HRC Reacts to Judge's Mixed Ruling on Wolf Hunt
February 12, 2013 – Today the Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition (HRC) applauded portions of a Dane County Judge’s ruling on the use of dogs to hunt wolves. Last month, Judge Anderson issued an encouraging oral ruling and has since released his written ruling.
In the ruling, Judge Anderson vacated the temporary injunction blocking the use of dogs to hunt wolves. His opinion also stated that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had the authority to enact addition restrictions on the use of dogs to hunt wolves, but that the Court doesn’t have the authority to force the DNR to do so.
"When the legislature created the wolf hunt, hunting with dogs was always part of the equation,” said Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association (WBHA) President, Al Lobner. “We’re glad the injunction is behind us."
Judge Anderson’s opinion also found that the DNR didn’t fully consider the necessity of additional restrictions when authorizing the dog training season, and invalidated the training rules. He said the DNR needed to be more thorough in their consideration for the rules to be valid.
"We’re very happy Judge Anderson upheld the ability to use dogs during the wolf hunt,” said Jeremy Rine, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) in-house counsel. “However, we are disappointed with the training rule decision. We’ll be further evaluating the ruling to determine our next steps."
The DNR has since stated they are in the process of crafting new dog training rules and hope to have them in place soon.
Several HRC member organizations and individuals filed as interveners on behalf of Wisconsin hunters. These include The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Safari Club International, United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, and The US Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation.
The Hunters Rights Coalition is Wisconsin’s only group 100% dedicated to advancing hunting opportunities and protecting the rights of Wisconsin’s hunters. The Coalition is made up of several groups including: The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Wisconsin Chapters of Safari Club International, Whitetails of Wisconsin, and the State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
For more information please contact our representative: Bob Welch 608-819-0150.