Deadline Tonight: Help us save the wolves

Deadline Tonight: Help us save the wolves

It’s a dangerous time to be a wolf.

 

 

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Wolves need our help right now.

Almost anywhere in Wyoming, any wolf can be shot on sight for any reason — no permits needed, no questions asked.1 In Idaho, a new law has legalized a wolf slaughtering spree that could leave as few as 1 in 10 of the state’s wolves alive.2 Meanwhile, on the East Coast, poaching threatens to snuff out the tiny remaining population of critically endangered red wolves.3

We need to stop the slaughter and keep wolves safe. We’ll do it by winning strong protections for these irreplaceable animals at the state and national levels alike — but to pull this off, we’ll need your help.

Why is it especially important to prepare to defend wolves right now?

It’s because gray wolves are in unprecedented danger nationwide — and their cousins, the red wolves and Mexican gray wolves, can’t be forgotten either.

  • Gray wolves need their Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections back. The ESA would once again act as a shield between gray wolves and devastating hunts — like the one held in Wisconsin this year, where 216 wolves were slaughtered in just three days.4 We’re campaigning in the states to stop wolf hunts, and working at the national level to restore Endangered Species Act protection for wolves from coast to coast.
  • The wild red wolf population is in the single digits. With fewer than 10 of these critically endangered canines left alive in the wild, protecting the handful that remain is more important than ever.5 We’re working to urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to ramp its red wolf conservation efforts into high gear by defending their natural habitat and releasing more red wolves into the wild. 
  • The most unique American wolf subspecies needs room for its population to grow. A new management plan for the Mexican gray wolves, or lobos, of the Southwest will remove a harmful population cap, but it falls short in other ways.6 For one, it doesn’t expand the borders of the protected habitat area — and without more protected habitat, the lobo population will never be able to truly thrive. We’re advocating for a plan that will protect lobos and their vital habitat.

For the sake of wolves nationwide, we need to work together to keep these campaigns going strong in 2022.

Are you with us? Donate to our Year-End Giving Drive before midnight tonight.

 

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  1. John Spina, “Wyoming sets wolf population goal of 160,” Jackson Hole News & Guide, May 24, 2017.
  2. Maya Yang, “Outcry after federal agents kill eight wolf cubs adopted by Idaho school,” The Guardian, October 11, 2021.
  3. Suzanne Agan, et. al, “Majority positive attitudes cannot protect red wolves (Canis rufus) from a minority willing to kill illegally,” Biological Conservation, October 2021.
  4. Paul A. Smith, “‘Was that something we wanted to have happen? Absolutely not.’ Gray wolf kill rises to 216, 82% above state-licensed goal,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 25, 2021.
  5. Suzanne Agan, et. al, “Majority positive attitudes cannot protect red wolves (Canis rufus) from a minority willing to kill illegally,” Biological Conservation, October 2021.
  6. “Service Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Changes to Mexican Wolf Management Rule,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, October 27, 2021.