Breaking: 3,924 Dead Wolves
The newest wolf-killing tally is in: More than 3,900 wolves have been hounded, gunned down and trapped to death since politicians took away protection in six states -- hundreds since September alone. Each death can destroy a family and shatter a pack.
Help us stop this brutal terrorizing of wolves once and for all. A generous donor has committed to match every dollar given before Dec. 31 in the fight for wolves. Give now to the Endangered Species Defense Fund, and your donation will be doubled.
Wolves are a highly social species, forming lifelong packs to raise their young -- so when wolves are killed, the stability of these packs is destroyed. They can no longer work together to forage in the wild. Without their families, wolf pups don't stand a chance of survival.
We can stop this senseless killing. Give to the Endangered Species Defense Fund now, and your donation will be even more powerful.
Not satisfied with the deaths of more than 3,900 wolves since 2011, far-right politicians want to spread the slaughter across the nation. Congress is currently pushing legislation to do nationwide what they've done in states like Idaho -- end protection and allow open season on wolf families. If the federal government abandons wolves, more will be gut shot and trapped, and more packs will be destroyed.
The Center knows how to win for wolves. We've gotten them protected in California, won in court to stop Wyoming's vicious hunt, and shut down an Idaho wolf-killing contest on BLM land. Wolves have no more effective ally than our lawyers, scientists and activists. But we can only win for wolves with your support.
Save Denali’s Last Remaining Wolves.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has threatened to sue a private wildlife operation in Minnesota, alleging that its owner kills and skins federally protected gray wolves and sells the pelts for profit.
On Wednesday, ALDF sent a notice of intent to file suit against Teresa Petter, owner of Fur-Ever Wild, whose website describes it as “a working agricultural farm that celebrates our traditional connections to the land and mother nature.”
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Fur-Ever Wild, located on 100 acres in Eureka Township, Minnesota, charges visitors to get up close not only with wolves but also cougars, bobcats, otters, beavers, lynx, fishers, martens, and badgers.
ALDF will take Fur-Ever Wild to court in 60 days unless Petter agrees not to kill and skin gray wolves, which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as threatened in Minnesota.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of any endangered or threatened species, defining “take” to mean “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.” The law, which applies equally to wild and captive animals, allows private parties to file suit to enforce its provisions.
“Fur-Ever Wild’s wildlife exhibition and fur-harvesting business exploits wolf pups by first using them as an attraction in the company’s petting zoo, then later skinning them for their fur,” Jennifer Robbins, an attorney representing ALDF, wrote in the notice.
“There is broad public support to stop their continual taking of wolves that visitors pay to see…and for whom they donate money or materials believing they are supporting the maintenance of this threatened species,” she wrote in the notice, which was also sent to the Interior Department, which enforces the ESA.
“We got involved in the summer of 2015 after activists notified us of her operations,” said ALDF staff attorney Christopher Berry. “Evidence that we submitted shows that she has skinned wolves in the past.”
Petter has denied killing wolves. In May, she told The Associated Press that the animals were not used for fur unless they “die naturally.”
Reached by phone, Petter told TakePart, “I am not commenting.” When asked why, she replied, “Because someone already burned down one of our buildings.” Asked if the alleged arson was related to the skinning of wolves, Petter said, “Have a nice day” and hung up.
Public records indicate that Fur-Ever Wild has indeed slaughtered wolves for their pelts.
Several license applications Fur-Ever Wild filed with the state “depict the calculated breeding program of protected wolves as the company aimed to acquire a wolf population that could generate consistent replacements for those animals to be killed and skinned for fur,” according to the ALDF notice.
During 2014–15, for example, Fur-Ever Wild said that 19 wolves were born and listed 19 wolves under a heading called “Number of deaths (butchered for consumption).” The previous year, it said 34 wolves were born and 24 died.
It would be “an impossible scenario if they are claimed to have expired from natural causes,” ALDF alleged.
In 2012, Petter filed a lawsuit against Eureka Township contesting a 2005 ordinance against keeping exotic animals unless they are raised for fur.
In a deposition during the suit, which was later withdrawn, Petter said that the wolves were bred and killed for their pelts.
“Have you pelted anything in the past two months?” Petter was asked.
“I pelted two wolves last night,” she replied. “And there is another two going tonight…then the rest of them go. There will be 25 within the next two weeks.”
Petter said she pelted the wolves in the winter, when their fur is considered “prime.” She also claimed to breed wolves that are much larger than those found in the wild.
“You breed for bloodlines,” Petter said. “You breed for fur quality. It takes years to get to that.”
Said Berry: “She was trying to prove that her operation was agricultural and therefore not subject to the local exotic animal ordinance.”
Petter’s legal woes extend beyond the threatened ALDF lawsuit. Earlier this year, neighbors who complained of odors and noise from the farm sued the township for approving Petter’s operation. A district court ruled against the plaintiffs, but that decision was overturned by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. It is now up to the district court to determine which animals can stay and which must go.
In August, Petter said she would close a second facility that opened on Memorial Day in Deadwood, South Dakota, after that town placed several restrictions on its operations.
Oregon Wolves Lose Endangered Species Protections. Conservationists question the science behind the state wildlife commission’s removal of protections for the predators.
According to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, 81 wolves are enough.
Less than a decade since gray wolves first returned to the state, officials on Monday voted 4–2 to remove endangered species protections for the animals.
The contentious decision came during a 10-hour wildlife commission meeting, which saw 106 people testify for and against the delisting plan.
For Oregon’s wolves, the removal of endangered status at the state level shouldn’t have much of an immediate impact, as the state’s Wolf Management Plan only allows ranchers who own livestock killed by wolves to apply for permits to shoot them.
Oregon’s wolves occur in 5,105 square miles of the state. (Photo: Courtesy Oregon Fish and Wildlife)
But conservation groups such as Oregon Wild worry the change in the wolves’ status might encourage illegal hunting.
“We’ve already seen poaching incidents up this year,” said Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild conservation director. “And now the penalties for shooting wolves won’t be as heavy as when they were listed as endangered, so we’re concerned about that.”
In February, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials revealed the latest gray wolf population figures, finding seven breeding pairs within the state’s nine known wolf packs. That made three years in a row that four or more breeding pairs of wolves were residing in the state. According to the management plan, that triggered a review of whether Oregon needed to keep wolves on the endangered species list.
“The wolf plan has been working well, and you are all responsible for that,” Commissioner Michael Finley told the public during the meeting.
Still, some conservationists said the state’s decision to remove protections was too soon and possibly unlawful.
“There’s simply no science to support the conclusion that 80 wolves is a recovered population,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center for Biological Diversity’s West Coast wolf organizer. “This is a purely political decision made at the behest of livestock and hunting interests. Oregonians expect more from their state government than kowtowing to narrow special interests.”
Historically, gray wolves were widespread across Oregon, but today’s population mainly resides in the eastern third of the state and only occupies around 12 percent of habitat scientists have identified as suitable for wolves.
Conservation groups are considering suing the department over the science it used to recommend the delisting. According to the Wolf Management Plan, the agency’s report is supposed to be peer-reviewed by outside wildlife scientists—something the department didn’t do until after the Oct. 30 deadline.
“They ended up selecting a few scientists at the very last hour to drop in footnotes on their report—and that’s not what ‘peer-reviewed’ means,” Pedery said. “It was just them trying to cover their bases and avoid a lawsuit.”
Don’t Murder Last Remaining Wolves.
And
as a special bonus, we’ll also send you our “I Love Wolves” bumper
sticker absolutely FREE with promo code WOLFGIFT. Give the gift of conservation to animal lovers in
your life – a caring reminder of your dedication to preserving wildlife and wild
places for generations to come.
The newest wolf-killing tally is in: More than 3,900 wolves have been hounded, gunned down and trapped to death since politicians took away protection in six states -- hundreds since September alone. Each death can destroy a family and shatter a pack.
Help us stop this brutal terrorizing of wolves once and for all. A generous donor has committed to match every dollar given before Dec. 31 in the fight for wolves. Give now to the Endangered Species Defense Fund, and your donation will be doubled.
Wolves are a highly social species, forming lifelong packs to raise their young -- so when wolves are killed, the stability of these packs is destroyed. They can no longer work together to forage in the wild. Without their families, wolf pups don't stand a chance of survival.
We can stop this senseless killing. Give to the Endangered Species Defense Fund now, and your donation will be even more powerful.
Not satisfied with the deaths of more than 3,900 wolves since 2011, far-right politicians want to spread the slaughter across the nation. Congress is currently pushing legislation to do nationwide what they've done in states like Idaho -- end protection and allow open season on wolf families. If the federal government abandons wolves, more will be gut shot and trapped, and more packs will be destroyed.
The Center knows how to win for wolves. We've gotten them protected in California, won in court to stop Wyoming's vicious hunt, and shut down an Idaho wolf-killing contest on BLM land. Wolves have no more effective ally than our lawyers, scientists and activists. But we can only win for wolves with your support.
 |
Within the
next two weeks, Congress must reach an agreement to fund our government for the
next two years or face another shutdown. Predictably, the process has turned
ugly: Republicans are trying to sneak in more than 100 policy riders that
will have serious consequences for our environment and wildlife, including
ending Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in many parts of the
country.
Please -- call your senators. Urge them to oppose these backroom dealings.
If the attacks succeed, protections will be stripped from gray wolves throughout much of their current range -- in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah and the Great Lakes region. This would undercut decades of successful recovery work under the Endangered Species Act, and put thousands of wolves in the crosshairs. It would also override several federal court rulings and ignore years of scientific research showing that wolves still need protection.
This is not how democracy works, or how we should be making crucial policy decisions. Act now to urge your senators to oppose all riders attached to this year's Interior spending bill.
Please -- call your senators. Urge them to oppose these backroom dealings.
If the attacks succeed, protections will be stripped from gray wolves throughout much of their current range -- in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah and the Great Lakes region. This would undercut decades of successful recovery work under the Endangered Species Act, and put thousands of wolves in the crosshairs. It would also override several federal court rulings and ignore years of scientific research showing that wolves still need protection.
This is not how democracy works, or how we should be making crucial policy decisions. Act now to urge your senators to oppose all riders attached to this year's Interior spending bill.
|
Save Denali’s Last Remaining Wolves.
Target: Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner, Sam Cotten
Goal: Stop wolf hunting and trapping around Denali National Park.
Despite recovered populations of grey wolves thriving elsewhere in the United States and Canada, the wolves of Alaska’s Denali National Park face serious threats. Biologists estimate there are fewer than 50 wolves left in the park—the lowest number since density recordings began in 1986. Despite these worrying stats, Alaskan officials have refused pleas to halt wolf hunting and trapping in the area.
Concerns over repeated hunting seasons dwindling Denali packs caused the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to end this past spring’s wolf hunt prematurely in May. However, the department made the contentious decision to reopen the hunt in August and shows no plans for discontinuing the hunt in the future. With an average of seven wolves taken each season, it will not be long before wolves become extirpated from the area if this continues.
Denali National Park is frequented by outdoor enthusiasts and wildlife watchers, many of whom are hoping to catch a glimpse of the park’s majestic wild wolves. Visitor sightings of wolves in the park used to be commonplace, but have recently become much more rare. In the past, a buffer zone around Denali protected wolves from being killed once they strayed across invisible park limits. In 2010, however, in an effort to attract more hunters and their associated revenue to the area, the Alaska Board of Game eliminated this corridor of protection completely. By isolating the wolves in Denali and killing those who stray across park borders, hunters are further limiting genetic diversity and sealing the fate of this struggling population.
Hunting and trapping must cease immediately and indefinitely around Denali if the population is to stand a chance at recovery. Sign the petition below to urge the Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner to save the area’s few remaining wolves and protect the Denali corridor once more.
Dear Commissioner Cotten,
In recent years, visitors of Denali National Park have noticed a downturn in the frequency of wolf sightings. Catching a glimpse of a wild wolf, once a common occurrence in the area, is now a rare stroke of luck. This is unsurprising considering park biologists report the Denali wolf population has reached an all-time low of just 48 individuals. A population of this size is not sustainable and can not likely withstand more hunting seasons. Despite this, Alaskan officials allowed hunting to reopen around Denali in August, further endangering these few remaining wolves.
Before 2010, wolves enjoyed the protection of a buffer zone that extended through the Denali corridor around the park. This prevented wolves from being killed for crossing an invisible line to follow prey or move about their large ranges. The extra revenue generated from allowing hunters to pursue wolves in this area likely pales in comparison to the tourism dollars spent by outdoor enthusiasts at the park. Wildlife watchers often come to Denali just to see wolves, and each individual that roams the park is an extra incentive for visitors. Wolves are important to Alaska beyond just their intrinsic value and destroying them will cost more than it will save in the long run.
I urge you to listen to the pleas of biologists, the National Park Service, and visitors of Alaska’s parks and choose to protect Denali’s remaining wolves before it’s too late. If the population is to recover, hunting and trapping in the Denali corridor must be ceased and a new management plan must be developed for these vulnerable animals.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: MacNeil Lyons
Activists Move to Sue Operator of a Gray Wolf Fur Farm. An animal rights group argues a Minnesota woman is violating the Endangered Species Act by raising and skinning the protected predators.On Wednesday, ALDF sent a notice of intent to file suit against Teresa Petter, owner of Fur-Ever Wild, whose website describes it as “a working agricultural farm that celebrates our traditional connections to the land and mother nature.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Fur-Ever Wild, located on 100 acres in Eureka Township, Minnesota, charges visitors to get up close not only with wolves but also cougars, bobcats, otters, beavers, lynx, fishers, martens, and badgers.
ALDF will take Fur-Ever Wild to court in 60 days unless Petter agrees not to kill and skin gray wolves, which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as threatened in Minnesota.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of any endangered or threatened species, defining “take” to mean “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.” The law, which applies equally to wild and captive animals, allows private parties to file suit to enforce its provisions.
“There is broad public support to stop their continual taking of wolves that visitors pay to see…and for whom they donate money or materials believing they are supporting the maintenance of this threatened species,” she wrote in the notice, which was also sent to the Interior Department, which enforces the ESA.
“We got involved in the summer of 2015 after activists notified us of her operations,” said ALDF staff attorney Christopher Berry. “Evidence that we submitted shows that she has skinned wolves in the past.”
Petter has denied killing wolves. In May, she told The Associated Press that the animals were not used for fur unless they “die naturally.”
Reached by phone, Petter told TakePart, “I am not commenting.” When asked why, she replied, “Because someone already burned down one of our buildings.” Asked if the alleged arson was related to the skinning of wolves, Petter said, “Have a nice day” and hung up.
Public records indicate that Fur-Ever Wild has indeed slaughtered wolves for their pelts.
Several license applications Fur-Ever Wild filed with the state “depict the calculated breeding program of protected wolves as the company aimed to acquire a wolf population that could generate consistent replacements for those animals to be killed and skinned for fur,” according to the ALDF notice.
During 2014–15, for example, Fur-Ever Wild said that 19 wolves were born and listed 19 wolves under a heading called “Number of deaths (butchered for consumption).” The previous year, it said 34 wolves were born and 24 died.
It would be “an impossible scenario if they are claimed to have expired from natural causes,” ALDF alleged.
In 2012, Petter filed a lawsuit against Eureka Township contesting a 2005 ordinance against keeping exotic animals unless they are raised for fur.
In a deposition during the suit, which was later withdrawn, Petter said that the wolves were bred and killed for their pelts.
“Have you pelted anything in the past two months?” Petter was asked.
“I pelted two wolves last night,” she replied. “And there is another two going tonight…then the rest of them go. There will be 25 within the next two weeks.”
Petter said she pelted the wolves in the winter, when their fur is considered “prime.” She also claimed to breed wolves that are much larger than those found in the wild.
“You breed for bloodlines,” Petter said. “You breed for fur quality. It takes years to get to that.”
Said Berry: “She was trying to prove that her operation was agricultural and therefore not subject to the local exotic animal ordinance.”
Petter’s legal woes extend beyond the threatened ALDF lawsuit. Earlier this year, neighbors who complained of odors and noise from the farm sued the township for approving Petter’s operation. A district court ruled against the plaintiffs, but that decision was overturned by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. It is now up to the district court to determine which animals can stay and which must go.
In August, Petter said she would close a second facility that opened on Memorial Day in Deadwood, South Dakota, after that town placed several restrictions on its operations.
Oregon Wolves Lose Endangered Species Protections. Conservationists question the science behind the state wildlife commission’s removal of protections for the predators.
Less than a decade since gray wolves first returned to the state, officials on Monday voted 4–2 to remove endangered species protections for the animals.
The contentious decision came during a 10-hour wildlife commission meeting, which saw 106 people testify for and against the delisting plan.
For Oregon’s wolves, the removal of endangered status at the state level shouldn’t have much of an immediate impact, as the state’s Wolf Management Plan only allows ranchers who own livestock killed by wolves to apply for permits to shoot them.
But conservation groups such as Oregon Wild worry the change in the wolves’ status might encourage illegal hunting.
“We’ve already seen poaching incidents up this year,” said Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild conservation director. “And now the penalties for shooting wolves won’t be as heavy as when they were listed as endangered, so we’re concerned about that.”
In February, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials revealed the latest gray wolf population figures, finding seven breeding pairs within the state’s nine known wolf packs. That made three years in a row that four or more breeding pairs of wolves were residing in the state. According to the management plan, that triggered a review of whether Oregon needed to keep wolves on the endangered species list.
“The wolf plan has been working well, and you are all responsible for that,” Commissioner Michael Finley told the public during the meeting.
Still, some conservationists said the state’s decision to remove protections was too soon and possibly unlawful.
“There’s simply no science to support the conclusion that 80 wolves is a recovered population,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center for Biological Diversity’s West Coast wolf organizer. “This is a purely political decision made at the behest of livestock and hunting interests. Oregonians expect more from their state government than kowtowing to narrow special interests.”
Historically, gray wolves were widespread across Oregon, but today’s population mainly resides in the eastern third of the state and only occupies around 12 percent of habitat scientists have identified as suitable for wolves.
Conservation groups are considering suing the department over the science it used to recommend the delisting. According to the Wolf Management Plan, the agency’s report is supposed to be peer-reviewed by outside wildlife scientists—something the department didn’t do until after the Oct. 30 deadline.
“They ended up selecting a few scientists at the very last hour to drop in footnotes on their report—and that’s not what ‘peer-reviewed’ means,” Pedery said. “It was just them trying to cover their bases and avoid a lawsuit.”
Don’t Murder Last Remaining Wolves.
Target: Olemic Thommessen, President of the Norwegian Parliament
Goal: Stop hunters from slaughtering over half of the wolves in Norway.
Hunters plan to kill over half of the wolves in a particular wolf population in Norway. Over 10,000 people may be given hunting licenses and granted permission to shoot 16 out of the 30 wolves that are thought to reside in the Norwegian wilderness. We need to take action to better ensure that these wolves will not be completely wiped out.
Hunting season runs from Oct. 1 to March 31. A main reason why wolves are hunted is to protect livestock. However, this reason is difficult to justify when one considers that a great deal of illegal hunting is speculated to take place in Norway. Furthermore, since hunters are allowed to kill all but three breeding females, the wolves are not able to reproduce at a fast enough rate to keep from dying off. With this being the case, hunting season should be canceled to ensure the wolves have a chance to thrive.
Demand hunting season be made against the law until these wolves drastically increase in number. If Norway continues down the same path, all of the wolves that live there will soon be dead.
Dear President Thommessen,
Hunters will soon be allowed to kill off over half of the wolf population in Norway. It does not make sense that thousands of hunters may be given the right to hunt 16 wolves when it is thought that there are only 30 left in the entire country.
Experts speculate that illegal hunting takes place in the region, making hunting a majority of the wolves there unjustifiable. Since hunters are only required to make sure that the lives of three breeding females are spared, and female wolves only have between four to six wolf pups per year, the wolves will likely soon die off if they continue to be killed. Because of these circumstances, hunters should not be allowed to kill anymore wolves until their population significantly increases.
I therefore urge you to outlaw hunting season for the time being in Norway in order to give these beautiful animals a chance to flourish. If we don’t do something to help these animals, they will likely all soon be dead.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Drew Avery
There’s
something magical about wolves...
As
we gather with our own loved ones for the holidays, these amazing social animals
are also doing what they've done for ages: living as a pack that plays,
eats and relaxes together – much like we do with our own families!
Why not give the gift of
wolf survival to the members of your own pack this holiday
season?
From
now until 11:59pm EST on
Wednesday, December 9th, we'll be offering our $30 Wolf Adoption for only
$18 with promo code WOLFGIFT at checkout.
And
as a special bonus, we’ll also send you our “I Love Wolves” bumper
sticker absolutely FREE with promo code WOLFGIFT. Give the gift of conservation to animal lovers in
your life – a caring reminder of your dedication to preserving wildlife and wild
places for generations to come.
You
and I feel a special bond with wolves. It’s why we’re so deeply committed to
defending these incredible and inspiring animals.
When you adopt a wolf
through our Wildlife Adoption & Gift Center you’re not only
helping to save these remarkable animals but also giving a meaningful gift that
raises awareness about their uncertain future.
Let's
shine some hope on wolves this holiday season – adopt today and help
safeguard them for future generations.
Wishing
you and yours a warm and loving holiday season.
