Wolf Hunting Becomes Legal After Decades of Struggle

Decades have passed since the last gray wolf was hunted in the United States. After making its way onto the endangered species list years ago, the wolves have been the subject of multiple controversies. Recently, when their population began to hit larger numbers, 1,600 in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho combined, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service removed them from the endangered species list. Shortly after, the laws against hunting gray wolves were abolished and replaced with set numbers of wolves that can be killed each year
in a state.


The new law brought on new controversies. According to Melanie Stein, a spokesperson for the Sierra club, the gray wolves are "are just on the cusp of recovery and that we are almost there." She also believes that hunting the wolves will take their re-growth and move it backwards. Critics of the new law, including some environmental clubs and animal rights groups, hope that they can reverse the new law as soon as they can.


There are those that support the hunting of gray wolves. There are hundreds of sheep who have been slaughtered by hungry wolves, and ranchers feel that their livestock are threatened on a daily basis. "It is devastating for us to put all of the money and the time and the genetics and work to produce a great product and then just have it half-eaten and left to die," says Cindy Siddoway, a rancher from Terreton., Idaho.


Currently, there have been three wolves killed since the hunting season began.




(courtesy of CNN.com, image courtesy of National Geographic)