Nearly extinct red wolves under new threat in North Carolina
The world almost lost red wolves forever once, but even with decades worth of efforts to help them recover, they still exist on the brink. Wildlife officials in North Carolina have just made their future survival even more questionable by passing resolutions in favor of ending the red wolf recovery program.
Red wolves once roamed vast portions of the southeast, but were essentially wiped out by the 1960s due to habitat loss and rampant predator control programs. In 1980 they were declared extinct in the wild. Seven years later, wolves who were part of a captive breeding program were released in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in the hope that they would lead to the return of the species in the wild.
Since then, their range has expanded to include 1.7 million acres covering five counties in northeast North Carolina – the only state where they now exist. Despite recovery efforts, today there are still fewer than 100 individuals in the wild and they remain one of the rarest mammals in North America and one of the most endangered canid species in the world.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) just passed two resolutions intended to end red wolf recovery in the state: The first calls on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to declare red wolves extinct in the wild and end the Red Wolf Reintroduction Program in the five counties they now live in, while the second calls on the FWS to remove wolves who were released on private lands.
At the same time, the commission is also considering rules that would list red wolves as a threatened species in the state, but has also approved temporary rules that will allow daytime coyote hunting in the reintroduction area to individuals who are granted a permit. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute, which argued that allowing coyote hunting in the red wolf recovery area violated the Endangered Species Act.
Red wolf advocates have continued to argue that death by gunshot is the main threat for red wolves and cases of mistaken identity continue to put them in danger because of their similar appearance.
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Public meeting February 17 at the Wildlife Commission Headquarters in Raleigh. The commission is also accepting public comments on the proposed rules... ( https://ncpaws.org/PAWS/WRC/PublicComments/PublicEntry/PublicComments.aspx )
If you’re not a resident of North Carolina, you can still support red wolf recovery by signing and sharing the petition ( http://www.thepetitionsite.com/529/427/495/north-carolina-dont-abandon-red-wolf-recovery/ ) urging state and federal wildlife officials to ensure that red wolf recovery efforts aren’t weakened or abandoned.
More from Care2 Causes:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AlDn2/zPTV/cgXN8
= new reply since forum marked as read
that it's getting too late for all species, including our sorry species.
Not so sure the Care2 petitions are even seen after submission. It's good that they bring more widespread attention to important causes but unless signatories do more than simply think that signing an online petition is enough to "do their part" nothing will change in a favorable way.
