Pack of wolves show social interaction according to National Wildlife Federation. WOLF HUNT - LET'S VOTE: November 2014 May Be Set for Ballot Initiative
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The rush to start hunting Michigan's growing wolf population has come to a screeching halt. Now it's time for reasoned consideration.
And actions by Gov. Rick Snyder and the Natural Resources Commission to keep Michigan voters from deciding the issue are, well, un-American.
Every reason offered for why we should allow wolf hunting is misguided, says Upper Peninsula wolf advocate John Vucetich.
Next year Michigan voters may have a chance to voice their opinions on the proposed wolf hunt and Vucetich says there is no scientific evidence to support a hunt.
Wolf hunting advocates have valid reasons to thin the packs where wolves are causing problems to UP farmers, too.
But it's un-American to block a vote and let a state committee appointed by the governor to dictate policy, especially when a significant portion of the citizenry wants a say.
Wolf hunting in Michigan has been put on hold as the Board of State Canvassers certifies petition signatures for a referendum on the November 2014 ballot.
More than 255,000 signatures obtained by the group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected (KMWP) was more than the required 161,305 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot initiative.
The signatures are in answer to Senate Bill 1350, now Public Act 520 of 2012, designating wolves as a game animal and authorizing the NRC to establish a hunting season. Gov. Rick Snyder signed the legislation into law during last year's lame duck session.
Vucetich gives these examples for voters to consider:
"Some want to hunt wolves because they believe wolves threaten human safety. On the extremely rare occasions when wolves do pose such a threat the concern needs to be addressed immediately and targeted precisely at the offending wolf. A general wolf hunt is not a sensible approach for dealing with this concern.
"Some want to hunt wolves because they kill livestock. Wolves killed just 11 head of cattle per year, on average, between 2001 and 2010. Less than 10% of the wolf population is involved with livestock losses. We should be concerned with livestock losses, and there are good means for dealing with those losses, including adequate husbandry of livestock, financial compensation for losses, and a Michigan law allowing one to kill wolves attempting to kill or injure their livestock or dog. A general wolf hunt is not a sensible approach for dealing with this concern.
"Some want to hunt wolves because they kill deer. Michigan?s Upper Peninsula is home to about a quarter million deer. Wolves kill approximately 23,000 deer each year. Malnutrition kills more than twice that number during a typical winter. Hunters kill more than twice what wolves kill in a typical hunting season. If there were every a wasteful way to kill deer it is with our automobiles. We kill about 10,000 deer each year with our automobiles. Our lives are enriched by deer hunting, but a wolf's life depends on it. Wolves will not infringe on our opportunity to hunt deer; they would only ask that we share some. That wolves eat deer is not a good reason to hunt wolves.
"Wolf hunting is not like deer hunting, where hunters and their families are sustained by consuming its meat. We lose our humanity when we kill living creatures without adequate reason. I know of no adequate reason to think we should allow wolf hunting in Michigan. Some are motivated to hunt wolves in Michigan out of ignorance. And I am afraid others are motivated by hatred or callousness for life. If we allow wolf hunting in Michigan, it will be more a reflection of our attitude toward nature than a reflection of our scientific knowledge."
Mr. Vucetich is Associate Professor and co-director of the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project, co-director of the Conservation Ethics Group, and author of more than 75 scholarly publications on a range of environmental topics including wolves living in places like Isle Royale, Yellowstone, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the desert southwest, Canada, and Scandinavia.
Senate Bill 288, now Public Act 21 of 2013, also signed by Snyder, allows the seven member Natural Resource Commission (NRC)to add species to the list of game without consent of the voters.
As expected, the Natural Resource Commission almost immediately approved wolf hunting in a 6 to 1 vote, which was slated to take place November 15 and December 31.
The proposed new law would allow for hunters to kill up to 43 of the animals in certain parts of the UP, or an estimated 6.5 percent of the state's wolf population.
There is absolutely no justification for suspending the democratic process and giving power to an appointed group to decide on a public question.
Wolf hunting is not really a key public question, but voting is. The way we stand on the issue is symbolic about basic rights of citizens.
Let's vote! ###
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WALLWE Says:
On June 10, 2013
at 07:05 AM
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN MICHIGAN MY FATHER EXPLAINED THERE WERE NO TURKEYS OR GROUSE OR FOR THAT FACT LITLE REMAINED IN 1947 OF MICHIGAN WOODLAND SPECIES. HE EXPLAINED THAT FIHING HAD BECOME "GATHER ALL YOU LEAGLLY CAN AND STOCK THE FREEZER , ANY LEFT OVER COULD GO ON THE GARDEN. NO DEER WANDERED THROUGH OUR 20 ACRES OF APPLES ONLY RABBITS AND IMPORTED PHEASANTS. WOLVES ARE NECESSARY TO ANY GOOD ECOLOGICAL PROGRAM . THEIR VALUE IS MUCH MORE THAN HUNTING TARGETS FOR "SPORTSMEN". LETS LEAVE MICHIGAN BETTER THAN WHEN WE ARRIVED. THE WOLVES AEBEAUTIFUL THINGS..AND DEFINITLY A PART OF MY PROGRAM TO RE-ESTABLISH WILD LIFE IN MICHIGAN.. SINCERELY
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Dave Rogers |
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