Last December, the Michigan Legislature approved a bill that classified the gray wolf as a “game species.” The act cleared the way for a debate over whether wolves should be hunted for sport. There are fewer than one-thousand wolves in the state’s Upper Peninsula, and groups opposed to a hunting season want to see that population survive. Last week, the group “Keep Michigan Wolves Protected” submitted more than 253,000 signatures to the Michigan Secretary of State in a bid to put the wolf hunting question on the ballot in 2014.
Two guests from opposing sides join the Current State to update the debate. Jill Fritz is the executive director of “Keep Michigan Wolves Protected.” Tony Hansen, chief information officer of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, which supports a wolf hunting season.