STOP THE WAR ON WOLVES

oh man that's awful, goddamnit it 2017

went ahead and signed

Wolves are really awesome creatures - where I live we have a huge wolf sanctuary where you can get up really close to them and learn about them. I loved it and it really made me learn to appreciate them over the years, so it makes me upset to see stuff like this :c

I HOPE THE PEOPLE WHO AGREED TO THIS GET HUNTED LIKE ALL THE GODDAMN WOLVES AR EGTTING/GOING TO GET HUNTED THEY DESERVE IT ((sorry i jusy really rage about this stuff and it hurts to see this happening ;-;
signed it.

This is terrible and I'd sign 60,000 times I I had to but I'm not allowed to write out my address, etc. Why would anyone pass an act to kill off such an amazing species. Why do such a bad thing to ANY species? This makes me really mad tbh

I don't doubt your belief in your circle of friends, but this train of thought is purely anecdotal. History will repeat itself when given the chance.

"When the federal government delisted wolves in 2012 — and before federal lawsuits from The HSUS restored protections — trophy hunters and trappers, along with other causes of mortality, killed nearly a quarter of Minnesota’s wolves. Humans killed nearly one in every five wolves in Wisconsin that same year, including 17 entire family units, and half of the wolves killed in that state’s first season were pups. Michigan also conducted an ill-advised hunt, over the objections of the state’s own voters, in areas where common-sense measures would have prevented the few conflicts that had occurred with livestock and hunting dogs. In fact, between 2012 and 2014, 500 wolves had been killed in the Great Lakes states alone. Wyoming declared that over 80 percent of the state was a wolf “predator zone” — meaning that trophy hunters, trappers, and wildlife services agents had no restrictions on the manner of take, season for the killing, or even the age of pups or yearling animals. That policy is a prescription for local extinction." ¹


Wolves play an important part to their ecosystem; getting rid of them in any areas has been proven to have adverse effects. Take a look at the mass hunting in Yellowstone, for example.

"Once the wolves were gone, the elk population exploded and they grazed their way across the landscape killing young brush and trees. As early as the 1930s, scientists were alarmed by the degradation and were worried about erosion and plants dying off." ²

They had to reintroduce wolves to solve this issue. The results of this only further prove just how valuable wolves are to their environments, and honestly is nothing short of breathtaking.




They are a vocal minority.

"A study last year showed that most Americans hold positive or even “very positive” associations with wolves. A 2014 statewide survey of nearly 9,000 Wisconsin residents showed most residents believe that wolves are important members of the ecological community who keep deer in balance and should be enjoyed by future generations. Wisconsinites surveyed said they were proud they were “one of the few places in the United States with wolves” and most did not want to see their wolves hunted or trapped." 1

Now, how about y'all do a quick google search- "Are wolves endangered" and take a peek at the results, hmm?



Spoilers! It says "Least Concern."

The unregulated hunting of wolves is what made them endangered to begin with. Although their populations are recovering now, declaring open season on them will push us all the way back to step one. Putting a band-aid on a wound will not help it if you continue to pick at the scab underneath.

Furthermore, as I stated in the original post, if this passes it will open a doorway to hurt other animals protected by the ESA. This doesn't only effect wolves, in more ways than one.
 

Please don't take this as a personal insult to you. Half of my own family hunts. I have no issue with hunting when it is done humanely and does not have a negative effect on the environment. These bills, unfortunately, will violate both of those ideals.


Sources:
1-- blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/01/political-shots-fired-american-lawmakers-renew-war-wolves.html
2-- www.yellowstonepark.com/yellowstone-wolves-reintroduction/

Wolves haven't recovered enough in numbers to label the hunting of them as "crucial," but I understand what you're saying. The issue here isn't so much wolf-hunting in general as it is the unregulated hunting of wolves. Most other hunted animals have designated seasons in which they can be hunted, restrictions on what weapons can be used to hunt them, and sometimes limited numbers of how many each hunter can kill in one season. On top of all that, they're typically required to have a hunting license as well.

Without any restrictions, the vast majority of Wyoming would be able to kill any amount of wolves at any time with any weapon they'd like, all without any sort of license.

If the states' plans were to make wolf-hunting legal but heavily regulated it would be different, but it's quite apparent that the politicians behind it aren't concerned about the safety of the environment as much as they are about getting the vote of the hunters who don't want to compete with wolves.

This is sick. I can't believe it. I'd sign but there are somethings that I don't want people knowing. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of the following. Wolves are awesome. Not only that, but they play a major role in the ecosystem. If they were to go extinct, even have a low enough population that it would be critical enough, the food chain would fall into unbalance, and that would lead into a domino of horrible events, including problems for humanity. I understand the other side of the story, though. And in a way, it's kind of understandable to do this in areas where the wolf population is a problem. But doing unregulated hunting is what what causes the problem. There are, sadly, sick people out there who would take advantage of this and kill as many wolves as they can, any where that it's legal, and not giving a crap about the aftermath of it in the long run. If there we regulations though, that would be a different story. I'm not saying every hunter is like this, it's just that the amount that think that way have all the impact. I'm not insulting anyone who supports this act, I'm just giving my opinion on it. I pray that this petition gets though to Trump and congress alike.

welp there goes my faith for 2017