Montana residents by a vote of 2/3 to 1/3 favor Fish and Parks recommendation for 220 wolves to be killed this year by hunters............."Land of the free and home of the brave" apparently applies only for human residents of our great Nation

 

Public Comments on Wolf Hunts: More Pro Than Con, Still Divisive

Associated Press analysis of more than 450 comments sent to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks shows support for the hunt as well as an anti-hunt campaign by Defenders of Wildlife.

On July 14, the commissioners for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will likely OK a quota of 220 gray wolves for the revival of the much-debated hunt this fall.

In advance of the hunt, FWP sought public comments. Today, the Associated Press released a report on its analysis of those comments. Not surprisingly, the comments range from extremes, with some advocating trapping and poisoning. The story by Matthew Brown, a Billings-based reporter, includes the e-mailed comments of "Barry from California," who referred to wolves as "hounds of hell" and said their reintroduction was instigated by subversives bent on "destroying our nation." That's followed by Barbara Laxson of Mansfield, Texas, who decried the "senseless killing of God's creation." "What are you crazies doing up there in the beautiful state of Montana?" Laxson wrote. Many of the comments came from outside Montana and Idaho, which is finalizing the details of its own hunt following April's Congressional delisting of wolves from the Endangered Species List. FWP received comments from people in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

But Montanans for and against the hunt also weighed in.

This vicious cycle will continue to allow too many wolves to prey on our remaining, already low (deer and elk) populations," said Patrick Byrne of Anaconda.

But others said a large wolf population is needed to restore balance to the natural landscape by cutting down on overgrazing by elk and culling sick and weak animals from big game herds. Norman Bishop of Bozeman suggested the Northern Rockies region could support up to ten times more wolves than the current population of 1,651 in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington. "Let the wolves perform their keystone role in ecosystem recovery," Bishop wrote.

Of those who submitted original comments either by letter or e-mail, roughly two-thirds were in favor of the hunt or wanted it expanded, according to the AP analysis. The remaining one-third wanted the hunt canceled or urged restraint in the setting of quotas.  A mass e-mail campaign generated by Defenders of Wildlife generated 215 comments in opposition.

Idaho is expected to announce its quota in late July.

 

 

 

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