Keep Protecting The Wolves?

[Terry G]

Wolves are a protected species in Wisconsin, and there is a big push on to de-list wolves. Wolves kill about one Domestic Dog every month. Not a lot, but someone's Pet. I hike a lot with my Dog and have seen Wolf Packs exactly twice in the last ten years. They spot or scent me and their gone. I don't allow my Dog to "Free Range". If she's outside I'm outside. The last three Dog's killed were running free. The owners just let their Dog's out in the early morning and in two cases went back to bed. Now we should start killing Wolves because they depredate unsupervised Pet's? There's no record of a Wolf attacking a Human in Wisconsin since like ......never. So do we open a Season on Wolf's? I'm totally against it. These Dog's that were killed were not on the Owner's property. All were some distance (3 to 6 miles) away.

 

[JmacD]

How’s your deer population doing?

 

[Axis II]

Sounds like this should be a rant on your FB page.

Never seen a house dog make it 6 miles from home but

As for the wolves…when your deer population plummets because of them and live stock starts disappearing and costing people money they need to be put in check. I know people who hunt the U.P. and they say the wolves are making deer hunting up there almost impossible compared to how it used to be. I doubt they are killing wolves just because a couple dogs allegedly got killed by them. Food is probably scarce and the wolves are moving closer to people like every other animal that doesn’t have the home range it should to be able to fend for itself. We have idiots here in Ohio that are pushing for Elk. We literally have herds of deer in peoples back yards because woods are being torn down for homes and tons of deer are hit weekly by cars and people want to reintroduce a 1200lb animal. When the elk they want get too outa control here comes the wolves to check the elk herd. I am confident they introduced bobcats to Ohio because never heard of them until people started crying about hitting deer and they upped deer limits to 8 deer a year. Now we have bobcats beind spotted in the city with 5-6 different cats on camera and they say no season because the liberals don’t like it. Just wait you will see.

 

[Terry G]

How’s your deer population doing?

Huge! Buck and Antlerless in my Zone, plus Youth Hunt,Archery, Black Powder, we aren’t lacking in Whitetail.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Keep Protecting The Wolves?​

Here in Northern Minnesota, HELL NO!

I know a guy who lives in the town of Ely, MN.
He had a wolf, (or wolves) take a deer down one night two doors down from his house!

A few days later another killed deer less than 100 yards from his house!
And, HE LIVES IN TOWN!

The deer are becoming a problem in Ely, which I believe is the fact that the deer feel safer in town because of the wolves!

and now, the wolves are coming into Ely because they are hungry.

We hunt about 20 miles North of Ely.
The four of us have only shot 2 deer in the past three seasons.
We use to get 3 or 4 deer a season.

Last year all I had on my game cameras were wolves! Yes, WOLVES!

I think the DNR estimate on wolves in MN is around 2800.
I say way more!

It is time for a season on wolves to get their numbers back down!

 

[Gbro]

Wolves are a protected species in Wisconsin, and there is a big push on to de-list wolves. Wolves kill about one Domestic Dog every month. Not a lot, but someone's Pet. I hike a lot with my Dog and have seen Wolf Packs exactly twice in the last ten years. They spot or scent me and their gone. I don't allow my Dog to "Free Range". If she's outside I'm outside. The last three Dog's killed were running free. The owners just let their Dog's out in the early morning and in two cases went back to bed. Now we should start killing Wolves because they depredate unsupervised Pet's? There's no record of a Wolf attacking a Human in Wisconsin since like ......never. So do we open a Season on Wolf's? I'm totally against it. These Dog's that were killed were not on the Owner's property. All were some distance (3 to 6 miles) away.

Yes, Wolves need to be THIN'ed!
When we in MN had a wolf hunt it was the most restricted hunt ever, in that we would have to dial into the DNR every morning to see if the hunt was still open because of the very small number of Wolves targeted.
As the fine Gentleman from Ely stated, deer success is at historical low in the forest regions, but SKY HIGH in the Suburban areas where 5-6 permits per person are allowed and in the North forest youth hunters are bucks only.
I am picturing a few Hunter trappers from a family of Tappers turned Wardens and started out in Wisconsin, I worked with the Great Grandson and his father and the Great Grandfather was shot in the forest close to my hunting shack, but the Wolves that were taken by hunters that survived by trapping, snaring and hunting, and still couldn't eradicate Gray wolves(and that was THE goal back then) and anyone who thinks there is any chance of that today is eating some funny Mushrooms!
The only reason wolf attacks on humans is so uncommon is THE GUN!
Gregor, CGVS

 

[Gbro]

The 2 Wolves that are pictured with Kleflock snares were invented by the Grandfather of another co-worker of me and the Grandson of the Warden with the wolves.

 

[American_Fusilier]

I know someone who lives in Northern WI, they are definitely a problem from the stories I hear.

 

[PWC]

Some years ago the Mexican Gray wolf was "reintroduced" into AZ, NM and I think CO they were protected and had radio collars. Of course farmers and ranchers were against it but were over ruled. I remember reading one of the wolves being tracked was motionless for a couple days. Trackers went to check on it and found the collar attached to a log that was hung up on a snag in a river...no wolf at all.

 

[nettlle]

If you have lived rural long enough and have raised sheep domestic dogs are a ruthless apex predator.

 

[Mini30SS]

If you have lived rural long enough and have raised sheep domestic dogs are a ruthless apex predator.

Kill them also!! And send a bill to the owners.

 

[Gbro]

The farmers around here are using Donkeys to protect there stock from Wolves! And they are doing a very good job.

 

[nettlle]

Llamas are used for sheep protection against coyotes around here and they fetch a high price.

 

[Rubone]

Never seen a house dog make it 6 miles from home but

Dogs do that all the time. 4-6 miles is nothing. We knew a dog that could travel almost ten miles in 45 minutes because he wanted to be somewhere else than at home. We also adopted a dog that wanted to live with us and not hos previous owner who lived over three miles away. He didn't like living there so his owner gave him up after he had to come get him at least a dozen times. We'd call every time he showed up. Eventually the dog started hiding when he heard the car coming. We felt if he didn't want to be there strongly that something was wrong or bad there. So he stayed here the rest of his life and was a great dog!
So far the wolves haven't gotten too close to us but they are in the larger vicinity. Timbers coming down through Colorado and a few Mexican Grays that have moved up from down south. Lots of coyotes though.

 

[Mini30SS]

The farmers around here are using Donkeys to protect there stock from Wolves! And they are doing a very good job.

Excellent!!

 

[Random 8]

Huge! Buck and Antlerless in my Zone, plus Youth Hunt,Archery, Black Powder, we aren’t lacking in Whitetail.

https://images.app.goo.gl/6ZxdndtGLGdLbAXT7 IDK. Looks pretty grim in the area where most of the wolf population lives. I shot a lot of does back in the late 90s in Iron county. They were practically begging for antlerless deer to be taken. Went to school in Portage county, and there were plenty there too, but probably less than in the Northwoods. Just to the East and West where there was more row crop agriculture, antlerless tags were plentiful. Granted, there are more factors than just wolves. Forest management practices have changed, and there have been some severe winters. A booming wolf population is certainly a strong headwind to population recovery though. In Northern MN where I hunt now, it is a similar story. Doe tags used to be common, with most zones having either sex hunting, some bonus zones, and at worst a healthy number of lottery tags available. Now it's pretty much buck only. The deer are recovering, but slowly. Plenty of wolves though.

I'm not in the exterminate them camp, but I am absolutely in the management/hunt them camp!

 

[jmr40]

Wolves can be protected and hunted at the same time. It's about balancing the number killed. Sounds like many northern states are ready to start allowing limited hunting.

 

[buck460XVR]

How’s your deer population doing?

...as was said, the deer population in Wisconsin is doing just fine. I got 6 free antlerless permits for where I hunt last year, and could purchase as many more as I wanted for $10, if that is any indication.

I know someone who lives in Northern WI, they are definitely a problem from the stories I hear.

....yep, everyone knows a guy and has heard "stories". While the deer population in the Northern part of the state is not like it is in the southern part, more of it has to do with overharvesting does in the past and not issuing enough bear permits. Bears and Bobcats take approximately 64% of fawns every spring. Other factors lead to another 9% not making it past 7 months of age. Some of that is hunting. Hard for a decimated population to rebound when only 27% of your possible recruitment's, make it to adulthood. Add to that, a few hard winters, limited clearcutting practices and little to no agriculture to help deer get thru the winters. Unsuccessful hunters always want to blame something for their lack of success, but if there aren't any deer there, there would be no wolves. Kinda how it works. The number of antlerless deer taken in the Northern part of the state where wolves are most prevalent, went up almost 9% last fall. This tells me, wolves ain't eating everything. While the antlered numbers went down 1.8%, the number of antlered deer taken in the Southern Farmland zone went down 5%, and there are very few to no wolves there at all. That tells me it was probably hunter discretion wanting a mature animal.

Wolves can be protected and hunted at the same time. It's about balancing the number killed. Sounds like many northern states are ready to start allowing limited hunting.

This. I don't agree that wolves should not be hunted and I don't believe we need to completely exterminate them like we have done in the past. They are an important part of a healthy ecosystem that is constantly being screwed up by man. But their numbers do need to be controlled so that sportsmen can have reasonable success and so that Wolves keep their fear of man and keep their distance from his livestock and his dwellings. I believe that there can be a healthy balance and that the state's themselves should determine that and not the Federal Government. In some areas where deer populations are way above overwinter goals, predators are more efficient than hunters, especially when hunters only want to shoot mature bucks.

Why the hell would the U.S. government reintroduce an Apex predator into our public lands again?
Kill them all!!

...this is what so many naive folks claim. Here in Wisconsin, you hear the same ol' conspiracy theory that the DNR brought in Wolves by the truckload and dropped them off under the cover of darkness to rid the state of all our deer. Nothing is farther from the truth. Our wolves reintroduced themselves naturally form the U.P. of Michigan and across the river form Minnesota. Wolves have been back here in the state longer than most Wisconsin residents realize. There was actually a breeding pack here in the state in the mid 70s. Here in West Central Wisconsin, we had a breeding pack being studied at the Fort McCoy military installation in the early 80s. Long before the highly publicized reintroduction in Yellowstone in 1995. Yet, the majority of folks think that wolves only showed up here at the same time.

Wolves are a very argumentative subject, here on hunting forums and here in the state. Folks have a right to their opinion, but their opinion needs to be based on fact. Not stories from someone's buddy.

 

[Highland Lofts]

 

[Terry G]

How’s your deer population doing?

 

[Terry G]

My back yard.

 

[Terry G]

See what I mean?

 

[Mini30SS]

View attachment 1256784

Tomorrow's lunch and dinner.

 

[WisBorn]

Hi WisBorn here!
I live in Wisconsin and the deer population shifts from zone to zone!
I have property in the central forest zone. No free bonus tags! No extra doe seasons! Limited extra tags for does!
With the wolves being reintroduced in Wisconsin in the mid 70s the love hate relationship with them began once again.

I like wolves, but there numbers need to be controlled. I'm in favor of letting the state wildlife biologists do there jobs. The state congress only cares about getting reelected. They have no business managing game numbers!
I'm happy that the OP has good deer numbers. Now the wolves are moving in, watch your deer numbers decline. When the deer numbers are low, the wolves will move on. I have personally watched this happen in my area twice. Good deer numbers! Wolves come in and the deer numbers decline. The wolves then move out. The deer numbers slowly come back.

The state doesn't want us to shoot the White Deer. We have a stupidly high population of them. Maybe the wolf advocates can train the packs to eat them.


Sorry, I mentioned the state congress. It was a federal judge putting the wolves on the protected list again.

 

[WisBorn]

If the quota is exceeded in a couple of days do you think the population of wolves is to high?

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