08/22/14-Change The Law, Save Wolves: Bring back a climate of wolf awareness. By Rachel Tilseth

The definition of torture is to purposely inflict pain. While working as a WDNR winter wolf tracker in the north woods of Wisconsin have heard a tale or two perpetuated by wolf haters. These stories were even being circulated during the time when wolves were still on the endangered species list and they are still being told today.

The following story was told to me many times over while tracking wild wolves in the north woods. The person would always tell the story in a second person version making it a hearsay tale(this way they would not get in trouble). The story was always the same and would go something like this: they knew a person that gut shot a wolf, cut off the radio collar and threw it in the creek. Then the wounded wolf would crawl off on to someone else’s property. The word suffering was never mentioned as if they were entitled to treat an animal any way they want. Because, they pay hunting fees and this is their woods, etc…

My response was always the same. I would ask them these questions: Why would they cause such suffering on any wild animal? How is that ethical hunting? If they had a conscience at all, would stop talking and give me “a deer caught in the head-lights look.” Or the look of a “child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.”

The moral of the story is Wisconsinites need to #SpeakForWolves and change the law, act 169, that designated the wolf a game animal. This law brought back all the age old fears & hatred for wolves and erased all the progress made during wolf recovery.

Changing this will take hard work because we will need to over turn the actions of a few citizens with money and power. Because they spent a great deal of money to create a climate of hate and fear towards wild wolves.

Photograph taken by Rachel Tilseth, “Wolf Country in winter. ”

How can you help? Here’s a link http://www.facebook.com/WolvesOfDouglasCountyWisconsin email wolvesdouglasco@gmail.com