FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2013
Contact: Tony Hansen, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, (269) 420-9510
thansen@mucc.org
Michigan Humane Society Abandons Wolf Management Plan, Sides with Radical Out-of-State Animal Rights Group
Wolf Management Plan allows for public hunting to reduce conflicts, but MHS endorses referendum to prevent implementation.
LANSING—The Michigan Humane Society has reversed course in its support for the Michigan Wolf Management Plan by siding with a radical out-of-state group that happens to be a funder and backing the referendum to repeal a law that allows for implementation of the plan. The plan included public hunting in certain circumstances to reduce livestock and pet depredation by wolves, which have plagued the limited areas of the Upper Peninsula where hunting will be allowed this year.
“Michigan Humane Society signed on to the Wolf Management Plan, which included public hunting, but now that the circumstances have occurred which would allow hunting under the plan, they are backing off their word and siding with the radical out-of-state animal rights group that has given them funding,” said Mike Thorman of the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, who was also on the Michigan Wolf Management Roundtable that developed recommendations for the plan.
The Humane Society of the United States, the Washington, D.C.-based animal rights group that funds and staffs the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected front group behind the referendum to repeal Public Act 21 of 2013, gave Michigan Humane Society $7,500 in 2011, part of the less than 1% of its revenues that HSUS gives to animal shelters. HSUS is also running an anti-hunting ballot initiative in Maine this year and was behind the 2006 anti-hunting referendum on mourning doves.
Professional wildlife biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recommended a limited wolf hunt in three areas of the Upper Peninsula that have experienced chronic depredation problems from wolves attacking livestock and pets. The Natural Resources Commission, which is required to use sound science in its wildlife decisions, named wolves as a game species under the authority granted it by Public Act 21 and approved a hunt of 43 wolves in the three Upper Peninsula units which have had the most problems with wolves.
The Michigan Wolf Management Plan, which was endorsed by Michigan Humane Society, allows for public hunting where the wolf density in a localized area is related to livestock or pet depredations. DNR biologists expect that a limited public hunt will reduce the density of wolves in those areas and make the remaining wolves more wary of humans so that they stay out of towns like Ironwood and away from farms and backyards, reducing pet and livestock depredations.
The biologists do not expect it to have an impact on the overall wolf population of the Upper Peninsula, which was estimated at 658 during its minimum winter count. The wolf population can more than double throughout the year. Wolves in Michigan recovery goal of 200 for five straight years back in 2004, even though HSUS lawsuits kept it on the Endangered Species List until 2012.
“Michigan’s wolf population is thriving and it needs to be managed by professional biologists to prevent conflicts with humans, like pets and livestock being killed,” said Erin McDonough, executive director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “It’s disappointing that Michigan Humane Society would flip-flop on the Wolf Management Plan to side with one of its radical funders when wolves are killing family pets in Upper Peninsula back yards.”
Founded in 1937, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) is the largest state-specific conservation organization in the country. Its mission is to unite citizens to conserve, protect and enhance Michigan’s natural resources and outdoor heritage.
