WOLF HUNTING - THE EXTERMINATION OF AN OLD ALLY

By Debbie Bulloch




(This is Part One of what I plan to be a series of articles about the wolf. In Part One I will discuss the long history of wolf-killing by man. Other articles will include a detailed discussion of the wolf, his origins and his relationship to man. There will also be a discussion of the wolf throughout history, including references to tales about the wolf and the wolf in art and poetry. I hope that you will enjoy reading the articles – I also hope that by bringing attention to the plight of the wolf you, the reader, will be moved to take action to protect our ancient friends.)

In the meantime, two wicked eyes were spying on her from behind a tree . . . a strange rustling in the woods made Little Red Riding Hood's heart thump. Now quite afraid she said to herself. "I must find the path and run away from here!"

At last, she reached the path again but her heart leapt into her mouth at the sound of a gruff voice that said: "Where are you going, my pretty girl, all alone in the woods?"

"I'm taking Grandma some cakes. She lives at the end of the path," said Little Riding Hood in a faint voice.

When he heard this, the wolf (for it was the big bad wolf himself) politely asked: "Does Grandma live by herself?"

"Oh, yes," replied Little Red Riding Hood, "and she never opens the door to strangers!"

Little Red Riding Hood – Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale

I recently read an article in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times. The article described the opening of wolf-hunting season in the states of Montana and Idaho. In the article, “brave” men (and women) armed to the teeth with the tools of modern-day hunting (including high-powered rifles equipped with night-vision scopes) bragged about killing wolves. As I read the article, I became sad by the plight of these magnificent beasts. Once nearly extinct in North America, the wolf has been making a slow, but steady return. Now hunters are back, stalking and killing wolves. Unless we take action, the great wolf may be wiped out forever.

Growing up, I remember my father telling me tales about the wolf’s role in the advancement of humankind. He taught me how ancient men learned to hunt by watching how wolf packs worked cooperatively to bring down big prey. My father taught me that ancient men were small, weak, powerless, furless and had no natural weapons (no big muscles, fangs or claws). It was only after ancient men learned hunting techniques perfected by the wolves, my father told me, that our species was able to survive back in our species’ infancy.

My father also taught me legends about how in those ancient times, the leader of a wolf pack looked upon ancient man and took pity upon our weak ancestors. That alpha wolf sent some of his own brothers and sisters to live with humans, to help humans hunt and to help protect our families against other wild beasts. The brothers and sisters of that ancient alpha wolf gave up the freedom of the wide-open range so they could come live with us. Those early wolves became the ancestors of our most faithful companion - the dog.

I do not know whether my father really believed the stories that he told me. Perhaps he was just stimulating my own imagination by repeating tales that he himself had heard as a child back in his native land. It was from these stories that my father told me when I was a small child that I developed a deep and life-long respect and love for the wolf. Unfortunately for the wolf, that respect and love is not universally shared.


The wolf that was once revered by men is now reviled, hunted and destroyed. About 12,000 years ago, there was a major change in the way that ancient humans lived. Our species changed from hunter-gatherers to farmers-herders. Since then, wolves and humans have been in a collision course. In Europe, for example, large forests were cut down and replaced by farms and fields. Because of the destruction of their natural habitat, wolves lost their homes and were driven to seek prey in areas of human habitation.

(Note: Today we see a repeat of the same phenomenon as human populations continue to encroach upon wild habitats. In recent months there have reports of mountain lions and black bears wandering into neighborhoods not far from my own home. These unfortunate animals were driven into populated by human development that continues to encroach upon the animals’ natural habitats. When animals and “civilization” collide, animals invariably lose. Animal “control” officers have recently shot and killed several mountain lions and bears that wandered into populated areas - there is no end in sight to these killings.)

Because of massive hunts and other destruction programs wolves were completely wiped out in England by the early 1500s. Scotland killed its last wolf in the mid-1700s. Most European countries eventually finished off their wolf populations soon after that. A few wolf packs still live in Eastern Europe, India, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Middle East.

The extreme prejudice against the wolf goes beyond competition for natural resources; it can be traced to the fables, such as Little Red Riding Hood, and legends about the animals that originated in the Middle Ages and still survive today. Humans believed that wolves were in league with the forces of evil. Many legends connected the wolf with Satan and the dark powers of the supernatural world. In fact, the wolf has often been portrayed as the Anti-Christ, the very epitome of evil.


When Europeans settled the New World, they brought along with them some of their finest traditions in art, literature, philosophy, architecture and science. The Europeans also brought with them their deep hatred for the wolf.

When the European came to North America in the 1500s and 1600s wolf populations were plentiful. The European settlers found wolves inhabiting the deep forests and wide plains of the continent. Prior to the arrival of Europeans to the New World, Native Americans lived in peaceful co-existence with the wolf. Unlike Europe, where crowding often brought the wolf and man into deadly collision, here in America there was plenty of room for both human and animal predators to live their separate lives in peace, Instead, however, Europeans settlers turned North America into the scene of the human race's bloodiest and most successful killing campaign against the wolf. To this very day, there seems to be no end to man’s campaign against the wolf.

Inspired by the traditional European hatred of the wolf, the early settlers attacked the wolf using pits, traps, and poison. Authorities offered “bounties” (cash rewards) to anyone who brought in the hide or some other part of a dead wolf. The war against the wolf began in earnest in the 1800s, when settlers began to move onto the Great Plains in the center of the country. The Great Plains was home to enormous herds of buffalo, which served as a food supply for tribes of Native Americans and for large numbers of wolves. For hundreds of years the Native Americans and the wolves were able to share in this bounty. All three of them - Indians, the buffalo and the wolf, however, were doomed to be brought almost to the point of extinction by “civilization.”

The most common way used by American “wolfers” (wolf hunters) was to use Strychnine –a poison that causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion. Strychnine was placed in the carcasses of dead buffalo, cattle, or sheep. Wolves feeding on the animals would die painful deaths- and so would any other creature (coyote, dog, bird, even human) that ate the poisoned flesh.

No one knows how exactly how many wolves were destroyed during the last half of the 19th century, when the anti-wolf campaign was most active in the western part of the United States. It is estimated, however that between 2 to 3 million wolves were destroyed.


By the early 1900s, there were not many wolves left in the western United States. The few remaining wolves were still being pursued by wolfers, rancher, and herders eager to eradicate the species completely from existence in America. In 1919, the government joined the anti-wolf campaign, passing a law that called for the extermination of wolves on federally owned lands. By 1942, when the law was finally abolished over 25,000 more wolves had been killed by the government plan.

Today the wolf is classified as an endangered species in most parts of the United States. This classification means that the killing of wolves is strictly controlled by federal law. This does not mean, however, that the wolf is safe from hunters and others who still seek its destruction.

For example, in the state of Idaho (world-famous Yellowstone National Park is partially located in the state of Idaho), a plan proposed by Governor Clement “Butch” Otter calls for the destruction of high numbers of wolves. The plan proposed by the recently elected governor calls for the killing of 550 wolves, approximately eighty percent of the current population, and a reduction in the number of breeding pairs from 72 to just 10. Otter’s plan is strongly supported by many of Idaho’s residents (who actively participate in Idaho’s thriving hunting industry).

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Services guidelines, however, the Idaho wolf population needs to stay above 100 individuals for the species to stay off the endangered species list and remain a viable, self-sustaining population. Additionally, there is much evidence that shows that a much larger wolf population can survive in Idaho without causing any major problems.

“Legal” wolf hunting presents a huge problem for the continued survivability of the wolf. A Google search of terms such as “wolf” and “hunting” reveal the existence of hundreds of organized “adventure outfitters” in the USA and Canada who will (for a high dollar fee) set up hunting parties for men and women who get their thrills by killing big game such as wolves, black bears, elk and moose. The wolf, as smart and wily as it is, is no match against men and women armed with high-tech weapons (including helicopters and airplanes).

Hunters kill Bambi's mother (English version)



Hunters kill Bambi's mother (French version)




“Legal” hunters are not the only threat to the wolves. Poachers (hunters who hunt animals out of season or who hunt legally protected species) routinely pursue prey such as the American bald eagle and wolves.

For most wolves, legal protection by the government has come too late. The killing has already taken place, and the millions of animals slaughtered in the past cannot be brought back to life.

We owe a debt of gratitude to these magnificent beasts. We need to learn the lessons taught by other cultures and modify our behavior towards the creatures that share this planet with us. Native-Americans of earlier times and the Eskimos of today, respect the wolf for its skill as a predator. They also admire the wolf's dedication to the welfare of its companions, a model of social behavior for humans as well as animals.



The Bible itself urges us to respect animals and to be kind to them. The literature of the Bible and of the Judaic-Christian religious tradition is filled with admonitions, commandments, and stories promoting conservation, respect for nature and the environment, and kindness to animals. These rules and writings have traditionally emphasized God's love for His Creation and all of its creatures. The obligation of humans to respect and protect animals and the natural environment appears throughout the Bible and the writings of its prophets and other leaders.

The Bible is clear, emphatic, and unequivocal in praising the Lord’s Creation, and no believer in the words of the Bible can deny these passages. Nor can one ignore or violate these teachings without disobeying the laws of God and His prophets.

To read the complete L.A. Times article about the new wolf hunting “season” in the state of Montana, please click here:

Montana wolf hunt is stalked by controversy

Finally, a word of caution: Below, I have posted photographs that I have found by searching the Net for various commercial sites that advertise “outdoor adventures” (a euphemism for hunting). These photographs depict graphic images of wolves that have been killed by hunters. The images are graphic and deeply disturbing. I hope that if you are offended and disturbed by these photographs, that you will be a 1000 times more offended by what these “happy hunters” are doing to the wolf populations. Perhaps then, you will be moved to action.











The photographs shown here are copyrighted. Each copyright owner fully reserves to himself all rights to his work. The photographs are included here for illustrative and/or educational purposes only. No commercial purpose is intended.

NEWSFLASH! The controversial wolf-hunting season in the state of Montana has been suspended. For more details click here:

Wolf Hunting Suspended in Southern Montana