DazhanaBauerJackson

LyndaHass
Writing39C
August7th2016

Advocacy:WhatisTheProblem?
Wolveshavebeenacontroversialtopicfordecadesnowbutarecontinuingtogoextinct
duetothecrueltyoftheycontinuetoendure.Overtimewolveshavebeenalmostextinctmultiple
timesbecauseofthecontinuoushuntingthatoccurs.Theyhavelosttheirfederalprotectionnow
makingitalmostcertainthattheyeventuallybecomeextinct.GraywolfrecoveryintheU.S.is
notcomplete.Instateswheretheyhavealreadylostfederalprotection,wolvesfacerabid
antiwolfpolitics,aggressivelethalcontrol,andmore.(WolfDefenders.(2015)Wolvesare
100%misunderstoodbecausesomanyhumansviewthemasviciousanddangerousbutbasedon
myownpreviousresearchtheyaren'tmuchdifferentthanhumanbeings.Everybodywhocomes
intocontactwithawolfthinksautomaticallytokillthemwhichiscompletelywrongand
continuestoposeaproblemofextinction.
Withwolveslosingtheirprotectionbackin2013theywillcontinuetobecomemoreand
moreendangered.Thehuntingseasonjustaftertherulewaslifted550graywolveswerekilled
byhuntersandtrappers.Forover30yearstheyhavebeenanendangeredspecies.Ourown
governmenthaseventakenpartinthekillingoftheseinnocentanimalsbecausetheyarea
supposedthreattotolivestock.ButinrealityaccordingtoRallyforWolves,anadvocacy
organizationforwolvesstatedthatonly74outof2,500,000cattleintheentireyearof2011were

killedbywolves.Puttingthatintoperspectiveisnexttonothingconsideringhowmanylivesof
wolvesarebeingtaken.
Thisallbeganbackin1930swhenbountyhunterswerekillingmostofthewolvesinthe
continentalUnitedStates.In1973TheEndangeredSpeciesActwasputintolawandspecifically
saysyoucan'tkillorharmananimalwithoutpermission,ofspeciesdeemedtobeindangerof
goingextinct.AyearlaterwolveswereputontheESAlist.In1995wolveswerereintroducedby
theU.S.FishandWildlifeserviceandwerebroughtinfromCanadatoYellowstoneNational
park.Oncethe21stcenturyhittheirstatuswasnowthreatenedinsteadofendangered.
Throughouttheearly2000'smanystatesbutspecificallyWYomingwerefightingtoget
unlimitedwolfkillingputbackintoplaywhilethespeciesisstilltechnicallyendangered.Dueto
thistimelineoftakingthewolvesofftheendangeredlistasofDecemberof2015theyarenow
backonthesamelistbecausepeoplebegantokillthemagain.Theissueisnotgoingtosolve
itselfifthiscyclekeepshappening.Theyneedtostopbeingkilledforgood,otherwiseevery25
yearstheywillbeendangeredalloveragain.
Wolvesessentiallyhavesomuchconflictwithhumansfornootherreasonthanhumans
seeawolfandthinktheyneedtokillitbecauseitisvicious.Overall,thegreatestthreatto
wolvesisprejudice,fearandmisunderstandingaboutthespecies.(WolfDefenders2016)The
mainreasonforthisissimplythemythsandliestoldaboutthem.Thereareantiwolfextremists
whoarejustasbadasracist,becausethewolfisnothurtinganybodyyetwearegoingtotakethe
lifeofaninnocentanimal.Peoplethinkwolveskilllivestockbuttheyusuallyonlypreyon
animalsthatareneardeathinthefirstplaceandarenotdominantunlessfacedwithbattleand

eventhenwillrarelykill.Humansinvadethelivingspaceofthesepooranimalsforcingthemto
moveunexpectedlyacrossland,freeway,citiesetc,withzeroprotection.
Overall,wolvesarealreadybeinghuntedandarecontinuouslythetargetforalotof
huntersbuttheonesthataresurvivingarestillsuffering.Withthisallgoingonalreadythe
governmentisthreateningtotakethemofftheEndangeredSpeciesactoneagain.Thisisan
issuebecausethemomenttheyareoffthatlisttheywillbetakendownbythe100sjustlikethe
huntingseasondirectlyafterthefirsttimetheirprotectionwaslifted.Wolvesareanendangered
speciesthatiscontinuingtobehuntedandcontinuingtobecomeextinct.

Figure1:ThisshowsthattheEndangeredSpeciesActis
successfulinkeepingwolvesaliveandwithoutittheywillnotbe
heremuchlonger.ItisessentialbecausethemomenttheActisgone
soarethewolvesasyoucanseeinthisfigure.

WorksCited
"ProtectedNoLonger,Morethan550GrayWolvesKilledThis
SeasonbyHuntersandTrappers."U.S.News.N.p.,n.d.Web.07Aug.
2016.

"TheNationalRallytoProtectAmericasWolves!"DCRallyfor
Wolves2013.N.p.,n.d.Web.07Aug.2016.
"WolfAwarenessWeek."DefendersofWildlife.N.p.,2014.Web.
07Aug.2016.