Northern states pay for livestock losses as wolf populations grow

Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin are paying the price to promote gray wolf populations as livestock producers collect for animals attacked by the predators.

Steep payouts prove gray wolf populations are growing after they were taken off the endangered list in January. The Detroit Free Press reports Michigan paid $9,465 in claims related to livestock and pets killed by gray wolves this year. Minnesota paid a steeper price, paying $154,136 for similar claims. Wisconsin was even higher, paying $214,794 so far this year.

States in the Upper Midwest must consider how to control gray wolf populations. The Associated Press reports Minnesota, home to the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states, plans to open hunting and trapping season beginning Nov. 3. The plan would remove 400 of the estimated 3,000 wolves in the state.

The state is seeking solutions to controlling wolf populations as Minnesota’s fund is expected to deplete at the end of the year and livestock are selling at record levels.

Read more from the Associated Press here.

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