Debate continues over US states’ sanctioning of grey wolf hunts

Owen Armentrout

Dec. 8, 2024

Grey wolf stands alone in the Montana wilderness. Source: GettyImages

DETROIT- Although grey wolves are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, several U.S. states have approved their harvest in recent years, citing livestock losses as a key factor.

However, researchers suggest that lethal methods may prove counterproductive.

According to a 2024 study published on ResearchGate by Adrian Treves, when one or more wolves are harvested in an area, the risk of wolves attacking livestock triples within a 12-mile radius of the kill site; a side effect that may be caused by these wolves leaving behind less experienced young, forcing them to resort to preying on livestock.

The management of grey wolf populations has been the subject of political debate for decades now given that all sides of the argument tend to stray from black and white.

To hunt, or not to hunt?

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, grey wolves first received their classification of endangerment in 1974 when they became recognized as a regional subspecies under the ESA.

Four years later, grey wolves were reclassified and registered at the species level, allowing them federal protection throughout the lower 48, with the exception of Minnesota.

Since then, policies regarding wolf harvests have waxed and waned.

Yellowstone Park rangers restrain tranquilized grey wolf for a blood test. Source: GettyImages

Successful recovery efforts allowed grey wolves to be delisted from the ESA in 2020, transferring conservation efforts to the jurisdiction of State and Tribal management, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

However, a 2022 court order vacated the ruling and found them once again adopted under the ESA with several exceptions, according to the FWS.

Minnesota’s wolves were reinstated with threatened status, coinciding with the establishment of critical habitat both there and in Michigan.

Although, a handful of states were given the opportunity to retain their delisting due to high concentrations; this includes Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, as well as sections of Oregon and Washington where wolves inhabit the Northern Rockies.

In wake of their newfound omission, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have held state-sponsored wolf hunts each year; partly in response to chronic livestock depredation, according to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.

Pack of grey wolves feasting on a fresh kill. Source: GettyImages

Wyoming saw 97 confirmed cases of grey wolves either wounding or killing livestock in 2022, according to the Wyoming Fish and Game Department.

Regarding Idaho, reports indicate that 84 cattle and 192 sheep were killed by wolves last year, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council

The Montana Livestock Loss Board reimbursed farmers with more than $96,000 for cases of wolf depredation in 2022, according to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

However, the rate in which these wolf attacks occur varies significantly nationwide.

Brian Roell is a wildlife biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

According to Roell, wolves targeting livestock in Michigan is rare, with the state having only paid around $208,000 in reparations since 1998; fluctuating by a few thousand each year.

So why are livestock losses lower in Michigan where grey wolves aren’t harvested, compared to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming?

Research suggests that Michigan’s non-lethal approach to population management may be more effective. So as states continue to grapple with the balance of protecting livestock and conserving wolf populations, perhaps they will look to more passive mitigation strategies.

For more information visit the link below:

Killing Wolves to Own the Libs? | The New Yorker