MN Court Of Appeals Hears Arguments Against Wolf Hunting

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Critics of wolf hunting in Minnesota took their case to the State Appeals Court Wednesday.

Last year, hunters and trappers killed about 400 wolves in the first wolf hunting season after the animals were taken off the endangered species list.

Critics argue the state moved too quickly to establish a hunting season last year.

"People care about wolves, and they've got strong opinions for and against hunting and trapping. and this legal case is about whether Minnesotans -- both for and against -- can have a voice in how the DNR manages wolves," said Collette Adkins Giese of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Department of Natural Resources says it acted properly under guidelines set by the legislature.

"For the wolf season, the season was very conservative and some of the nation's preeminent wolf experts, Dr. David Meach, looked at the plan, looked at the season and said, 'this works,'" said Chris Niskanen of the DNR.

A bill making its way through the legislature this year would reinstate a five-year moratorium on the wolf hunt.