A federal judge in Montana has stopped the killing of wolves in Montana and Idaho by ordering the wolves put back on the federal threatened list.
Judge Molloy ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had illegally stripped the northern Rockies gray wolf of its Endangered Species Act protections in 2009 by relying on political, rather than biological, reasoning.
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In July, Born Free USA adamantly opposed Montana’s wolf hunting proposal aimed at reducing the state’s wolf population between 8 and 20%.
Born Free USA told the Montana Wildlife Commission, “We find it hard to believe that the Department can conclude that such a drastic increase in wolf hunting will not adversely impact Montana’s wolf population…. There is no need for these biologically reckless quota increases.”
While Montana ignored our concerns and instead approved the killing of 186 wolves in a hunt set to begin this fall, this latest ruling however puts an end to the Montana Hunt as well as the 2010-11 wolf hunting season in Idaho.