carebear
Member
Well sure, you can't use 'em for bait, but can't protect 'em?
http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/5709555.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/5709555.html
When Marv Sherva of Coon Rapids shot at a pack of wolves that attacked his hunting dog while he and the dog were hunting ruffed grouse recently near Hibbing, he succeeded in saving his dog -- but entered a legal gray area.
We told Sherva's tale in this space last Sunday. His 7-year-old Brittany, Buck, escaped the incident with 20 stitches. The dog was working ahead of Sherva when the wolves attacked. One veered toward Sherva, he reported.
Sherva said he fired his shotgun three times, likely hitting one wolf, but all ran off. Wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Last week, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, who haven't investigated Sherva's case, emphasized that the law doesn't allow a person to shoot a wolf, even to protect property like a hunting dog.
A wolf can only be shot to protect human life.
"There is no provision in the act or the regulations that allows for citizens to take wolves to protect their property," said Pat Lund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resident agent. "You can certainly scare them off, as long as it doesn't result in physical harm of a threatened species."
The law states: "Any person may take a gray wolf in Minnesota in defense of his own life or the lives of others." Lund said enforcement officers and prosecutors can use their discretion when it comes to prosecuting cases, taking specific circumstances into consideration.
It appears unlikely that Sherva will get into hot water.
"If we don't know that one was injured or killed, it's not really a law enforcement issue that we could do much with," Lund said.
He said his office investigates five to 15 cases of wolf killings in Minnesota each year. Two cases involving possible prosecution are pending at the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Wolf attacks on dogs are not unheard of. "Every year there are a number of dogs taken [by wolves]," said Phil Delphey, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
