Surprise! WI DNR undercounts wolf poaching

Glad to see this wolf poaching report, given the frequent stories of 'shoot, shovel and shut up' that circulate in Wisconsin:

A University of Wisconsin-Madison study shows the human toll on wolves is higher than previously estimated and that state officials have underreported wolf deaths in past analyses.

For years, wolves have been shot illegally, struck by cars and trucks or legally killed by authorities acting on reports that wolves were killing and threatening livestock and pets.

But in a study published Monday in the Journal of Mammalogy, UW researcher Adrian Treves and a group of scientists found higher levels of illegal killing of wolves in Wisconsin than reported by the Department of Natural Resources.

i'd always suspected this was the case, and even collected some data from the state on non-hunting wolf deaths, but didn't get far enough into the numbers. My bad.

And it's another reason why Wisconsin should not be given the responsibility by the federal government for managing a wolf hunt in the state, as argued here. 

The DNR's careless, pro-hunt attitude, combined with the Legislature's blood-thirsty approval of the use of dog packs, proves Wisconsin is a poor steward of the public's wildlife.