Federal Wolf Trapping to Continue

The federal program that traps and kills problem wolves in Minnesota, and traps and moves them in Wisconsin and Michigan, will continue in 2010 under a provision in the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that passed the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. The bill, which now goes to President Obama, includes $727,000 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division to continue trapping wolves near where livestock or pets have been killed.

The provision, announced by Rep. Jim Oberstar (Minn.), also allows for reimbursement to farmers who lose livestock.

In Minnesota, federal trappers have responded to 184 complaints of wolf problems and have trapped and killed 186 wolves so far this year, up from recent years. Most of those complaints are from farms where calves or small animals have been killed.

But in Wisconsin and Michigan, wolves that are trapped can't be killed under federal law, and instead are moved away from where problems occur. Wisconsin has had complaints from 23 farms this year, said Adrian Wydeven, wolf biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Reprinted from Duluth News Tribune