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COMMENTS ARE OPEN FOR WOLF HUNTING SEASON SETTING IN WYOMING
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing to increase wolf hunting quotas as part of its management strategy, yet this move runs counter to sound ecological science and the state’s urgent need to address the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Wolves play a critical role in maintaining the health of elk and deer populations by naturally culling the weak, sick, and old animals—precisely the ones most susceptible to spreading diseases like CWD. By removing wolves, the state disrupts this natural regulation, allowing diseased animals to survive longer and spread infection more widely, particularly on artificial winter feedgrounds where high densities of elk exacerbate transmission. Instead of reducing wolf numbers, the Department should be supporting intact predator-prey systems as a frontline defense against CWD, rather than relying solely on human hunting, which is less selective and far less effective in targeting diseased individuals, especially when elk with CWD can take up to a year or more to show outward signs and symptoms of CWD.
We are also never given a chance to comment at commission meetings about killing and hunting of wolves as part of the bigger picture of larger management of wolves. Instead, we are only given a brief chance to talk about the season setting quotas of wolf hunts. There is no discussion about revisiting wolves’ predatory status in 85% of the state nor is there discussion about backing off on wolf hunting so that predators can assist with curbing the spread of CWD.
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