Press Release: Howling for Wolves "Wolf Day" held today at the Capitol

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2014
CONTACT:
Dr. Maureen Hackett, Howling For Wolves, 612.250.5915 OR
Leslie Rosedahl, LWRosedahl@locklaw.com, 651.353.1818

***Two pictures of the Howling for Wolves “Wolf Day” rally are attached for media use. One is a picture of the volunteer activists in the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda, and the other is of Maureen Hackett, MD, Founder and President of Howling For Wolves, welcoming volunteers at the rally.

Over 400 attend Wolf Day at the MN Capitol organized by Howling for Wolves to push for full implementation of Minnesota’s Wolf Management Plan. The all-day event included individual legislator meetings and a large rally.

(St. Paul, Minn) – Today Minnesota-based wolf advocacy group Howling For Wolves held “Wolf Day” at the Minnesota State Capitol which brought over 400 attendees from across the state to meet with legislators and rally for protecting Minnesota wolves. Howling For Wolves volunteer advocates urged legislators to pass bills for improved data collection on wolves, full implementation of Minnesota DNR’s Wolf Management Plan, and a temporary suspension of the recreational wolf hunt. In addition, attendees also urged legislators to eliminate the indiscriminate wolf hunting methods of baiting, trapping, and snaring.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has held two wolf hunting seasons in Minnesota: the fall/winter of 2012 and 2013. All told there have been 1,086 wolves legally killed in Minnesota in the last 18 months through both the recreational wolf season and wolves killed for suspected predation on livestock.

“Howling for Wolves’ goal is to persuade the 2014 Legislature to support full implementation of the MN DNR’s Wolf Management Plan which calls for improved data collection on our wolf population. We also need to stop the indiscriminate wolf hunting methods of baiting, trapping, and snaring.  Public opinion is on our side, and our goal to make sure constituent voices are heard,” said Dr. Maureen Hackett, founder of Howling For Wolves. “In fact, a recent Minnesota DNR survey shows nearly 80 percent of respondents oppose the wolf hunting and trapping season.”

Hackett continued, “The wolf hunt is an elective and recreational activity, and not intended to control the wolf population. By failing to establish how many wolves die of all causes, including not performing a baseline wolf survey before the hunt, the DNR has chosen to ignore sound scientific methods. We call upon the Minnesota DNR for a temporary suspension of the hunt.”

The Howling for Wolves rally at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda included several speakers, including a special video greeting by Jane Goodall, PhD., DBE, and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, to start the rally. Additional speakers included:

• Maureen Hackett, MD, Founder and President of Howling For Wolves, a wolf advocacy organization focused on protecting Minnesota’s wild wolves. She is a physician specializing in Forensic Psychiatry and has served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.
• Minnesota State Senator Chris Eaton (DFL-Brooklyn Park), Senate Majority Whip.
• Minnesota State Representative Jason Isaacson (DFL-Shoreview), Assistant Majority Leader.
• Michael W. Fox, BVetMed, PhD, DSc, MRCVS, a veterinarian Honor Roll member of the American Veterinary Medical Association with doctoral degrees in veterinary medicine and ethology/animal behavior. He was one of the earlier wolf researchers and conservationists helping put the wolf on the Endangered Species list in the 1970s.
• Robert DesJarlait, Director of Protect Our Manoomin, a grassroots Anishinaabe organization involved with environmental issues. He is from the Red Lake Anishinaabe Nation and currently lives at Waukon, Minnesota.
• Clint Carroll, PhD., an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
• Barry Babcock, a lifelong Minnesota resident who lives in northern Minnesota near Walker, MN. For the last 25 years he has worked as a logger, owned and operated a small “Ma & Pa” motel in northern MN.

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Howling For Wolves (HFW) is a wolf advocacy organization that aims to educate the public and policy-makers about wolves to foster understanding and tolerance, and to ensure their long-term survival in Minnesota. HFW seeks innovative non-lethal solutions for conflict prevention and coexistence where wolves are perceived to be a threat. We oppose the random killing of non-problem wolves for sport and the cruel methods utilized. HFW current efforts focus on the Minnesota’s gray wolves, which is the largest and only original wolf population remaining in the lower 48 states. www.HowlingForWolves.org.