Public input on wildlife issues derailed by illegitimate special interests
Originally published in Price County Review
by Francisco Santiago-Ávila and Amy Mueller
Dr. Francisco Santiago-Ávila is a Fellow and board member of PAN Works, as well as a staff member at both Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, two organizations working for a more wild and caring world. Here, Fran and colleague Amy Mueller discuss the gross failures of wildlife agencies to prioritize respect and care for wild lives — or to recognize the public’s call for change. As consciousness around the intrinsic value of other beings shifts, and ethics begins to emerge as central to life, humans are rethinking their moral ideals. In a practical sense, people want legislation to reflect their values, to promote compassion for other beings. In Wisconsin and beyond, despite these calls and that science and ethics agree, agencies continue to dismiss public opinion in favor of anti-wildlife groups promoting continued killing of and cruelty toward other animals.
Recently, Wisconsin citizens and wildlife were blatantly dismissed by a committee of the only statutory body in the state through which citizens can advise the Department of Natural Resources; the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC). This stands in sharp contrast to the WCC vision, which was created in part by Aldo Leopold and other conservationists in 1934.
Aldo Leopold said, “a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.” However, today, wild animals in our state live at the mercy of recreational hunters and trappers, with little recourse for recognition of public values increasingly shifting towards Leopold’s land ethic.
On Aug. 27, the WCC ‘Fur Harvest’ Committee was tasked with reviewing the successful citizen resolutions from the Spring Hearing public survey regarding hunting and trapping of “fur bearing” animals. This year a record 31 successful resolutions focused on additional public safety and wildlife protections, including proposals to ban wildlife killing contests and trapping on public lands supported by over 16,000 in-state votes. Additionally, a total of 24 citizens (of 25 in attendance) supported these resolutions in front of the committee. Yet, citing ‘tradition’ and ‘reason’ over ‘ethics’ and ‘emotions’, the committee went on to reject every single one of the 31 public safety and wildlife friendly resolutions, while advancing those to expand bobcat hunting, beaver trapping and use infrared lights to hunt predators.
The WDNR actively promotes trapping while turning a blind eye to killing contests, even without population data on targeted species. In killing contests, contestants engage in indiscriminate killing for entertainment and prizes in categories such as killing the most or largest animals, leaving piles of bodies in their wake. Project Coyote and the Humane Society of the US have identified 77 in-state contests between 2018–2021 targeting mostly coyotes but also foxes, raccoons and other unprotected species. Trapping may be an even crueler practice for individual animals, as they often suffer exposure and pain for hours (or drown) and may end up losing body parts attempting to escape.
Scientific evidence suggests such killing serves no conservation purpose. Populations of targeted species do not need human killing because they naturally self-stabilize. In fact, such killing disrupts the dynamics of these social species, increasing conflicts with humans: dead parents cannot teach their children to not bother humans. These species, like coyotes and beavers, also contribute immensely to ecological processes that promote species diversity and abundance, and so that same social disruption leads to ecological degradation. These practices are powerful mediators of our relationships to animals and to the land, and we’re allowing a minority to dictate them.
Of higher concern is that the committee’s decisions reflected a documented disconnect between institutionalized and evolving, broad public values. The public is becoming increasingly considerate of animals and nature, including predators, and is challenging recreation as a legitimate reason to kill, along with the lack of restrictions. Fair chase, subsistence hunters also oppose such wanton harm and waste.
Wisconsin citizens are attempting to institutionalize the respect for nonhuman life at the heart of Leopold’s land ethic. By ignoring them, the ‘Fur Harvest’ committee is acting like any narrow interest group, and ruining their legitimacy and credibility in the process. To counter this tyranny, we need more people participating in the WCC meetings, demanding remote options, and giving public comments. Make sure to voice your opinion in the Spring Hearing survey every April and consider becoming a WCC delegate volunteer for your county. That is how we will hold this statutory group accountable and begin to see change.
Wildlife is not the province of consumptive users; wildlife concerns us all. And respecting it means moving beyond wanton harm to increased scrutiny of reasons for harming and killing. It means allowing wildlife to thrive, for everyone’s sake.
Amy Mueller is a wildlife advocate based in Ottawa, Wisconsin. Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila is the Heartland Rewilding Science & Conservation Manager for Project Coyote & The Rewilding Institute, based in Madison.
Kim Hightower is the communications specialist for PAN Works.
Please visit PAN Works for more about our work on ethics and animal wellbeing.
