Coalition Wants Dogs To Be Excluded From Wolf Hunting

A coalition concerned about allowing wolves to be hunted with dogs has filed an appeal of a court ruling handed down earlier this year. A Dane County judge blocked the use of dogs during the state’s wolf hunt last fall, but the door was left open to using dogs in the next hunt scheduled for later this year. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been working on some permanent rules for dog training.

But a coalition of humane societies, conservation groups and others have asked the state appeals court to rule that hunting wolves with dogs would violate state laws prohibiting cruelty to animals.

Coalition attorney Jodi Habush- Sinykin: “What we’re looking for is judicial intervention. Without this appeal, we are in agreement that there will be nothing to stop the bloodshed and state-sanctioned dog-fighting.”

Habush-Sinykin says it is not clear that the DNR’s rule-making process on dog training will prevent deadly wolf-dog confrontations.

Some hunting groups argue wolves and hunting dogs would not fight. The DNR is not commenting on the filing of the appeal.