Hunting UNITS that are in trouble It’s the Heart of Idaho, And Over half of the state.
The Federal part is Taken care of…Now the people need to focus on the Local In state agency Managers which in this case are called the Idaho Fish and game…The Biologists that are STILL hiding this mess, and Those who are PRO PREDATORS need to be removed.
Our hunting heritage is Truly at stake here. We have already had 6,000 Tags taken from us..Off of the table for good. When is Enough going to be Enough!

Nature Boy

Honestly Billijo, do you think there are state level biologists in Idaho that want to keep the wolf numbers growing?

Eric Baler

Control and manegment of the Wolf population is absolutelly neccesary! Unfortunatelly for our state (Idaho) control has come too late and the damage is done. The Wolf population is out of control right now and what it is doing to our game heards is heartbreaking. Don’t believe me? Come live where I do for a while and you will see what happens when you have and uncontrolled predator population. Check out Guy Eastmans blog, “The Predator Death Spiral”, he breaks it down very clearly. Guy also had a recently retired game biologist tell him about the true motives of todays big game commissions, everyone should read his comment, very scary stuff! If anyone thinks our hunting heritage isn’t threatened your wrong!
Hunter Joe

Do wolves eat everything they kill? I have heard that they hunt for fun, but I’m
not sure I believe that. I know river otters play with their food and sometimes
only eat a small bite. Does anyone know if wolves are like that?

Sue

If wolves are hungry, they will eat whatever they can. There is some truth, however, to wolves not eating everything. But it is an inaccurate to say they, “hunt for fun.” Rather, what we might perceive as playful killing is actually a very important part of pack animals honing their survival skills and teaching the young ones how to hunt. It’s just what they do to, “earn a living,” in the harsh environment in which they live. Their well adapted instincts generally serve them well and is the reason that the wolf reintroductions have been so successful.

Chiphewlett

Whatever you call it, wolves kill more big game and domestic stock than any other predator. They pose a threat to all outdoor animals, wild and domestic. I say we allow the states to set limits, and put more hides on the shed.

Highlander1

Some of you guys talk a lot of pish. Me, I am for the Wolves, good luck to them I say.

Agnieszka Spieszny

Seeing as the wolf population is equipped to bounce back, while elk and farmers’ animals are threatened, there is no reason why hunters can’t hunt wolf in areas where the wolves outnumber respective big game populations. (While I admit I wouldn’t do it myself, I’m on the side of those wanting to hunt wolf).
But before we let everyone running around toting guns, each individual state that allows wolf hunting needs to set the regulations well, so that we don’t end up shooting ourselves in the foot and wipe out the population yet again.
#1GhostKilla

Well, the crux of this issue revolves around human dominance in the ecosystem. Wolves in North America were initially hunted to near extinction because they compete with humans for resources as apex predators like ourselves. In more recent times we have championed the growth of wolf populations through breeding programs and conservation policies in an effort to restore “nature”. As evidenced by our control of the wolf population, among other things, humanity has become extremely proficient at shaping the environment to their needs. A task that was once accomplished by the wolves, managing prey animal populations, has been effectively supplanted by humans through wildlife management techniques. With that being said the ultimate valuation of the wolf population is now intrinsic as opposed to instrumental. Therefore it is my opinion that the wolves should receive prima facie respect as living beings precluding egregious harm to human beings.
Jim Kinsey

Well said Billjo. Thanks for your input and knowledge on this subject. Wolves have been known to “Sport Kill” eating very little of the animal then move on. Usually the entrals of the animal or even the unborn fetus. Do a little research of this on the web and you might be surprised what you find.
Daddonati

That’s right, I was just reading some more research online last night and read of one biologist report of two wolves that killed 21 deer over a bad weekend snow storm, and only ate on 2 of them. It’s a proven fact wolves are effecient killers especially when in a pack, that they often times don’t kill the ‘sick or weak or old’ but instead kill healthy animals in their prime, that they kill animals to eat, to train new pack members, for practice or fun, and kill other animals over territory dominance. They are amazing animals, but absolutely HAVE to be managed to avoid over predation on game animals! It is proven fact that their historical range and habitat has changed due to human growth and development, so to expect numbers of wolves like there used to be historically is absolutely rediculous! That means devestation for deer, elk, moose and other animals. Those are the plans, goals, and objectives of the federal government showing why it is crucial to remove control from them and return it to the states to set sustainable numbers of ALL species!
Colin

I have first hand seen how powerful a single wolf is. This last fall during a wolf hunting trip in Canada we had a moose head tied to a 75 pound log that was 4 feet long. it was covered by like size logs and placed in front of a trail cam. Surrounding the bait site was over grown bush country. This stuff was thick!!! The next morning on the trail cam was pictures of a single wolf moving large logs and getting to the moose head. Then there were pictures of the wolf pulling the head and 75 pound log 20 yards into the nasty thick surroundings.

I’m pretty damn sure that if I had to do what the wolf accomplished I would have passed out.
Roger

We need each state to make the wolf a game animal to control the population as they kill a lot of deer and elk over time
Jerome vachon

here in quebec the wolf on south part of the province was a good thing for the first 20 years but now the population of black bear take the place and they are so many that it’s dangerous now to go on those place to camp with family… and the population of moose and caribou declaim so fast that the biologist have to go shoot bears in the federal park without telling to the population because it’s a protected place… i think that the nature is so well done, that we need to conserve speacies at the place they always lived, but trying to keep the population with a correct numbers, with the knowledge we have !!
Francoiscouturier69

True in quebec,there is quit a few. But contrary to people beleaves, the wolf does not come close to humain. PS There is no wolf south of the st-laurent.I’m a trapper in Charlevoix and yes there,re wolf but we do not have any problem with them.We trap and we hunt them same with bear,people thing that bears eat moose… only very large bear does it. (300 pounds and more) And there is not many of those. People still beleaved in tooth fery, big bad wolf and that bear eats people.
peej

The reintroduction of wolves in yellow stone was a horrible idea. They are spreading like the plague. They are now down around where I live in Wyoming which is a long way from Yellowstone and are already reeking havoc on livestock not to mention wildlife. They found two wolves that were hit by cars on the interstate in Colorado they had radio collars from Yellowstone. WOLVES ARE BAD BAD NEWS. The animal rights idiots don’t seem to realize they can’t just confine them to Yellowstone but maybe that was the whole idea. WOLVES I SAY SMOKE A PACK A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spark

FACT… The people MANY years ago got rid of the wolves. Now we think we are smarter than they were and rural people are paying the price. Wait…. Hunters and recreationalists are also paying the price in many forms. Ask a farmer in Wisconsin how much money he was reimbursed for his dead registered calf ( verified killed by a wolf ) and ask the DNR where the money to pay the farmer came from. The farmer will have always wanted his live animal in 1 piece. SO many negative things have been created in Wisconsin due to this “killing machine” being left to repopulate itself. Folks out West… This is NOT just your issue. The Wolf is a beautiful, but deadly creature. Good luck to all of us.
Robert Wood

What I don’t see being discussed on these, or most forums, is the fact that if you removed every living predator from the equation, we still wouldn’t be able to grow more elk in most HD’s in the state. 66% of Montana elk hunting districts are at, or over objectives set by MTFW&P’s. Those numbers were heavily influenced by our legislature. In 2003 Debbie Barrett from Dillon Mt, passed a bill that required MTFW&P’s to pick elk objectives for every HD in the state. Those numbers would be heavily influenced by the livestock industry. After those numbers were picked, MTFW&P’s had to go to extremely liberal hunting seasons. Offering 2 tags in many HD’s of the state We still are killing elk into January. I live in the infamous Bitterroot Valley that Jim described in his article. In 5 years we (hunters) took home 5 thousand head of elk from the upper Bitterroot. We are still over objective in 4 of the 5 HD’s in the Root. These socially acceptable numbers are as much to blame for where we are at, as the predators are.