Wolf hunts to open, judge eyes injunction request

AP via Yahoo ^ | 08/31/09 | MATTHEW BROWN

[Abathar]

MISSOULA, Mont. – Gray wolf hunting was set to begin in the Northern Rockies, even as a federal judge eyed a request to stop the killing of the predators just four months after they were removed from the endangered species list.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Monday he would rule as quickly as he could on a last-minute injunction sought by environmental and animal welfare groups opposed to the hunts in Idaho and Montana.

Hunters were poised to head into the field Tuesday in Idaho, where a quota allowed as many as 220 wolves to be killed. Montana's season is set to begin Sept. 15, with a quota of 75 wolves.

Missoula hunter Mac McLaughlin attended Monday's court hearing then left to buy his hunting tag, saying he was tired of the wolves attacking elk. He intended to use an elk call to lure wolves.

"If the opportunity comes up, you bet I'll shoot one," he said. "There's got to be a balance and our game populations have taken a terrible beating."

[Abathar]

"Doug Honnold of the environmental law firm Earthjustice said wolves remained at risk because the states had insufficient safeguards to ensure their safety.

"It's the endangered species that need to be protected, not the states' rights to kill wolves," Honnold said during the hearing."

The population is exploding and that includes all the SSS going on in the back country by ranchers. Keeping the population low is pretty much in everyone's best interests except a small group of environmentalists who will probably get a sympathetic judge and shut the hunt down.

[dog breath]

I would figure that since they are spreading at a explosive rate, they can be safely thinned now. This is like the gators all over again, by the time they relax the laws the folks out there will be neck deep in wolves. They say pure bred wolves don’t attack people but all animals adapt to available food sources. I bet being chased down a path while hunting or backpacking by a pack of hungry wolves would burn a few calories.

[MTMS]

My family bought some tags yesterday. Lots of cheering going on at this house. They would love to blow some wolves to kindgom come. We have always hunted for our own game and lived on wild meat and the elk populations are decimated here due to the wolf. A lot of eyes are on Judge Malloy right now, too.

[Abathar]

Gators are a good example, so are mountain lions. Letting them get too populated will just mean more killing later and a lot less game animals.

[Friendofgeorge]

Where in the heck is Ashley Judd?? Or does she only care about Alaskan wolves?

[Abathar]

I guess you have to be in a helicopter to warrant her involvement.

[calex59]

They say pure bred wolves don’t attack people

This is a lie. They tell that lie and say there has never been a record of North American(notice emphasis on North American)wolves killing a human. This is BS too. The Indians had many tales of wolves attacking them, they just didn't keep written records. neither did homesteaders, who shot off the wolves as fast as possible because they attacked everything in sight when they were hungry.

In Europe, which they hate to mention, documented wolf attacks are plentiful from the 18th and 19th century and some in the 20th century. Wolves attack anything they think they can eat and that includes people. They used to say mountain lions never attacked people either but that lie won't hold up now.

[jazusamo]

Being Judge Molloy didn’t come right out and approve the injunction is a good sign, maybe he finally realizes the AR and eco nuts will never stop filing for injunctions no matter what wolf numbers are.

[Joe Boucher]

Gators are every where.
They are not endangered.
I fly along the edge of Lake Okeechobee and around this area and believe me they are not endangered.

[dog breath]

Yeah the key fact is that a hungry predator will eat anything it can catch. Once they have munched away on the wildlife, that leaves livestock, dogs, cats and people. I have read some books and articles on wolves that even went so far as to claim that it must of been hybrid dog/wolf animals that attacked people in Europe. The way people will try and stretch the facts to meet their beliefs is amazing.