Hounds continue to be injured and killed by wolves in Wisconsin during the annual two-month bear hunting training season which ends at the end of August.
These depredations usually occur when hounds outfitted with GPS devices are released in packs from trucks by their hounder-owners to pursue and tree bears, thus stressing the wolves and bears during the untethered chase and endangering the hounds as well.
According to the WI DNR, five more hounds were killed last week during these all-but-inevitable confrontations between hounds and the larger, territory-protecting wolves; a nine-month-old male Walker hound was among the dogs killed, records show:
Some history is here about these fatal encounters and Wisconsin's unique, legislatively-created 35-year-old program that compensates hound owners $2,500 per depredated hound even if the hounds were allowed to run through documented wolf activity areas, or if the hounders are scofflaws or repeat depredation payment collectors.
From the DNR's main wolf webpage:
These depredations usually occur when hounds outfitted with GPS devices are released in packs from trucks by their hounder-owners to pursue and tree bears, thus stressing the wolves and bears during the untethered chase and endangering the hounds as well.
According to the WI DNR, five more hounds were killed last week during these all-but-inevitable confrontations between hounds and the larger, territory-protecting wolves; a nine-month-old male Walker hound was among the dogs killed, records show:
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| Walker hound image from Wikipedia |
From the DNR's main wolf webpage:
| 07/05/2020 | Jackson | 1 Hunting Dog Killed, 2 injured (8-year old female Plott/Walker killed, 7-year old male Plott/Walker injured, 8-year old male Plott/Walker injured) |  |
| 07/20/2020 | Douglas | 1 Hunting Dog Killed (5-year old male Plott) |  |
| 07/21/2020 | Bayfield | 1 Hunting Dog Killed (3-year old femald Black & Tan) |  |
| 07/25/2020 | Iron | 1 Hunting Dog Killed (4-year old female Plott) |  |
| 07/28/2020 | Bayfield | Dogs: 1 Hunting Dog Injured (Walker, 3-year old female) | |
| 08/01/2020 | Bayfield | Dogs: 1 Hunting Dog Killed (6-year old female Walker), 1 Hunting Dog Injured (1.5-year old female Walker) |  |
| 08/01/2020 | Price | Dogs: 3 Hunting Dogs Killed (3.5-year old male Walker, 3-year old female Walker, 6.5-year old Walker) |  |
| 08/03/2020 | Marathon | Dogs: 1 Hunting Dog Killed (9-month old male Walker) |  |
| 08/12/2020 | Forest | Dogs: 1 Hunting Dog Killed (7-year old female Plott) |  |
| 08/15/2020 | Price | Dogs: 1 Hunting Dog Killed (6-year old Black & Tan) |  |
| 08/15/2020 | Marinette | Dogs: 3 Hunting Dog Killed (10-month old Plott, 1.5-year old Plott, 7-year old Plott) |  |
I would think dog fighting for money would be illegal here in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteI really wonder what these people are doing. I live and hunt in an area where there are wolves. i grouse hunt with pointing dogs. I will not hunt in areas where there have been recent depredations, yet a dog was killed where three had been killed two weeks before. A lot of hunters are not happy with this situation. There are people who come from out of state, run their dogs with no license needed, and release them in an area where they have a good chance of getting killed. They then get paid something like 2500 bucks for their stupidity?????
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