Tiffany: Another wolf attack is concerning

By: Chelsea Deloria

Amid the recent discussion of wolf depredation and the reintroduction of The Pet and Livestock Protection Act, there has been another attack on a pet in rural Wisconsin.

According to the USDA Wildlife Service report and approved by the Wisconsin DNR, there was a report of a pet dog killed on Feb. 2. In the town of Pine River in Lincoln County.

The complaint stated the owner reported letting the dogs out at 4 a.m. After 30 minutes the complainant tried calling for them and only one dog returned with no injuries. However, the second dog, a yellow lab, was found killed 300 yards away from their house. It was also mentioned that at 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 2, a person saw three wolves in a pasture close to the incident.

"The slaughter continues here in rural America including rural Wisconsin," said Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin's 7th District. "The wolf numbers are out of control, they need to be delisted, and there needs to be a wolf season. They need to be managed just like any wildlife species."

This comes only weeks after Tiffany and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, reintroduced legislation to take the gray wolf off of the endangered species list on Jan. 31.

The report states, "this is the same pack that has been causing attacks for almost a year in that area. The first attack by this pack was when the fellow gathered maple syrup in the Town of Vilas in Langlade County on April 4 of 2024, whose springer spaniel was killed by wolves."

"The next attack was a cow and calf killed by wolves on June 8, 2024, in Pine River in Lincoln County. The third was Sept. 24, 2024, a harassment of cattle in Pine River in Lincoln County. There was also a conflict involving wolves with hunting dogs in the Town of Vilas in Langlade County."

According to the report, experts say wolves specialize in a particular type of conflict.

"This pack has shown great flexibility in that it attacked hunting dogs, pet dogs, and livestock," the report stated. "Do not allow pets outside unattended. Keep livestock in a sturdy enclosure if possible. If animals are being grazed, try to install lights and a motion activated radio if possible."

Tiffany said that people are almost becoming desensitized to, "the slaughter that's going on."

"We've seen the number of depredations going up the last three years," he said. "We're now seeing human-wolf interactions where people have had to defend themselves. This is going to end up in a very bad place here if something isn't done soon."

Tiffany pointed out that is why, he once again, reintroduced The Pet and Livestock Protection Act. He hopes to have this act pass during this session.

"When we pass it out of the house, I urge Sen. Johnson and, in particular, Sen. Baldwin to take a lead on this to get this done because it is causing great harm to rural America and it needs to stop," he said.

Tiffany said he has spoken with city dwellers and his colleagues about taking money from the Humane Society of the United States.

"This isn't your local humane society," he explained. "The Humane Society of the United States is supposed to be defending pets. How can you say you're defending pets when you see the slaughter going on in America of peoples family pets?

"I just hope that those people will say to the Humane Society of the United States that you're off base on this and we are going to stand with responsible wildlife management."

Tiffany pointed out that it's terrible people can't even take their dogs out to walk anymore without the threat.

"People can't leave their livestock out to graze," he said. "It is really a sad state of affairs. My heart goes out to those people who have lost their pets.

"The stories of pets being snagged right outside of peoples front doorsteps, I mean, is just terrible."

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