judge ok's wolf hunt/dogs

[Lee Borgersen]

  ... Wisconsin judge allows wolf hunting with dogs


A group of humane societies filed a lawsuit earlier this year alleging the Department of Natural Resources failed to place any real restrictions on how wolf hunters can use dogs.




MADISON — A Madison judge has ruled people can hunt wolves with dogs but blocked them from training dogs to go after the animals.


A group of humane societies filed a lawsuit earlier this year alleging the Department of Natural Resources failed to place any real restrictions on how wolf hunters can use dogs. Judge Peter Anderson temporarily banned the use of dogs while he weighed the case.


Anderson now ruled the DNR had an obligation to tweak a pre-existing rule that allows people to train dogs on wild animals to address problems that would arise between dogs and wolves. He found the rule is invalid and can't be used to support training on wolves.


But he said the DNR had no duty to impose restrictions on actually hunting wolves with dogs.