Inaugural Wolf Hunts in Idaho

Well it appears that Idaho is having their inaugural wolf hunting season this year. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has issued 220 hunting tags for the large predator, down from the proposed amount of 430 wolves, or roughly one half of the wolf population in Idaho. The move to begin hunts in the Gem state is not without controversy. Many environmental and conservation groups are outraged by the idea of hunting the recently re-established animal, especially since it was only removed from the endangered species list within the last six months. These groups are hopeful for a court injunction to stop the hunting in its tracks.

I always find it interesting that these anti-hunting environmental conservationist groups are always so quick to get upset at hunters, the "real" conservationist. I'm afraid they don't understand that hunters are responsible for more conservation and environmental improvement that any other group out there. I know some of you reading this are going to say where are the statistics behind this, my answer is just google it. There are multitude of reports out there for anyone to see.

I believe in hunting, and I think its completely necessary to maintain environmental stability. Hunting helps to keep in check the results of overpopulation due to under-predation. By enabling hunters to cull a researched quota from the population, you are allowing the animals to stay within a healthy balance. I'll leave you with a quote by Aldo Leupold from his book A Sand County Almanac, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends to do otherwise.