Idaho Extends Wolf Hunt In Some Regions

It was decided by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission last week to extend the wolf hunt in seven of the wolf hunting zones. This is because of the lack of reaching desired quotas during the initial hunt that is scheduled to end on December 31, 2009.

The wolf hunts were set up to run a specific duration but would be closed in any and all zones as soon as quotas for each zone were filled. An example of this is in Montana, where the small quota was reached prior to the end of the designated hunt season. The wolf hunt season there was abruptly ended.

Environmentalists, known to be whiners, never satisfied with any wildlife management they don’t completely control, said the extension of the wolf hunt would have greater affects on the wolf population than most people realize – citing that the hunt stretches into breeding and denning season where they feel wolves would be easy prey for hunters. The wolf advocates claim that killing one pregnant female would is the same as killing as many as 8 or 10. So what!

Once again, the environmentalist play on the emotions of people, attempting to force an image of hunters killing pregnant female wolves and/or pups, giving the Idaho Fish and Game Commission no credit for understanding the situation and factoring in these issues in their decision making process.

The quotas set up for the hunt are minimal and will have virtually no effect on the overall health or population of wolves in Idaho. The environmentalists know this fact as well but playing on people’s emotions brings them more money when they hold their hands out to rob and deceive the public.

Last January I said that the rules proposed by IDFG to hunt wolves would be ineffective. At that time I acknowledged that the initial hunt might see some success but the more the wolf is hunted the smarter it will become and the more difficult it will be to kill them. If IDFG insists on stripping hunters of tools to hunt the wolf, quotas will never be filled during future hunts.

In February, I wrote a five-part series, “To Catch a Wolf” where I shared historic accounts of the efforts of man over the centuries trying to hunt and kill wolves. During these times they used every means they could possibly dream of to lure and kill wolves. Success was extremely limited but the inventiveness and the implementation of hunting “tools” by the hunters and local communities were unreal, even to the point of using “volunteers” as human bait to lure wolves into shooting corrals.

The wolf, very much like the coyote, is well entrenched into the ecosystems of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Offering up hunting opportunities with very small quotas, regardless of the time of year, will have absolutely no negative effect on the wolf population.

Tom Remington