Wolf hunts in the Upper Peninsula will be able to continue under a new law passed by the state House Wednesday.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, groups that oppose wolf hunting say state lawmakers are trying to thwart the will of voters.
Nat Sound – “Let us vote! It’s our right!” (Chant)
Anti-wolf hunting groups rallied outside the state Capitol before the House took up the bill. The petition-initiated law is designed to circumvent two proposals on the November ballot that seek to stop wolf hunting in Michigan.
Jill Fritz is with the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected coalition. She says the Legislature should have let the initiative go to the ballot.
“They’re just using the process, which should be citizen-initiated language, to simply just work around what the voters want,” she says.
Fritz says the group plans to challenge the new law in court.
Supporters of the law say the hunts are necessary to keep wolves from attacking livestock and pets in the UP.