An appeals court has retained federal protection for grey wolves in Minnesota and the western Great Lakes, upholding a 2014 lower court ruling that the U-S government prematurely took wolves off the endangered species list. Doctor Maureen Hackett with the group Howling for Wolves says, “We’re really happy for the future of the species and future generations of Minnesotans that the three-judge court panel decided… to keep the wolves protected.” The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service, which appealed the case, had no immediate comment. The D-N-R argued earlier that Minnesota’s wolf population is stable enough to allow controlled hunts. Minnesota had three wolf seasons — in 2012, 2013 and 2014 — before the federal court ruling prohibited any more.
Some ag producers point to continued livestock losses from wolf predation. Hackett responds, “We now have funding for non-lethal methods by our Department of Agriculture for farmers in Minnesota who wish to pursue and get reimbursed for non-lethal ways of preventing conflict [between ag producers and wolves].”
More in this interview with Hackett: