Four new hound training caution areas have been identified in northern Wisconsin in response to the recent killing of hounds being trained to hunt bear.
During the past two weeks, wolves have killed four dogs and injured one dog that were being trained for bear hunting in Bayfield, Burnett, Clark and Oneida counties, officials with the state Department of Natural Resources report.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services confirmed the wolf attacks. They took place south of Port Wing in Bayfield County, south of Rhinelander in Oneida County, northeast of Riverside in Burnett County and west of Neillsville in Clark County.
Adrian Wydeven, DNR mammalian ecologist, said wolves have pups in rendezvous sites at this time of the year. It is probable the wolves were protecting their young.
“We ask bear hunters to exercise greater caution and avoid training or hunting near sites with concentrated wolf activity – hunters should be familiar with caution area maps on the DNR wolf web site,” Wydeven said. All packs involved with dog incidents likely produced pups this spring.
Hunters may train dogs by pursuing bear from July 1 to August 31 each year. The gray wolf currently is listed as a federally endangered species and persons convicted of killing a wolf are subject to possible jail time and fines.
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