End the Wolf Hunt – Save the Wolves

Molly Kinney Composition 1 Mary Burmaster November 11 2012 Saving the greyish Wolves Wolves and human races have been coexisting for hundreds of long epoch. Before Europeans conquered our vast country, wolves held a very esteemed place in Native American culture, as they were brisk to quality ecosystems, and were often believed to be spiritual beings in many tribes (kidsplanet 1). As much as they were honored in tribal cultures, others feared them.Childrens fables often described them as the big bad wolf in stories such as Little Red Riding hood and The Three Little Pigs (kidsplanet 1). Settlers saw wolves in this appearance because they were a sort of competition, dwindling stock and wild game numbers (kidsplanet 1). Even into the 20th century, the belief that wolves were still a scourge to human resort continued despite documentation to the contrary, and by the 1970s, the lower forty eight states had wolf cosmoss less than three pct of their historical range, about 500 to 1,000 wolves (kidsplanet 1).In a book written by Bruce Hampton called The Great American animate being, he states, In the span of three hundred years nationwide, but only seventy years in the West, hunters in the United States had managed to obliterate off the wild prey of gray wolves settlers, farmers, and ranchers had occupied most of the wolves former habitat wolfers had poisoned them bounty hunters had dynamited their dens and pursued them with dogs, traps, and more(prenominal) poison and finally, the government had stepped in and, primarily at the gillyflower industrys behest, quite literally finished them off. Fortunately, around this time in the 70s, Americans were starting to become much more aware of their impact on the surroundings and the wildlife. The threaten Species influence was created in 1973, and the Grey Wolf was put on the tendency in 1974. After almost 35 years of restoration efforts and conservation work, the Grey Wolf has finally been taken off the en dangered species list in manganese, with about 1,700 hundred wolves in the state (kidsplanet 1). Less than a year later, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) passed a law allowing a current number of wolves to be hunted starting November 3, 2012 (kidsplanet 1).In the month and half the season has been open, about 150 Grey wolves have been killed (dnr. state. mn). Grey wolves are a vital part of our ecosystems and perhaps eventually grey wolves will one time again thrive well enough that hunting them will non result in more conflict, but it is too soon to start the hunt again. Hunters should not be allowed to hunt grey wolves in Minnesota, because they have not had enough time to replenish their population and wolves are not a threat to human safety at all.Normally when an animal is taken off the endangered species list, it is given a five-year grace blockage to try and regain its spot back in the ecosystem before declaring a hunting season is even a thought in the minds of DNR decision makers (Horon 1). Since it took close to 40 years for the Grey wolf to be taken off the list, it seems logical to give the animal an even longer period to recover, to ensure that the animal does not get put on the list ever again.Though one hunt most likely will not kill off all the wolves, if hunting continues every year, in that location could be serious damage once again to the wolf population, as said in an hold from a Wisconsin news website, madison. com. One hunt wont put wolves back on the list but research hints at possible longer-term harm to the wolf population and even an increase in wolves killing livestock, researchers say (Seely 1). However, the Minnesota DNR ruled that less than one year was a sufficient amount of time for the wolves to repopulate, and undefendable a wolf-hunting season on November 3rd, 2012.Before settlers came to North America, more than 250,000 wolves roamed the uncharted territory that is now the United States (Cosmos magazine). With every year of citizen growth in the New World, Wolf population decreased. As the U. S. grew and became more populated, settlers practically made careers out of wolf hunting. In the 19th century, the pelts were in such mellow demand that almost everyone seek to kill as many wolves as possible (kidsplanet 1). People moving west bought hundreds of acres of land to raise their stock on, and killed every wolf that came near.Research from1974 showed that in that location were only about 500 Grey wolves living in the entire United States (kidsplanet 1). In efforts to re-grow the wolf population, conservationists took wolves into protection. Being protected by the Endangered Species Act has helped the Grey Wolf a lot. In theGreat Lakes, wolves have grown in population and expanded their range from Minnesota to Northern Michigan and Wisconsin (Meador 1). Although on that point have been huge gains in favor of the wolves, population recovery is far from over.Only 5,000 to 6,000 wolves occupy a mere five percent of the animals historical range throughout Minnesota and the rest of the United States (Meador 1). Replenishing wolf populations through out the states would protect the future of wolves and allow them to play their important role in the forest environment in greater fulfillment of their former range. Yet another reason why wolves should not be hunted is because they pose no actual threat to humans or livestock. Wolves are able to kill animals much larger than humans and should be treated with respect.Contrary to the belief that wolves are vicious and aggressive towards humans, at that place have only been two reported deaths by wolf attack since 1900, one of which is heavily disputed ( operating theaterWild 1). Moreover, wolves are opportunists, and sometimes eat livestock. However, they have a relatively small impact on the livestock industry as a whole (OregonWild 1). Unstable meat prices, disease, fuel and land prices, weather, dogs, and even human thieves pose larger threats to the market. (OregonWild 1). It is simply not on-key when people in favor of the wolf hunt say that wolves are detrimental to the industry.The United States livestock industry has been in a slow decline, preceding wolf recovery by many decades However, a study done in an area of Oregon with a high wolf population showed that from 2009 to 2011, while the wolf population grew from 500 to 1400, revenue in the livestock industry jumped almost fifty percent to almost $27 million in a county with barely 7,000 citizens (OregonWild). Although wolves were not the cause of the huge increase, it is clear that their impact in the industry is small (OregonWild).Like chisel attacks, when wolves wreak havoc, it can make for upsetting photos and grim stories, and so the risk of wolves to livestock is many times magnified (OregonWild 1). Research done in areas of high wolf populations has actually shown that having wolves around may actually decrease livesto ck loss by keeping smaller predators like coyotes in check (OregonWild 1). Of course, there are many people who believe that a Wolf hunt is completely acceptable under current circumstances. Many supporters believe that if professionals are not actively watching wolf population, it will increase much too rapidly (Robb 1).In an article from petersenhunting. com, Bob Robb, a hunting column writer, says, This is especially true in areas where there are lots of animals for them to eat like the Yellowstone ecosystem. Because wolf numbers exceeded targeted reintroduction population goals in the Yellowstone ecosystem more rapidly than expected, the animal was removed from the Endangered Species List and a sport hunting season on wolves was instituted in 2009 (Robb 1). Research does show that wolf packs not observed by researchers do breed more (petersenhunting 1).Minnesotans should not be allowed to hunt wolves because they have only been off the endangered species list for a year so the ir populations are not at the greatest numbers, and statistics from states where wolf hunting is illegal show that they may actually help the livestock industry and are not a threat at all. Very recently, researchers at Yellowstone National Park were saddened when the Alpha Female, called 832F by scientists and Rockstar by visitors, was undercoat dead outside park boundaries on December sixth.Seven other wolves were found dead with her, all killed by hunters (EarthIslandJournal 1). After environmentalists work getting the Grey Wolf on the list finally paid off, they had hopes for the wolves to once again thrive someday in their natural habitat. This will never happen if we start diminishing wolf populations, right when they are at the height of restoration progress. Works Cited DNR- What Happened behind Closed Doors? Howling for Wolves Minnesota. N. p. , 13July 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. http//www. owlingforwolves. org/news/dnr-what- happened-behind-closed-doors. COSMOS Magazine. Gr ey Wolf Withdrawn from Endangered List. N. p. , 05 May 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . Greder, Andy. Minnesota Wolf Hunt About 150 Wolves Killed Statewide. TwinCities. com. N. p. , 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Horon, Sonia. The Grey? A Bad Fairy Tale About Wolves. Globalanimal. com. Global zoology Website, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 012. Meador, Ron. Save the Grey Wolf. Causes. Minnpost, n. d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. http//www. causes. com/causes/75833-save-the-grey-wolf. Motsinger, John. Wolf Weekly Wrap-up Defenders of Wildlife Blog. Wolf Weekly Wrap-up Defenders of Wildlife Blog. N. p. , 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Oregon Wild. Wolves-Misunderstood. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. http//www. oregonwild. org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/wolves- misunderstood Robb, Bob. Petersens Hunting. Petersens Hunting. N. p. 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Seely, Matt. Questions abound before Wisconsins Wolf HuntMadison. com. 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012 William, Matt. Yellowstone P opular Alpha Female Wolf Shot Dead by Hunters Outside Park. 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Wolf Management. Minnesota DNR. Minnesota DNR, Web. 13 Nov. 2012. http//www. dnr. state. mn. us/mammals/wolves/mgmt. html.