gray wolves

Hunters harvested 216 wolves during Wisconsin’s 2021 wolf season.

The season was set to last 7-days but was cut short as hunters quickly filled quotas.

The 216 wolves are nearly 100 more wolves than the 119 wolf quota issued the Natural Resources Board.  

DNR employees pointed to a couple different reasons for the number going so far over.

Hunters have 24 hours to report kills which can lead to delays in reporting. By state law, the DNR has to give 24 hours-notice before closing a zone.

  Hunters and trappers have blown past Wisconsin's wolf kill target, forcing an early end to the hunting season and angering animal rights activists and conservationists.

The Department of Natural Resources opened a season Monday that was supposed to run through Sunday, with a kill target of 119 animals.

It became clear Tuesday that hunters and trappers were on pace to exceed the limit, so the agency moved up the season's end to 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The department reported around midday Wednesday that hunters and trappers had already 162 animals.

Wisconsin wildlife officials plan to end the state's wolf season on Wednesday after hunters and trappers filled nearly 70% of the state's kill quota in less than 48 hours.

The Department of Natural Resources opened the hunt on Monday morning.

It had been scheduled to run through Sunday, but hunters and trappers had already killed 82 of the 119-wolf quota as of Tuesday afternoon.

Department officials say the season will end Wednesday.

  Wisconsin wildlife officials have opened a wolf season after hunting advocates sued to move the start date up from November amid fears that the Biden administration might restore protections for the animals.

The hunt got underway Monday across six management zones and is slated to run through Sunday.

The kill limit is 200 animals, which means some zones could close early as hunters near the limit.

The Trump administration removed wolves from the federal endangered species list in January, returning management to the states.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has dismissed a Department of Natural Resources request to stop the wolf hunt, which is scheduled to begin next week.

The DNR was appealing a court order that requires a hunt this month. But the appeals court says that the order was not a final judgment, so the appellate court has no jurisdiction over the appeal.

The weeklong wolf hunt will run from Feb. 22 through Feb. 28, and the permit application period closes at midnight Saturday. Up to 200 animals will be allowed to be harvested.

The National Resources board set a wolf harvest quota of 200 wolves for a hunt expected to happen this month.

That number is based on the recommendations of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The agency said it considered several factors in coming up with that number.

They include the most recent population estimates, the public response to earlier harvests, the current management plan, and other research.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says it will propose a harvest quota of 200 wolves.

The group’s policy board meets Monday to discuss launching a wolf hunt immediately.

The agency considered several factors in coming up with the number.

Those include the most recent population estimate, the public response to earlier harvests, the current management plan and other research.

Wisconsin law mandates the DNR run a wolf season from November through the end of February.

A judge has ordered the state Department of Natural Resources to start a wolf hunt this month rather than wait until November.

The Trump administration removed wolves from the federal endangered species list in January, returning management to the states.

Wisconsin law mandates the DNR run a wolf season from November through February.

The department had planned to start the season this November but national hunting advocacy group Hunter Nation filed a lawsuit earlier this month to force an immediate start.

A national hunting group is suing to force an immediate start to Wisconsin's wolf season.

Kansas-based Hunter Nation Inc. filed the suit Tuesday in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Wisconsin.

The group is seeking an order forcing the state Department of Natural Resources to start the season immediately.

The Trump administration removed wolves from the federal endangered species list last month.

The DNR is planning to resume hunts in November but a group of GOP lawmakers demanded the agency start them now.

There will not be a wolf hunt in Wisconsin this winter.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board heard nearly four hours of testimony on the subject Friday. 

The NRB held an emergency meeting Friday after some state legislators sent a letter saying state law required the DNR to hold a hunt this winter and wanted one before lawsuits potentially put the species back on the Endandgered Species List. 

There was no shortage of people who spoke for and against an immediate wolf hunt. Public testimony lasted more than four hours.

Two coalitions of advocacy groups are suing to get gray wolves put back on the federal Endangered Species List. The wildlife advocates filed lawsuits Thursday in U.S. District Court in Northern California.

The Trump administration announced in October that wolves were considered recovered from near extinction across most of the U.S. The change went into effect earlier this month.

The Wisconsin DNR announced there will be a wolf season next year.

Under current Wisconsin law, the state is required to hold a wolf hunt as long as the species isn’t on the federal or state endangered species list.

The DNR will be using the next 11 months to “develop a science-based harvest quota” and get input from the public and tribal partners.