Two national animal protection groups want the Great Lakes wolf returned to the federal endangered species list and wolf hunts in Minnesota and Wisconsin suspended immediately.
In serving notice Monday that the Humane Society and the Fund for Animals intend to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for de-listing the wolf, Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle said Minnesota and Wisconsin had acted irresponsibly in allowing wolf hunts just months after the animal was removed from the federal endangered species list earlier this year.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put faith in the state wildlife agencies to responsibly manage wolf populations," Pacelle said. "But their overzealous and extreme plans to allow for trophy hunting and recreational trapping immediately after de-listing demonstrate that such confidence was unwarranted."
Minnesota, he noted, had pledged to wait five years before authorizing the hunt that now starts next month. The Wisconsin hunt already under way could claim nearly a quarter of that state's wolves, Pacelle said.
Minnesota Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, a lead author of the state's wolf hunting bill, said the planned suit revealed fundamental problems with the Endangered Species Act.
"I'm tired of people testing and re-testing things that have already been settled," said Dill, adding that he will ask Minnesota's congressional delegation to "re-visit the Endangered Species Act to make it more workable for states."
"We don't want to get rid of the Endangered Species Act, because it's useful," he said. "But in this case, it's met its objectives. Maybe it's time we look at this and see if there are some things that just don't make sense anymore."
The Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't comment on pending legal action, said spokeswoman Vanessa Kaufmann.