Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, has introduced a bill to the Minnesota Legislature that would set a wolf hunting season to coincide with deer season. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) opposes the timing, calling for a wolf season that begins in late November.
Read more about DNR proposals HERE, on Wilderness News.
According to the Star Tribune, the bill introduced by Dill would give the DNR authority to set the number of wolves to be taken, but Dill believes that allowing a hunt to take place during the firearms deer season would give hunters a better chance of taking a wolf. He said that wolves are not easy to hunt, and most will be “taken by happenstance.”
Dill also says his bill represents what the constituents of northeastern Minnesota want, where he claims the wolf population has “exploded,” endangering livestock and pets.
Read the full Star Tribune article HERE.
The first hearing on the bill will be held on Thursday in the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance committee–one day before the DNR assumes management of the wolf.
Minnesota is not alone as it tackles how to handle wolf hunting. On Monday, the Wisconsin state Department of Natural Resources sent a letter to about 100 landowners who have had problems with wolves, allowing them to hunt wolves as early as Friday. Read a Brainerd Dispatch article on the move HERE.