Stop the Wolf Slaughter in Idaho
21,266 signatures toward our 50,000 Goal
Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site
Idaho's Governor has approved a measure to kill 90% of the state's wolves. Demand an end to this slaughter!
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) is about to kill 90% of its state's approximately 1,500 wolves.
Idaho Governor Brad Little signed the cull into law in an effort to bring populations down to the previously-recommended quota of 150 wolves and 15 packs, "to reduce attacks on livestock and to boost deer and elk herds1."
This law allows the state to hire private contractors to kill wolves and provides more money for state officials to hire the contractors. It also expands the way wolves can be hunted and killed: hunting, trapping and snaring an unlimited number of wolves on a single hunting tag, using night-vision equipment, chasing down wolves on snowmobiles and ATVs and shooting them from helicopters. If found on private land, newborn pups can also be killed1.
If we have learned anything from history, it's that the slaughter and extirpation of one species hardly ever leads to a positive outcome.
In November 2020, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list, "despite the enduring precarity of wolf populations throughout much of the country2."
The result has been a disaster, leaving a species nearing the brink of extinction. According to the most recent USFWS data, there are now only 108 wolves in Washington state, 158 in Oregon, and 15 in California, while wolves are functionally extinct in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado3.
In Wisconsin misguided wolf hunting practices led to outrage across the state.
According to Jodi Habush Sinykin, an environmental attorney, and Donald Waller, an ecologist and conservation biologist4. "Throngs of unlicensed hunters joined those with licenses with packs of dogs, snowmobiles and GPS technology. The wolves stood no chance. This unprecedented hunt took place during the breeding season, killing pregnant females and disrupting family packs at a time critical to pup survival. A full accounting of the hunt's biological toll is impossible, as the state declined to inspect carcasses."
In Yellowstone, where wolves were reintroduced after a 70-year absence, everything changed for the better5. Elk stopped standing around like feedlot cattle. They learned to run like the wind again. Streamside willows and other riparian vegetation, previously trampled by the elk, returned as well, and with it, a chorus of birds. All because of wolves.
Idaho's methods for killing wolves violate longstanding wildlife management practices and hunting ethics. Sign the petition below and demand the Governor of Idaho end the wolf cull.
- Keith Ridler, Associated Press (7 May 2021), "Bill to kill up to 90% of Idaho wolves signed by governor."
- Common Dreams, EcoWatch (5 January 2021), "Trump Admin Removes Gray Wolves From Endangered Species List Despite 'Meager Numbers.'"
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (20 April 2020), "Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2019 Annual Report."
- Kim Heacox, The Guardian (12 May 2021), "Idaho is going to kill 90% of the state's wolves. That's a tragedy — and bad policy."
The Petition:
Dear Idaho Governor,
Recent measures taken to reduce the wolf population in Idaho are going to have lasting destructive effects on the wildlife and environment of your state. Only by rescinding your massive wolf cull will these dangers be averted.
After the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list in 2020, the species was pushed toward the brink of extinction. According to the most recent USFWS data, there are now only 108 wolves in Washington state, 158 in Oregon, and 15 in California, while wolves are functionally extinct in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.
During one of the state of Wisconsin's similar wolf hunts, throngs of unlicensed hunters joined those with licenses with packs of dogs, snowmobiles and GPS technology. They slaughtered the wolves during the breeding season, killing pregnant females and disrupting family packs at a time critical to pup survival.
Alternatively, humane control methods that still allow this species to thrive will have beneficial effects.
In Yellowstone, where wolves were reintroduced after a 70-year absence, everything changed for the better. Elk stopped standing around like feedlot cattle. They learned to run like the wind again. Streamside willows and other riparian vegetation, previously trampled by the elk, returned as well, and with it, a chorus of birds. All because of wolves.
Killing off the wolves in your state will have lasting disastrous effects. I demand you immediately call an end to the wolf cull in Idaho.
Sincerely,
