Public Media from Michigan State University

Wolf Hunt Foes Launch Second Petition Drive

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A second ballot drive to outlaw wolf hunting in Michigan is under way.

The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta reports.

The organizers don’t think they can gather the necessary 161 thousand signatures in time to suspend the wolf hunt this coming November. But they do hope to make it Michigan’s first and last wolf hunt since the gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list.

The Legislature and Governor Rick Snyder approved a law earlier this year that makes the earlier ballot drive meaningless. This second referendum would appear on the ballot next year.

Jill Fritz is with the group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected.

“It’s very sad that legislators have stepped on the voters like this and introduced and passed this language that’s basically an end run around the democratic process,”  she says.

The state Department of Natural Resources says the hunt will help address wolves attacking pets and livestock in the western UP.

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Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.