Wolf hunting now legal but still controversial

(CNN) -- For the first time in decades, the hunting of the gray wolf is legal again in the United States. And that's a good thing for ranchers like Cindy Siddoway of Terreton, whose sheep are threatened every day by wolves.

"We have worked very hard to protect what we have, and it's not very successful," she said. "It is devastating for us to put all of the money and the time and the genetics and work to produce a great product and then just have it half-eaten and left to die."

But wolf hunting isn't popular with everybody. It has become a controversy in Idaho, where the hunt began Tuesday, and in Montana, where it is scheduled to start September 15.

Environmental and animal rights groups are upset by a federal decision this year to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list, a move that opened the door to permitting the hunts.

They are seeking an injunction in U.S. District Court in Montana to stop the hunts. Judge Donald Molloy is reviewing the case, and it's unclear when he will rule.

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I knew this was coming down the pipeline, but it's sad, to say the least. We bring this species back from the brink of extinction and now they are going to issue hunting tags for them. This is sickening. I don't understand why a wolf would be legal game, as you can't eat them...well I guess you could...but generally speaking we don't eat carnivores.

I, for one, hope that the District Court imposes the injunction. I truly believe that there is still not enough research to positively show that hunting pressure won't push them back towards extinction. AND once legalized, I fear that many more than the allotted number of Wolves will be killed. These guys are the top of the food chain in their territory...and it should stay that way, even at the detriment of ranchers.

Just my 2-cent rant

if ppl care enough about the wolves then maybe u should all go vegetarian that way all sheep cattle farmers will no longer have any use to keep cattle and so the wolves will contunue to hunt the animals withiout having to worry about hunters killing them.....

The population still needs to be controlled. With hunting permits being handed out, they can somewhat keep track of the kill count. When the population gets lower, they'll issue fewer tags. Wolves breed in litters. So the numbers rise quickly, and increase much faster as the population grows. In Wisconsin we are already having problems with the wolf population killing the whitetail deer population in the north.

Now take into consideration the rising human population, and the ever growing cities into wildlife areas. Wolves are going to have more contact with humans, and are certain to attack more humans.

You don't have to eat meat if you don't want to, but if we all stop eating meat, the livestock populations will explode. We've got a pretty good balance going on, but we still need to keep animal populations in check unless you are going to cut your thinger off and stop breeding to help reduce the human population. For that matter, walk into a huge population center and blow yourself and five million others to kingdom come, then we'll have less meat eaters, therefore less livestock needs to be raised, and less land needs to be used for humans, so the precious predator animals can flourish.

Think about it.