Wisconsin Wolf Hunters Reaching Quotas Early

In the first week of the 2013 season, hunters in Wisconsin killed 95 wolves in 22 different counties, a pace faster than the state Department of Natural Resources expected, prompting the closure of one of six statewide zones.

Wisconsin’s Journal Sentinel says the DNR closed zone 2 in the northeastern portion of the state to wolf hunting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. While the statewide quota is 251 wolves, the quota for the zone 2 was 28.

“The pace of this year’s wolf harvest is higher than the beginning of last season,” Kurt Thiede, land division administrator, said in a statement. “There could be a variety of factors contributing to this higher rate of harvest. Given that this is only our second year of wolf hunting and trapping in the state, it is difficult to say whether this year is an anomaly or whether this could become the norm moving forward.”

Comparatively, hunters shot 42 wolves in the first 16 days of the 2012 season.