PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORK • October 11, 2021
When the Trump administration removed gray wolves from the endangered species list last year, it opened the door to killing sprees that have already taken the lives of hundreds of these wolves. In Wisconsin alone, a wolf hunt in February wiped out 216 gray wolves in just 60 hours, blowing well past the kill quota of 119. And if you thought that was bad, it's about to get much worse: Wisconsin is doubling its killing quota — up to 300 — despite objections from state agency biologists. In 2011, wolves around the Great Lakes lost protections — and in turn, more than 1,500 wolves were killed in three years. The situation was so bad that a federal court had to step in — but before it did, more than 15,000 people applied for permission to kill a wolf. Between these killings and habitat loss, one thing is clear: The Endangered Species Act is the last line of defense for gray wolves.