Days after funding for a federal program used to control wolves that prey on livestock was set to end, the Department of Agriculture has pledged money to keep the effort running through the end of the year.
The Duluth News Tribune has the story HERE.
Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar received a pledge from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that funding would be allocated to the program which traps and kills wolves that kill livestock. Funding for the program ended on September 30, 2011, because it was allocated by a congressional earmark. Congress voted to eliminate earmarks earlier this year.
Klobuchar said continuation of the program was essential to keep Minnesota livestock and residents safe. Since grey wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal for citizens to shoot wolves that prey on their livestock or pets. Under the federal program, experts trap and kill wolves at sites where wolf predation has occurred.
The program has operated in Minnesota since 1978. In 2010, the program investigated 272 complaints and killed 192 wolves.
The U.S. Department of the Interior hopes to remove Endangered Species protection from wolves and return management of the species to states by the end of 2011.