WOLVES
By TIM WEATHERHEAD
Capital News Service
LANSING – Great Lakes gray wolves will come off the federal endangered
species list on May 4, which will allow Michigan livestock and pet owners to use lethal
force against wolves that attack their animals.
“These producers wanted to be empowered with the ability to take care of their
own issues,” said Dean Beyer, research biologist for the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) in Marquette. “More important than just dealing with the wolf
depredation, more important than having agency personnel come out to take care of the
problem, they wanted it in their own hands.”
Rebecca Park, associate legislative counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau, agreed
that livestock owners want the power to defend their property.
“A lot of producer members, where there’s wolf populations, have urged for some
ability when there’s a depredation situation,” she said. “It’s no different than if someone
attacked a pet dog.
“Unfortunately when a wolf is in the process of attacking an animal, there’s no
time to call the DNR,” Park said.
John Vucetich, a forestry professor at Michigan Technological University, said
that the number of wolves that attack livestock and pets is small.
“Most wolves in Michigan don’t cause any trouble at all with people, dogs and
livestock,” Vucetich said. “A few wolves get in the habit of trying to kill livestock, or
there are wolves that live in a place with livestock.
“For the livestock industry it’s not a big deal, but for the rancher or owner it’s a
big deal. It’s a big deal for the people directly affected by it,” Vucetich said.
According to the U.S. Department of Interior, gray wolves went on the
endangered species list in 1974 after having nearly disappeared from the continental U.S..
According to the DNR, in 2007 there were at least 509 gray wolves in the Upper
Peninsula. Although some wolves were found in the northern Lower Peninsula in 2004,
the number of wolves there is so small that no population had been estimated as of a 2007
DNR report.
Experts say the new rules allowing livestock and dog owners to use lethal force
won’t hurt wolf populations.
“It’s not serious from a population standpoint,” said Rolf Peterson, a professor at
the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Tech. “The
livestock loss is very low, so it’s not an issue that will impact the wolf population.”