Wolf Editorial
Here’s an Editorial from Senator Steve Bair of Blackfoot. Last fall I received a phone call from a fellow who had been hunting with his son. Prior to the father/son hunting trip, each had purchased a wolf tag, just in case they stumbled across a wolf. As luck would have it, they did find a wolf, which the young 12-year-old boy bagged. The wolf was tagged and reported as required to the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG). The young boy was so excited to have been among the first to legally and lawfully harvest a wolf.
The excitement was short lived. Not many days after returning home, a representative from Fish and Game called the father to notify the family that someone had made a request for public information. A wolf advocate had requested the private information of the boy who had shot the wolf. Sadly, IDFG was required to turn over the boy’s information.
Numerous public information requests have been made by anti-hunting advocates in an attempt to publicly humiliate those who have harvested big game, even though all was legal. One wolf advocate, Rick Hobson of Boise, published the names of those who had shot a wolf this season on the Internet in January.
Wolf hunting is an integral part of wolf population control. Wolf populations have increased dramatically the last few years.We must bring wolf population numbers to manageable levels, or big game hunting will come to an end. Additionally, we must protect Idaho outdoorsmen from harassment and bullying.
