Madison, WI – Senator Rob Stafsholt (R – New Richmond) issued the following statement in response to a Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge issuing a permanent injunction ordering Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to comply with state law after Hunter Nation, through the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, filed suit against the DNR over their refusal to implement a wolf hunt in Wisconsin:
For the second time this year, the court has ruled Governor Evers and Secretary Cole ignored state statue by refusing to move forward with a gray wolf hunting season. Earlier in February, a judge issued a writ of mandamus ordering the DNR to comply with state law.
“These rulings prove that Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul are so beholden to environmental extremists and their party’s liberal agenda that they are willing to break state laws. They are willing to infringe on Wisconsinite’s constitutionally protected rights. It is time for Governor Evers and Attorney Gerneral Kaul to start following the law.”
State statute requires the DNR to establish a single annual open season for both hunting and trapping wolves that begins on the first Saturday in November of each year and ends on the last day of February of the following year. This year’s wolf harvest should have begun on November 6, 2021. Hunters have already applied for a wolf license and the DNR planned to notify successful applicants on October 25, 2021 but failed to actually act on those intentions.
“The application process has already been completed, therefore I demand that the DNR notify those applicants and make the tags available for purchase immediately.”