Howling For Wolves founder Dr. Maureen Hackett says in op-ed published by Pioneer Press that the new Minnesota tourism campaign "Only in Minnesota" would be very fitting because our state's wolves never went extinct. However, the use of a recreational hunt is not a smart or scientific way to "manage" wolves, because killing wolves can cause pack instability. Wolves live in packs of family generations and when they are killed, the entire pack is affected. They mourn the death of their pack mates and often the social structure of the pack becomes unstable. This can lead to problems for farmers, communities and even for the wolves that survived the hunt but get killed because of the increased conflicts with farmers. There are additional scientific indications that we are risking the survival of our wolves by hunting them and not protecting them.
Howling For Wolves founder Dr. Maureen Hackett says in op-ed published by Pioneer Press that the new Minnesota tourism campaign "Only in Minnesota" would be very fitting because our state's wolves never went extinct. However, the use of a recreational hunt is not a smart or scientific way to "manage" wolves, because killing wolves can cause pack instability. Wolves live in packs of family generations and when they are killed, the entire pack is affected. They mourn the death of their pack mates and often the social structure of the pack becomes unstable. This can lead to problems for farmers, communities and even for the wolves that survived the hunt but get killed because of the increased conflicts with farmers. There are additional scientific indications that we are risking the survival of our wolves by hunting them and not protecting them.
Read the complete op-ed from the link above.