March 5, 2022

What controversial issue is uniting right-wing Ron Johnson and left-wing Tammy Baldwin?

Ending the protection of wolves.
The bill comes after a federal judge in California last month ordered protections be restored for wolves across most of the U.S. after the Trump administration removed them from the endangered species list. Re-listing wolves on the list effectively banned any wolf hunting or trapping seasons and prohibited farmers and ranchers from killing wolves preying on livestock.

ADDED: "We have doomed the wolf not for what it is but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be: the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer—which is, in reality, not more than the reflected image of ourselves. We have made it the scapewolf for our own sins."

55 comments:

gilbar said...

Wolves have Big Sharp Teeth.. Those are For a Reason.
If you ever were a sheep outside the fold; ewe would see that Wolves are BAD!

Temujin said...

Protecting the wolves is like making adjustments to our laws to allow shoplifting for under certain dollar amounts. Or supplying outdoor urinals, hiring feces collectors, handing out needles and tents, or offering up entire hotels to homeless. Or bailing out Antifa or BLM rioters who just burned down buildings and looted business. (ala Kamala Harris)

It's making way for the predators to do what they will. Wolves will eat livestock and pets. If we depend on those livestock for our food, we either make wolves the food or protect that which we determine is our food.

If we depend on laws and societal structure to live in a civil society, we either stand by our own civil laws or we simply walk away and let the uncivil have our society.

MadTownGuy said...

From the article:

"The bill comes after a federal judge in California last month ordered protections be restored for wolves across most of the U.S. after the Trump administration removed them from the endangered species list."

'We're from the government. We're here to help you.'

But when you've lost Tammy Baldwin...

Tommy Duncan said...

The commenters on the Wisconsin Public Radio website don't disappoint. Stereotypes are strongly reinforced.

Achilles said...

Nothing the democrats are doing is being honestly supported.

Anything they have to defend they run away from at election time and then they make moves to dishonestly push their agenda.

Andrew said...

Joel Carnegie, RIP.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kenton_Joel_Carnegie

Lucien said...

Someone has to keep the deer from over-breeding! And create a market for Maremmas, Anatolians and Great Pyrennees.

Browndog said...

If it sounds good and signals virtue, but is utterly destructive in the end, liberals are all for it.

In Michigan, the effort to reintroduce/protect the wolves has done nothing but kill them off. That, and decimate the small pockets of moose and elk we have left.

Detroiters are quick to tell UPers if they can't live with wolves MOVE! They were there first!

Gospace said...

The idiots at NYSDEC insist on bringing rattlesnakes back to NY. Non-poisonous snakes are perfectly capable of handling their ecological niche.

KellyM said...

Sounds a lot like the dopes here in SF who think it's perfectly fine to give way to the coyotes in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, instead of getting rid of them. It's obnoxious to read the sign boards posted near popular walking trails telling pet owners to be alert for these interlopers.
The small rodent population has been wiped out and they're now seen wandering in nearby neighborhoods.

Heartless Aztec said...

Slight change of subject - alligators are off the endangered species list and Florida is now over run with them. Don't get me started on sharks.

n.n said...

A wolf, a baby, a scapebaby. #HateLovesAbortion

bobby said...

The only difference will be that they won't bring the pelts back.

gilbar said...

Achilles said...
Nothing the democrats are doing is being honestly supported.

It DOES make you wonder.
Dems say that "The People" WANT the dem programs
But they can Never get Voters to vote for those programs, so they Have to "Use" the courts
Dems say that "The Only Reason" voters won't vote for them, is "Voter Suppression"
BUT! Dems really, truly do NOT want voters to Know the details of these programs
It's weird.. The more "The People" know about dem programs, the Less they want them

It's Almost As If, "The People" don't REALLY Want those programs

realestateacct said...

This is one of the great examples of the Physicals vs the Virtuals.

LuAnn Zieman said...

Reminds me of many years ago when the Minnesota DNR reintroduced elk to northern Minnesota. The farmers were irate. One farmer had 17 elk grazing on his crops. He called the local game warden and told him to come get his elk. Nothing happened so he shot all of them, after which he called and told the warden he come and get the dead animals. He was charged with the killing of protected animals, of course, and taken to court where a jury of his peers, many of them farmers, found him not guilty!

Jersey Fled said...

Most liberals have never actually seen a wolf. Not many on the upper west side. And who cares about those that have to deal with them.

Wince said...

"Now, look, I ain't stalking you all, but I didn't say I wasn't a wolf."

Freder Frederson said...

In Michigan, the effort to reintroduce/protect the wolves has done nothing but kill them off. That, and decimate the small pockets of moose and elk we have left.

I call bullshit on this. Wolves return the balance, not kill them off. Yes, wolves will kill the slow, stupid, and old elks and moose, which of course makes it harder to hunt, but that is the hunters' problem, not the elks, moose or wolves.

Freder Frederson said...

The idiots at NYSDEC insist on bringing rattlesnakes back to NY.

So what? They are native, and the chance of being bitten by a rattlesnake in New York is vanishingly small.

Freder Frederson said...

Most liberals have never actually seen a wolf.

I assume you mean in the wild. Guess what, most conservatives haven't seen one either. I have spent plenty of time in Northern Minnesota, where there are lots of wolves, and I have never seen one in the wild (heard them yes, but never seen one).

Browndog said...

I call bullshit on this.

Find me a stupid, wrong headed policy with proven results and libs are all for it-

Absolutely amazing.

Freder Frederson said...

And who cares about those that have to deal with them.

And where exactly do you live that you have to deal with wolves? Your profile says you are a retired corporate executive. If you were a rancher in Montana or Wyoming, you might have a dog in the fight, and I could understand your concerns. But if you retired to somewhere that is overrun with wolves, then I think you are full of shit.

BUMBLE BEE said...

UH OH wolves carry many diseases that affect DOGS. Freder is reading pamphlets to us again. Bad Freder! Bad! Bad! Browndog knows whereof Browndog speaks.

L Day said...

Here In Montana, some 30 years ago, I offered comment in favor of wolf re-introduction. It’s been a resounding success and wolf numbers are now far above population objectives. Of course we now have hunting and trapping seasons, as we should. Unfortunately, a vocal minority thinks this is a crime against nature, even though we now have many hundreds of breeding pairs of wolves where we once had none.

Iman said...

Johnson should be careful taking up with a wolf in geek’s clothing.

tim maguire said...

Freder Frederson said... Wolves return the balance, not kill them off. Yes, wolves will kill the slow, stupid, and old elks and moose, which of course makes it harder to hunt, but that is the hunters' problem, not the elks, moose or wolves.

Traditionally, and perhaps eventually. But when wolves are first reintroduced, the moose and elk don't know what they are up against. The wolves don't kill off the weakest and slowest, they kill off the biggest and strongest because the biggest and strongest don't run.

Quaestor said...

I believe it is safe to be as pre judiciously unequivocal about Farley Mowat as Farley Mowat was about wolves. Farley Mowat's survival was never dependent on the survival of a flock of sheep.

L Day said...

Correction: We have “more than 1,100 wolves in Montana, about for times the number required by the recovery plan, not hundreds of breeding pairs.

Bruce Hayden said...

If we are so worried about restoring the range of wolves, why not do the same thing with Bison? The Great Plains used to be covered with them. And their elimination was key to allowing both farming and cattle ranching in that huge part of the country. Besides, restoring those huge bison herds would support significantly more wolves.

The people pushing reclassifying wolves as endangered don’t have to live with the consequences of their actions. L Day mentioned hunting in MT. For example, this decision was by a judge in CA. How many wolves do they have? Killing the hunting of wolves was the primary purpose of reclassifying them as endangered. Or at least one of the primary purposes. What happens if you kill an endangered species? It’s a federal felony, which means that if you are caught, you would be potentially subject to prison and large fine. And, you would likely lose your gun rights. Not only could you not purchase or own a firearm, but they would have to be locked up around you. What if you killed in self defense? Probably doesn’t matter - guy was tried in our county for killing a brown bear (an endangered species) in self defense. He claimed that he mistook it for a black bear (since we had been assured that there weren’t any in the county- there were, trouble bears imported there by the FS, which had lied). Jury chose to believe him, and used that for jury nullification. Wolves for the most part still have decent fear of humans. Hunting them helps maintain that. The ones who come in close to civilization are the ones who die first - or at least did, when it was legal to kill them in self defense, or the defense of cattle, sheep, domestic animals, and even humans. Also, keep in mind that wolves have exploded in population over the last couple decades. They were hunted out a century ago, in our county in MT. They are back now, and flourishing. The interesting thing about where we live is that we now have brown bear on the ridges north of us, and wolves on the southern ridges, with the ranges of both expanding fairly rapidly towards the valley floor, where most of the farming, ranching, and people are. All within the last decade or so.

Here’s a suggestion - move a problem wolf pack from MT, where they probably can’t be hunted anymore, and reintroduce them into Golden Gate Park, in SFC. When they start thinning the population of little dogs, kids, and homeless, let’s see what they think then.

Howard said...

Lets kill Wolves so we can obesity better on even cheaper factory farmed deep fried meat nuggets.

Michael K said...

And where exactly do you live that you have to deal with wolves?

Naturalist Freder favors us with his wisdom. Fifty years ago California banned any hunting of mountain lions. Where would you expect to find lions ? Well these days you find them in backyards in suburbs. I cared for some of the victims. Some were beyond help. Parks in Orange County are now closed to kids under 18. Lions like kids.

One orthodontist I knew had his wife attacked while mountain biking. Fortunately, a friend and some passersby beat the lion off. When her husband saw her in the pro-op room before surgery, he fainted.

iowan2 said...

What law or regulation was violated? Don't like judges veering from their lane.

Fernandinande said...

We have made it the scapewolf for our own sins.

No we haven't.

translated into Russian

The title was supposedly mistranslated as "Wolves please don't cry".

bobby said...

"If we are so worried about restoring the range of wolves, why not do the same thing with Bison?"

And polio. Doesn't polio deserve to live just as much as wolves?

This isn't "serving species diversity". This is fantasy Disney anthropomorphic hobbyfarming. It's an in-your-face from ecoloons to the rural population. If they could find some endangered animal that only ate farmers and plumbers, they'd be fighting to release it.

Josephbleau said...

I saw a grey wolf in the wild once at Lake Louise Alberta. She was lying on a rock on her belly. She was about 12 foot long from toe to paw. there have been a few unwise tourists killed over the years there by wolf and moose. Once established, wolves are pack animals and will attack anything in a group.

I like the story of the Russian noble on a horse sled journey, who, when chased by wolves, pushed his servant out of the sled to escape while the wolves were eating.

It would be nice to have a wolf cloak with the head attached, the wolfhead could cover the top of your head. A good fashion tip for visiting the US Capitol.

Freder Frederson said...

I cared for some of the victims. Some were beyond help. Parks in Orange County are now closed to kids under 18. Lions like kids.

You are so full of shit. There have been 18 mountain lions attacks in the entire state of California since 1986, 3 fatal.

Freder Frederson said...

Parks in Orange County are now closed to kids under 18. Lions like kids.

Well I just checked the yelp reviews, not one of them mentioned their children being dragged off by mountain lions.

Chris Lopes said...

"Lets kill Wolves so we can obesity better on even cheaper factory farmed deep fried meat nuggets."

A comment that manages to be nasty, stupid, and irrelevant. That's quite a hat trick.

Freder Frederson said...

You people are insane. You ignore a pandemic that has killed almost a million Americans, but are anxious to slaughter animals that are responsible (in a bad year) for at most, a couple deaths.

Readering said...

Looking forward to the scientific breakthroughs that permit the reintroduction of mastodons and smilodons to Wilshire Boulevard.

Big Mike said...

@Freder, if you were one of those “couple of deaths,” then I’d say “fine.” What will happen instead is that a child will be killed and partially devoured by a wolf pack and Judge Jeffery White will claim it’s not his fault.

But it will be.

Josephbleau said...

"Looking forward to the scientific breakthroughs that permit the reintroduction of mastodons and smilodons to Wilshire Boulevard."

Very good. LA/Barea was a violent place at one time, tooth and claw. Is it a violent place now?

alicante69 said...

I wonder what Hélèn Grimaud thinks about government protection.

FamilyHaker said...

I’m not opposed to hunting wolves. I’d vote to ban trapping though.
Once trapped, the animal struggles until the hunter eventually returns and shoots it.

https://youtu.be/xWLpPLvQkOE

Steven said...

The wolf being on the "endangered species" list has always been deeply stupid. They're an IUCN "Least Concern" species for a reason, with 300,000 of them in the wild, ranging across three continents.

Chris Lopes said...

"You people are insane. You ignore a pandemic that has killed almost a million Americans, but are anxious to slaughter animals that are responsible (in a bad year) for at most, a couple deaths."

The topic was chosen by the hostess of the blog. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you take it up with her. Having a different opinion than yours is not insanity. Your opinions are not the laws of the universe. Get over yourself.

Gospace said...

Freezer, you’re a master of Liberal Logic.

The crime rate is down yet there are more people in jail. How is that?

The chance of being bitten by a rattlesnake in NY is vanishingly small yet they’ve been hunted to extinction there. How is that?

Reality 101 is at odds Liberal Logic. If you increase the number of rattlesnakes in an area you increase the odds of being struck by one. Hunt them to extinction, your chances go to zero.

The range of copperhead snakes according to the DEC is much smaller then it used to be. Their map doesn’t show any in the Capitol Region. I remember killing some in the 1960s in Loudonville. Including two at the bottom of the slide our landlord had installed for his kids- and we used it too.

There’s no reason to tolerate any poisonous snakes despite the wishes of ecologists and nature lovers. Their ecological niche doesn’t go empty because you exterminate them.

Josephbleau said...

“You people are insane. You ignore a pandemic that has killed almost a million Americans, but are anxious to slaughter animals that are responsible (in a bad year) for at most, a couple deaths.”

This person is fruking crazy, the thesis is, a great death has occurred, thus we must allow an unrelated smaller death to occur. Such mental power, what a great mind. Morality incarnate.

Bruce Hayden said...

“You people are insane. You ignore a pandemic that has killed almost a million Americans, but are anxious to slaughter animals that are responsible (in a bad year) for at most, a couple deaths.“

Figure about half of that, with the Feds subsidizing hospitals across the country to do COVID-19 tests on most everyone admitted, whether for a drive by shooting, auto accident, heart attack or actually exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Yes, most of a million died with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their blood. But that only means that they died WITH COVID-19, but often not FROM COVID-19. It is, of course, your federal bureaucracy lying through their teeth, as usual, to promote the companies that have captured their agencies. Oh, and don’t forget that it is almost certain that the ChiComs developed the virus, accidentally let it escape their lab, and then tried to cover it up, delaying the 2orly response by months, and and part of the funding was by our own government, thanks, again, to Dr Fauci.

n.n said...

a pandemic that has killed almost a million Americans

The excess deaths are attributed to planned parent/hood, Mengele mandates (e.g. non-sterilizing medical treatments including excess hospitalization, deaths, and silent spread), and social contagion with forward-looking collateral damage.

anxious to slaughter animals that are responsible (in a bad year) for at most, a couple deaths

Pro-Choice religious fervor for social, redistributive, clinical, and fair weather causes? The wolf, the milk cow, the family dog, the human child, too. There is no rush to open abortion fields, which were not already Planned and in progress.

Lurker21 said...

Your two senators are showing more sense than a lot of people. This shouldn't be an ideological left versus right issue or a "you people" thing. Are the wolves really an endangered species? What role do they play in the ecosystem and how many wolves are needed to play that role? What combination of measures could be taken to secure more people and livestock from wolf attacks? Probably a rational compromise could be worked out that dissatisfies everyone equally.

But I do understand the emotionality. That Liam Neeson movie about the killer wolf pack scared (and depressed) the hell out of me too.

gilbar said...

here's a fun thing..
if 6 people were killed in the last 20 years.. That is "a couple deaths."
but, IF wolf hunting is allowed; it will mean "the slaughter" of ALL wolves!

Apparently, accord to the woke folk; the Only two options are:
a) allow wolves to run rampant, and accept "a couple of" human deaths, or..
b) slaughter and kill and maim and destroy All the cute little wolfies

the idea that you could hunt an animal without driving it to extinction is something that is beyond the ability of some here to be able to conceive

DUSTER said...

If you've ever come across a recent deer kill you will understand the brutal nature of the way wolves hunt, a deer can go for miles with its entrails dragging behind it, gruesome. That doesn't make the wolf evil but now picture your family pet or livestock in that state , you begin to understand why people get upset. Unfortunately some have resorted to the practice of poisoning , which is indiscriminate and kills all the animals in an area. I believe their may be a grain of truth to our old fairy tales of the big bad wolf. On a side note, if you want to see wolves in northern Wisconsin spring is approaching and all the car killed deer will soon be exposed on the side of the roads, its like a dinner bell.

Rusty said...

Freder.
Go buy a dress.
Wolves are predators. Since we plowed under their habitat and the habitat of other bigger predators they are one of the top tier hunters in their area. And there area includes farms and ranches. Since you have no idea what it costs to raise a cow,pig,sheep, horse for market it would be a good idea if you dialed down the outrage a little bit.
In Illinois the only time you cant hunt coyotes is during firearm deer season. Otherwise it's open all year.