New gray wolf law changes could influence some - UpperMichigansSource.com

Pet and livestock owners could see the impact of these restored protections

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Last Thursday a federal court in California, protections were restored for the gray wolf, overturning laws that allowed animal owners to use lethal force.

If a wolf is preying on livestock, pets, or hunting dogs, it is once again illegal to kill it in Michigan. With federal gray wolf protections restored, two state laws have been suspended. Republican Senator, Ed McBroom, said this decision could influence the daily lives of many Yoopers.

“It just impacts everyday decisions and long term decisions that people make about where they’re willing to go, where they’re willing to let their pets out to roam or not, and how farmers handle their cattle,” McBroom said.

Senator McBroom said farmers’ overall costs could go up if they are spending money on more fences to protect animals. With the two laws suspended, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources spokesperson, John Pepin, said there’s only one legal reason to kill a wolf.

“As far as lethal methods, right now the only way that a wolf can be killed or shot is if it’s in defense of human life,” he said.

McBroom said the U.P’s growing wolf population needs to be managed. He says the North American conservation model could be the right fit. “It involves or allows for hunting and trapping when appropriate, those are vital tools to that system, they’re not the only tools towards it, but ultimately, management involves careful planning,” McBroom said.

McBroom said it’s unclear when current rules could change, and Pepin says the Michigan DNR will continue to survey the wolf population.

“Well for the last several years, we do a wolf survey every other winter and for the last few years we’re right at around 600 and 700 hundred wolves as a minimum for the Upper Peninsula,” Pepin said.

The DNR had supported delisting wolves because the state’s wolf population has long surpassed federal and state goals for recovery.

Copyright 2022 WLUC. All rights reserved.

source: https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2022/02/16/new-gray-wolf-law-changes-could-influence-some/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.